» Self Storage

AUSTIN, Texas – Aug. 23, 2011 – To celebrate the growing numbers of self-storage professionals active on Twitter, two social media mavens are joining forces to host the first ever industry Twitter chat, known as #StorChat. Twitter chats are online conversations in which relevant users gather at a specified time to discuss certain topics related to an industry or hobby. Chats are held weekly, with a new topic of discussion set each week. #StorChat will be held Wednesdays from 3-3:30 CST, starting Sept. 7.

#StorChat is hosted by Kenny Pratt (@SellingStorage), President of Crescendo Properties and Editor-In-Chief of Selling Storage, along with Rachel Greenfield (@SpareFoot), Marketing Analyst at SpareFoot and Editor-In-Chief of the Storage Facilitator. The hosts will ask three questions relating to the topic at hand over the course of thirty minutes, and everyone participating is encouraged to answer, discuss and exchange ideas and opinions via tweets.

“The great thing about a Twitter chat is it brings users together from all over country or world to a place where they can interact in real time, rather than communicate in a delayed manner as they might through email or forums,” Pratt said.

Many self-storage operators currently use Twitter as a promotional tool to reach potential customers, but #StorChat hopes to demonstrate there’s more to the platform. It presents a progressive opportunity to meet new connections and learn from knowledgeable peers on anything and everything self-storage business. Twitter chats have been popular and successful in a variety of niche industries, from real estate to multi-family housing to blogging.

Social networks like Twitter can feel overwhelming, so #StorChat offers self-storage professionals the chance to cut their teeth with a group of supportive people they can relate to. Everyone in the industry is encouraged to join in, learn and socialize with their fellow smart and creative storage owners, investors, managers and employees.

The first #StorChat on Wednesday, Sept. 7 from 3-3:30 CST will cover the use of social media marketing in self-storage. To participate, simply sign up for a free Twitter account on Twitter.com (or log in to your current account), then follow the hash tag #StorChat by searching for it in the Twitter search box. Be sure to type the hash tag “#StorChat” at the end of every tweet you send during the chat. Get more tips, advice and details about #StorChat here: http://sellingstorage.com/self-storage-twitter-chat-unleashed-september-7th

About SpareFoot:
SpareFoot is the largest online marketplace for self-storage, making it easy for consumers nationwide to find, compare and reserve storage units online. The company also offers a suite of leading web marketing tools for facility operators. Across multiple properties including SelfStorage.com, Apartments.com and others, the SpareFoot Ad Network helps facility owners and managers find new tenants— all through an entirely pay-for-performance model. SpareFoot is backed by Silverton Partners, FLOODGATE and Capital Factory. For more information, please visit http://www.sparefoot.com.

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People go to college for many years to become counselors. These people really want to be able to help those that are in need. They want to be able to help turn the hard, emotional life of a person around for the better. They stay deep in the books and they do a lot of research to be able to speak into the life of a person that is going through some dramatic and hard times. Counselors know that people will come to them with their concerns and they feel they must find a way to help them out. Many get involved in counseling where other people get involved in counseling for the money potential. It would seem though that people find other methods in order to get their problems off of their chest without paying a counselor.

I spoke with someone who was in an unfortunate situation due to some recent hard times. She was very tight on money and needed to move from her current living situation immediately. She did not know how she was going to pay for everything. I told her I would try to get her the best possible deal.  I found her an inexpensive unit that included the first month for rent free of charge. She only had to come up with about twenty five dollars to get moved in to a large unit. That just made it that much easier for her to pay for a few other things that were greatly needed. She was so happy she was crying.

Sometimes when a customer calls in they have a situation that they do not know how to solve. With that said, some property managers actually become counselors because they are there to listen, help and make suggestions for the customer. When the customer realizes that the property manager knows what they are talking about, they will be more than happy to take their advice and their suggestions. Usually you will find that the customer will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Property managers have helped so many people in the self storage industry not just with self storage, but also with their situation. It would seem as if most self storage property managers are self storage counselors.

