ISS BLOG – New Year, New Learning: Recharge Your Skills at the Inside Self-Storage World ExpoISS BLOG – New Year, New Learning: Recharge Your Skills at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo

I’m fortunate to work for a company that values continuing education. Plus, it’s amazing at providing opportunities for professional growth through a variety of channels. We have access to a smorgasbord of online learning that we can view at our own pace, regular webinars and learning sessions, and a two-day training each summer that’s loaded with informative sessions.

While some are designed to teach us about new programs or processes, the majority are intended to help us grow in our careers. My job has evolved tremendously in the past few years. Some aspects will always be considered core, but new technology, trends and additional duties are reshaping my role. This means it’s critical to keep up!

As a self-storage professional, you can probably relate. Whether you’re an industry vendor, district or property manager, owner, investor, or developer, your job is more than likely changing, too. Maybe not entirely, but there will always be new things to learn. The best way to keep pace with everything fresh is by attending the Inside Self-Storage World Expo, April 22-25 in Las Vegas. Talk about a way to get a whole lot of learning in one place! Over the course of four days, you’ll have access to 42 sessions, eight workshops, vendor presentations and an exhibit hall packed with more than 200 industry suppliers and vendors. But as every infomercial likes to tout, “But wait, there’s more.”

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Of course, the education and exhibits are a huge draw to the ISS World Expo every year, but there’s also an abundance of occasions to learn from your peers. There are tons of networking and interactive events, plus you never know who you might meet at the show. It’s possible that you’ll discover a future employee or employer, business partner or investor, or a vendor with a product that’ll improve your facility. For me, this is key as I’m in charge of content for ISS. Making connections with potential contributors, thanking existing ones, and getting to know about new products helps me help you. Corny as that may sound, it’s just one way the conference provides “training” for me.

So, here’s what I would suggest. First, for the ladies, be sure to sign up for WISE: Women In Storage Education on April 22. Space will be limited to 150 registrants (only women), so do this early! It’ll be our third year hosting this event and it’s one I wouldn’t dare miss. Our panel of experts, all women working in self-storage right now, share stories about their own careers (good and bad) and provide guidance to our female audience on a host of topics. Past conversations have focused on how to ask for a promotion, the importance of finding mentors and people who’ll support you, and overcoming common challenges women face in this industry. Here are my takeaways from last year’s session.

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Everyone should also attend Table Talks on April 23. Open to all attendees and exhibitors, these are moderated by an industry pro, who leads an informal conversation on a specific topic. No doubt artificial intelligence and remote management will be hot conversations this year. But there will also be discussions on development challenges, employee problems, marketing trends and operations issues. This is where you truly get to learn from others who are doing what you do every day. Plus, you can rotate tables and learn about a multitude of subject matter.

Another peer-learning opportunity is the Self-Storage Q&As. These one-hour discussions—Investing and Development, Management and Marketing, Technology and Security—are led by two industry experts who’ll take questions from the audience. While they’ll provide answers, we also encourage everyone in the room to share. Again, you never know when a tip could spark an idea that’ll improve your business or the way you do your job! I’ve spoken to many people after the Q&As who said they walked away with solid advice.

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When you consider the totality of the year’s biggest conference and tradeshow, keep in mind that it’s designed to help you learn about the biz, exciting products and new ideas but also to celebrate this vibrant industry. It’s the ultimate team collaboration project and you’re invited! As you map out your calendar for the year, consider how you might enhance your existing skills, master new ones and make connections with other industry members. I already have a few ideas in mind. How about you?

Amy Campbell is senior editor at Inside Self-Storage. To reach her, email [email protected].