Creating Wealth Through Self Storage

So if you are getting into the self-storage business, or if you have found a deal you are excited about, congratulations. But what if you don’t have enough to fund the down payment? You may be asking, how can I raise money to do this deal? Well, basically, you have two main ways to go: Partners with money Investors with money Let’s explore each of these approaches. **Self-Storage Turnaround Playbo...

When I first got started in the self-storage business, you could realistically get in the game with as little as 10 % to 15% down if you used SBA financing. How much does it take today? What is affecting how much money it takes to get into the self-storage business today? What strategies can we use to help us? Let’s discuss all that and more. **Self-Storage Turnaround Playbook** https://crea...

Every now and then, one can find an existing self-storage facility with a lot of potential upside and be able to negotiate a price that allows you to realize it. But you need to be able to see it when it is there and know what your upside can be to negotiate it correctly. You also need a plan, a step-by-step process to harvest the upside. Let me share with you the four steps I took in one project...

If you are getting into the self-storage business, or restarting in the business, here is a checklist and where I start with the people I work with. My experience is if you start here, your chances of success are much improved. You can also download the checklist below after watching this video. This is a great business, but your success is not guaranteed. This work greatly improves your chances....

There are four basic metrics I think every self-storage owner should be tracking. I track more than these four, but these four, I think, set an owner up to win at owning self-storage. If you are not currently always tracking these to the point you know them off the top of your head, or at least get to them fast, I promise you, there is gold to mine in your facility. Let’s explore them together, an...

Let’s talk about five mistakes see people making getting in the self-storage business today, especially people new to the business. Now I have made every one of them myself, so I will talk from experience. Let’s shorten your learning curve up. Here is a downloadable handout. **Five Mistakes PDF* https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/episode-473-5-mistakes-new-owners-make-in-self-stora...

Even seasoned storage people sometimes get focused on the wrong metric when analyzing self-storage. If you’re new to self-storage, it can be hard to understand all the financial metric slang and acronyms, and what one should really be focused on. Which one matters most? In this episode, we will peel back the facade and make these financial metrics understandable and give you access to using...

Last week we started a conversation about what I’m seeing in the economy, what may be coming next, and how that changes our self-storage strategy, based on research I dug into after hearing Michael Litt speak. As a CCIM in commercial real estate, our state chapter hosted Litt on “The Big Short.” If you remember the 2015 movie by the same name, it dramatized (and abbreviated) what his hedge fund di...

Some dots have connected in my mind recently that are reshaping how I evaluate self-storage trade areas moving forward. Surprisingly, this insight came from digging into the lives and current work of the people who shorted subprime financial instruments during the Great Recession—and what they’re focused on today. I also re-learned an important truth when designing my self-storage and investment s...

Let’s talk about the biggest issue I see today in leasing up new self-storage space is overspending for online marketing that doesn’t produce results. I see it happen far too often and have experienced it myself. Here are the steps, spaces, and things I put my attention on as I work with vendors and/or employees to design and execute a marketing strategy and budget that works. **Online Courses at...

Let’s talk about converting potential self-storage renters into customers. I had this conversation last Friday in our Inner Circle group and thought it may be good to discuss it in more depth in this episode. This is probably the most powerful tool our team has ever used to rent units. **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Listen on Apple Podcasts** **5 K...

Let’s talk about the new tax implications for self-storage owners and take a look at the good, the bad, and the potentially ugly parts of the massive tax bill recently signed into law and championed by the current administration, at least from my perspective. I am only going to touch on a few items that I think most directly impact us as self storage owner/operators. I’m doing this because I have...

We are going to have to talk about insurance and self-storage, which may touch on politics. Part of our job as owners and entrepreneurs is to look at what is going on now, extrapolate some data, and then make predictions about the future to some degree so we can make moves today. And in my opinion, it doesn’t look good for insuring self-storage projects. In fact, it looks ugly. So let me ask you a...

Let’s discuss what features, what tech bells and whistles to add to your new facility or one you may be purchasing. I approach this differently than I did a few years ago. Let me explain. **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Listen on Apple Podcasts** **5 KPIs we measure** https://creatingwealththroughselfstorage.lpages.co/top-5-kpi-ebook/ **My blog** Cr...

Let me share what I’ve gathered about the state of the self-storage industry halfway through 2025. This is based on the latest Yardi Matrix data, Radius insights, REIT shareholder reports, and—just as importantly—my own observations and experience in the trenches. I will also share with you my insights on what to focus on and not focus on for the next 12 to 18 months or so. **Online Courses at The...

We all know the usual add-ons for self-storage projects by now, like tenant insurance, retail items, and truck rental. Let’s discuss some new possibilities for the modern project today. These are just a few outside-the-box ideas that could generate extra revenue that makes a big difference today in our projects. **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Liste...

Last week, we started a conversation about how to organize a management operation for your small, automated self-storage facility. This week, we’ll wrap it up. If you missed Part 1, here is a link: Let’s finish this week and discuss how, as a small Owner, you can set up a successful Marketing Division of your automated management operations and what that can include. **Online Courses at The Quicks...

Recently, I’ve been working closely with several people who are either purchasing or developing automated self-storage facilities. Naturally, the conversation quickly turns to one thing: how are we going to manage them? I am also reinventing how I will manage properties I am involved with, both through automation and with managers. Let’s talk about how to set up your automated self-storage operati...

Two weeks ago, we began a series outlining the five phases our construction company uses when developing self-storage projects in today’s unpredictable environment. This is the same process we use ourselves—and you can use it too, especially if you’re doing a solo project. The goal of this series is simple: to bring a development, expansion, or conversion project to the finish line in...

Last week, we started a series outlining what our construction company uses as a general outline for developing self-storage projects in today’s uncertain world. This series aims to bring in a development project, or an expansion or conversion, in a manner that actually pencils out financially with current interest rates, material cost, and labor cost. It is a process you can use yourself if...

Given the continued high cost of existing self-storage facilities for sale and the challenges of getting into the business, let’s discuss the development steps for smaller investors. Or at least my take on the development process for the smaller player in the space. This has evolved over the years and was further refined and improved on by my construction partner, Smitty Smith of Resolve Sel...

The Inside Self Storage Expo 2025 is coming up next week in Las Vegas, and I’ll be there. I make it a point to attend at least one self-storage convention a year to stay sharp—tracking trends, seeing new products, and deepening relationships in the industry. Events like these are essential if you’re in or entering the self-storage business. But today, I want to talk about something most people ove...

Let’s talk about charity work and your self-storage business. As business owners—especially those of us making a living in a particular trade area, city, or region—I believe we owe something back. We should contribute in some way as good corporate neighbors. Let’s discuss some different approaches to this today. **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Liste...

I hate to say I told you so… but… I told you so. This headline popped up in my news feed dashboard: “California Senate Bill 709 Seeks To Limit Self Storage Rent Increases.” Let’s discuss Rent Increase Regulations that are starting to happen and put them into perspective. **Online Courses at The Quickstart Academy** https://TheQuickStartAcademy.com/ **Listen on Apple Podcasts** ht...