People go to college for many years to become counselors. These people really want to be able to help those that are in need. They want to be able to help turn the hard, emotional life of a person around for the better. They stay deep in the books and they do a lot of research to be able to speak into the life of a person that is going through some dramatic and hard times. Counselors know that people will come to them with their concerns and they feel they must find a way to help them out. Many get involved in counseling where other people get involved in counseling for the money potential. It would seem though that people find other methods in order to get their problems off of their chest without paying a counselor.

I spoke with someone who was in an unfortunate situation due to some recent hard times. She was very tight on money and needed to move from her current living situation immediately. She did not know how she was going to pay for everything. I told her I would try to get her the best possible deal.  I found her an inexpensive unit that included the first month for rent free of charge. She only had to come up with about twenty five dollars to get moved in to a large unit. That just made it that much easier for her to pay for a few other things that were greatly needed. She was so happy she was crying.

Sometimes when a customer calls in they have a situation that they do not know how to solve. With that said, some property managers actually become counselors because they are there to listen, help and make suggestions for the customer. When the customer realizes that the property manager knows what they are talking about, they will be more than happy to take their advice and their suggestions. Usually you will find that the customer will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Property managers have helped so many people in the self storage industry not just with self storage, but also with their situation. It would seem as if most self storage property managers are self storage counselors.

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AUSTIN, Texas – Jun. 21, 2011 – SpareFoot, the online self-storage marketplace, launched a unique project and blog series called Adventures In Storage, designed to familiarize employees with their product in the most entertaining way possible. The new mixed-media “reality series” documents the start-up’s 18 employees as they experience the process of renting and moving into and out of self-storage units.

CEO Chuck Gordon coordinated the nine-week project, in which duos of employees moved a growing pile of possessions from one storage facility to the next around Austin, adding their own creative items for the next teams to discover and move. Each duo was responsible for finding storage near one teammate’s home, with or without the help of the company’s own self-storage finder site.

All employees – from developers to salespeople to marketers – booked units, signed leases, obtained locks and optionally rented trucks to cart the pile around town. Moving forward, every new employee to join the SpareFoot team will pick up where things left off and complete the task themselves.

The idea sprang from Gordon’s realization that most SpareFoot team members had never personally used self-storage, but he wanted them to understand the challenges storage customers face. He hopes Adventures In Storage inspires improvements to SpareFoot’s website that will make finding, reserving and executing self-storage easier than ever for everyone.

“To speak intelligently about anything related to the consumer experience, everyone at SpareFoot should have personal experience renting a storage unit,” Gordon said. “Everyone will learn what it really means to rent storage, and see how much of a pain it is. This should help guide everything we do to make the process easier for consumers.”

The project was documented through filmed interviews with each duo at SpareFoot’s office, and some scrappy video footage taken at the storage facilities. Weekly blog posts will unfold the story in a narrative style similar to that of a typical TV reality series. A short video, featuring interviews and photos, will accompany each written post. New blog “episodes” are released every Monday for nine weeks at 6 p.m. CST, starting June 20.

In tandem with the June 1 release of a teaser trailer for Adventures In Storage, SpareFoot is running a social media contest whereby the first three people to correctly guess one item in the final storage unit win $100. All in all, the series should reveal a lot about how a fun high-tech start-up staffed by a team of smart, nerdy personalities operates. It will also be an experiment in pushing the social media reach of a niche industry. Follow along on Twitter @SpareFoot with hash tag #adventuresinstorage.

About SpareFoot:

SpareFoot is the leading online marketplace for self-storage. With more than 5,000 self-storage facilities listed nationwide, SpareFoot offers consumers the most complete comparison shopping experience in the storage industry. Across multiple properties including SpareFoot.com, SelfStorage.com, Apartments.com and many others, SpareFoot helps storage facility operators find new tenants— all through an entirely pay-for-performance model. SpareFoot is backed by Silverton Partners, FLOODGATE and Capital Factory. For more information, please visit http://www.sparefoot.com

Sparefoot Adventures In Storage Teaser.

