Gabfocus Self Storage Podcast

Snakes, birds that attack, glow in the dark tenants... we've got a few fun stories from our recent travels to share on this lighter 4th of July special episode. There is never a dull day in self storage, and we are extremely thankful for the freedom to work in this industry and build our business. Despite the strange circumstances, tempermental technology, or aggessive animals, we wouldn't trade o...

Get ready for one of our most entertaining podcasts of the year. Aaron Harwell from SpiderDoor joins Tommy and Melissa to talk about self storage security. Aaron has experience both as a self storage owner and the owner of a self storage security company and talks about what has (and hasn't) worked for his facilities and what led him to the many unique solutions SpiderDoor provides. From lasers, t...

Up next in our series on "Dealing with Problem Tenants" are our business operators. This is a tricky category as many of our business tenants are our best tenants. They follow the rules, pay on time, and stay forever. But there's a difference between a business that stores with you and one that operates on your property. How can you discover this problem business before you rent to them? What are...

Theft is one of many security issues facing every self storage facility. Preventing it should be a top concern. Sadly, one of the sources of theft is our own tenants. For most of your renters, you have nothing to worry about. But what about that one bad apple? How can you "thief-proof" your facility? Better yet, how can you head off a thief before they ever become a tenant? Today, we tackle the ne...

Tenants are the life blood of our business. Most of the time, and with most of our tenants, the relationship is great. But every once in a while you get that one tenant... Today we tackle the first of many problem tenant types: The Complainer/Bully. This is the tenant who knows your business better than you do and always has a "helpful" suggestion. You may call this person a "Karen" or a complaine...

There is a common denominator every self storage business shares that is often under-valued and under-utilized: the customer. Building customer loyalty is the final step in the sales funnel. But too often, companies are so focused on getting customers, they don't know how to truly enlist them to continue building their business. Today we gab about the customer and how to utilize them in your sales...

The self storage laws in Georgia were recently updated to include new provisions for non-monetary defaults and unsigned lease agreements. But along with these changes are best practices to protect both the facility owner and the tenant. While some practices are now legal, owners must be careful to implement them in the right way. We break down some of the changes, what this means for the industry,...

Increasing occupancy is top of mind for most self storage operators. Advice is plentiful, from upping your ad spend to dropping your rates. But what really works? Luke Westbrooks joins the webinar to discuss what has and hasn't worked for the portfolio under his care. You won't be surprised by the bottom line- it's all about the customer experience. Your customer interaction has a direct impact on...

After more lunches, sessions, trade show seminars, podcasts, and webinars than we we can count, we've finally cracked the code and figured out the most important thing in self storage. It's not your website, location, class, security, software, or curb appeal, although all those elements relate to it. At the end of the day, self storage is a business, and you can't have a successful business if yo...

Curb appeal isn't just about what you see. It's about what others see when they visit your property, whether in person or online. The right curb appeal can attract a great tenant leading to long term healthy arrangement. But the reverse is also true. Negative curb appeal can keep good tenants away or attract the wrong kind of tenant. So, what are the essentials? How do you manage your curb appeal?...

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This famous slogan rings true in more areas than just keeping your hair free of dandruff. It's especially true in the self storage industry. What are people's first impression when they drive by or walk on your property? Today we dive into the different aspects of keeping your facility neat, clean, and bright. Organization, signage, landsca...

One of the top training guru's in self storage, Carol Mixon, joins the podcast today to talk all about selling skills. Active listening, problem solving, customer care, product knowledge, and of course closing those leads are just a few of the many topics covered in todays episode. Carol shares a variety of helpful examples along with practical advice for training your team or doing the work yours...

We're back from Inside Self Storage with all our fun takeaways from the education, networking, and trade show. Dozens of speakers, hundreds of vendors, and thousands of attendees made this an event to remember. And speaking of thousands, the Storage Gives event was HUGE, raising thousands for all the worthy causes they support. Interested in purchasing sessions from ISS? Visit their store right he...

Welcome to Episode 1 of Legal Chat. This is the podcast version of the virtual "Power Hour" featuring Carlos Kaslow and Scott Zucker which covers a variety of topics and questions sent in from self storage owners and operators around the country. Today we get to know Carlos Kaslow's origin story before the guys dive in to the legal topics facing the self storage industry. They cover updating lease...

We're back (for a few days at least) from the recent '24 Self Storage Association Spring Conference. Honestly, we were blown away by the amount of new additions to the storage space. Today we share a few key takeaways regarding new tech players in the industry, session highlights, and products to consider. There are more tools today than ever before to help any self storage owner be competitive, b...

Collections may be the least favorite part of self storage management. But you gotta do it. It starts with a good policy and ends with getting paid, but the in-between part of interacting with customers and vetting excuses is where it gets fuzzy. Or does it? As with most things, consistency is key with collections. Rent is due when it's due. If you're late you get a late fee. If you don't pay, you...

Digital marketing dollars don't go as far as they used to, but don't worry- Stacie Maxwell, the Grassroots Guru, joins us to explore the ways you can get involved in your community to keep your facility top-of-mind when people need storage. Do you host local events? Have a robust referral program? Use QR codes? Engage in social media? Partner with other businesses? We explore these options and mor...

Are you getting the most out of your self storage facility? Raising your rates is still the best way to increase your income, but these days price increases are a bit more tricky. Today we explore several affordable and effective ways to increase revenue from retail, to technology, to value pricing, and many more in between. Our industry is full of ways to maximize your revenue and you need to be...

Trade show season is off to a great start! We were at the Florida Self Storage Association Conference & Expo last week and noticed a few things trending in self storage. Of course, AI was talked about, but we don't share the same opinion as some others who think it'll be a slow roll-out in our industry. Plus, we're noticing a growing trend of more niche service providers which is a great thing for...

The lease is probably the most important document for your self storage business. It's the agreement between owner and tenant, outlining all the fees, penalties, and agreed upon practices for having a good relationship with your customers. One of the most frustrating things we are seeing through the industry is owners not enforcing their lease. This not only hurts your bottom line, but could open...

Training is essential... Seems like a fairly obvious statement, but how many of us put it into practice? Do you have a training plan for yourself and/or your team? Training is so much more than handing a new manager a book of policies on day one, expecting them to read and implement it their own. It's about the people and equipping them with all they need to make themselves and your self storage f...

It's time for an economic temperature check for the self storage industry, and who better to share his insights on this than John Chang from Marcus & Millichap. Where are we now? What should we expect with the recession, occupancy, street rates, or construction? How should operators be approaching pricing, expanding, or investing? What should self storage be concerned with in the next year? All th...

We pay all sorts of attention to our curb appeal to make the most of that first impression. Same thing with our phone skills (more on that in last week's episode ). Do we have the same focus for our websites? Are they intuitive and customer friendly? Is the experience of renting a unit as easy as if a manager was walking them through the process on the phone or in person? Well, it should be. A cus...

Thousands of dollars are spent each month in the hopes of making the phone ring, but if you aren't there to answer it or don't know how to sell, that money is wasted. Today is all about those phone skills- being prepared, asking the right questions, overcoming objections, and closing the sale. Make sure those marketing dollars are well spent. If you want to pay those self storage bills, you better...

We're going back to basics to kick off 2024, and it doesn't get more basic than opening and closing your self storage facility. Do you have an opening check-list? If you needed to hand off opening or closing procedures to someone else for a day or a week, would everything be taken care of? Turning on lights and checking email might seem like common sense tasks, but common sense isn't what it used...