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There are many ways to store a car. To find out what would be the best option for you depends on a lot of different factors. If you are looking to store a nice car in the winter or in the summer where there are a lot of bad storms, then you will probably want to get an inside space so that it is protected from the elements. If you do not car about all of that, outside spaces are going to be a lot cheaper. As always, you have some choices to make. Depending on the area in which you live, you might be limited to a couple of options.

For most people when they are trying to find somewhere to park their car, they know that right now they are storing it in their driveway instead of some sort of covered offering. Naturally they would like their car covered in some way that’s why they are looking at getting a self storage unit. As stated earlier, depending on how they appreciate their car and the value of it, they need to decide between inside storage and outside storage. If the facility that is closest to you offers those options, they will give you the choice.

When you ask the self storage manager questions about inside car storage or outside car storage they will automatically gravitate to the inside storage units. They are more costly and thus making the store more money. In the same thought, inside car storage will protect your car against the weather conditions. Depending on your area, inside car storage can set you back some money monthly.

There are many reasons that people use car storage but one of the biggest ones is that they are using their garage as a storage unit. Thus there is not any more room for the car. It could be in the shopper’s best interests to put all of the belongings they have stored in their garage into storage. They can sometimes get a smaller space and cost them less money than storing their car. For the most part people would like to keep those things they are storing in the garage close to them and maybe able to do without their second or third car.

Car storage is very simple and all you need to do is ask the facility manager what is needed in order to store. They will tell you that you need to have insurance on the car and that it needs to be registered in your name. Other things the facility will tell you are that you can not do mechanical work on the car and the body of the car needs to be in good shape. The facility does not want their lot to look like a junk yard. Ask the facility manager many questions before storing your car there so there is no confusion on the rules and regulations of storing your car there.

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Franklin Park self storage places in Illinois are very close to Chicago.  They are close to an airport, and by the way, it is one of the busiest airports in the world and is home to great places to eat.  The subway runs through this town so it is very easy to ride downtown Chicago.  We did it all the time while our stuff was in a Franklin Park self storage place.  We had just moved here, from Florida and we were excited to see things.  We went to the museums but the first place we went to was the Brookfield zoo.  This is a great zoo that takes you places that are great to see and feel.  The rainforest exhibit was named one of the best in the country and it is truly a great place to see animals in a great natural setting.  It looks like a real rainforest, and it even rains once in awhile, we are sure it is times but we did not time it, but we think it rained around every fifteen minutes.  The exotic monkeys were great to look at and the gorillas with a new baby gorilla were also great to look and watch them play and interact with each other.  WE liked trying to look in their eyes, and they would look back and we would wonder what they were thinking as they looked at us.  We love animals and seeing these great creatures so up close is a great thrill.

Franklin Park self storage places in Illinois are close to the airport.  This means there are a lot of hotels close by and great places to eat.  Even the hot-dogs taste great here as they are lovingly cooked and prepared.  Hot dogs are special here and the whole city of Chicago and most of the suburbs take great pride in cooking and preparing hot dogs here.  The Chicago dog is a hot dog with peppers on it, a tomato, mustard and a pickle.  There is no ketchup on a Chicago dog, and do not ask for some either.  Many places in Chicago and suburbs, take offense to this question.  Polish dogs are great too.  They are not really hot dogs but Polish sausage in bread.  They are good let us tell you.  We love the hot dogs in Chicago and they are always worth eating them. There are a few great famous hot dog eateries here, so go see one.

Franklin Park self storage places in Illinois are near Chicago.  Chicago is known for many things and food is one of them.  Most places to eat in this great city are pretty good.  Steak houses are fantastic, some are rather expensive, too, but what the heck, go for it.  Eat a great steak at a great place and enjoy the whole vibe.  Chicago has places to eat at that are very cutting edge too.  These new places pop up all the time as the trendy people go from one place to another, and by word of mouth, this place is now the in place to be.  Do not get us wrong though, these places have great food too.  Chicago wants great food, including great pizza and great steaks.  There are great pork chops here too and, wait are we hungry yet?

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Northland Kansas City storage is in a very good location serving all its customers.  Storage has become big business in America as people buy more belongings, more stuff and move more.  The average family in America a few years ago by reports and statistics, moves every three years.  That is a lot of moving.  All the moving takes a lot of storage and a lot of moving trucks.

Why we move so much is debatable, I guess.  One reason is all these dot com companies that hire people all the time that quit for greener pastures and chasing the best companies and the best paychecks.  Northland Kansas City storage is not a hotbed for this type of consumer, but has seen their share.  People move back and forth from Kansas City quite often keeping the Northland Kansas City storage places busy indeed.  When the economy went south recently, people must move where the jobs are, and must move their things to and must find storage in between spots.

Moving is often stressful and managers of these Northland Kansas City storage places must be almost like bartenders listening to people’s problems and why they are moving.  Divorce causes a lot of moves and a lot of stress too.  Death in the family can cause people to need storage and move too.  A very mobile society needs storage too.  College kids need storage as well as senior citizens leaving their homes to smaller places to live.  Business needs storage for inventory.  Sometimes it beats building a warehouse.  Churches and boy scouts store things.  Your neighbors might have storage to keep all their extra stuff in.  Pharmaceutical reps use storage often to store their inventory.  Vending machines, pinball machines, poker machines, slot machines are all stored in these facilities.  Cars and boats are stored too.  Jet skies and other big recreational items fit nicely in storage space too.  Many neighborhoods will not let you put a boat in your driveway or on the street.  They are eyesores we guess or just more rules and laws.  Whatever the case, storage facilities make money storing these things.

Most of the new storage facilities are climate controlled meaning the temperature is controlled.  The storage units are warm in the winter and cooler in the summer.  This is great for furniture and computers or records and cds.  It is also great for moving in your stuff or using your storage space to work in which some people do.  In Key West, for example, people would sand their boats sometimes all day in their storage units.  I saw an airplane in one storage unit.  It was a homemade kit kind of plane, a glider or something like that.  It is very hot in Key West and a little climate control relief is a very good thing indeed.  One thing though is always cover your mattresses if you store them.  They get bad very easy and germs and bacteria grow on them and in them.  People can get very sick from them.  Managers of storage facilities throw out many mattresses.  Glass breaks too and never store family photos.  You may never see them again if you cannot pay your bills.

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We got the word we were being transferred to Kansas City.  It was quite the shock, but in a way, we saw it coming.  We knew a little about Kansas City, like the football team and baseball team, and the song going to Kansas City, but that was about it.

We had a lot of planning to do and we needed a Kansas City storage facility to use.  The internet makes everything easier, we found a Storagemart facility on the web, and the plans started.  We needed a truck, a big truck to load our three-bedroom house.  The websites helped us with everything including the prices and the size of storage we needed.  We got good deals on both, so far even though our company would pay for the move; we wanted to experience the whole thing ourselves.  We would drive the big truck across the country, pack ourselves and get the kids into the car.  The pets too are coming and goodbyes are everywhere.

The Kansas City storage website was great and we even knew how many boxes to buy for our stuff.  We had lots of stuff and little time to throw away what we did not need, we thought.  No toys made it to the trash.  They were all important.  The house sold and we were off to a new job and a new way of life.  We would have to become Kansas City Chief Fans we thought, but that would be the easy part.  Driving a big thirty-foot truck is the hard part, especially in traffic.  The wife, kids followed behind, and we would take turns in the truck.  The open road was fine, but when traffic hit in big cities it was a little nerve-racking.  Thank goodness, we had an automatic transmission to drive.  Those big hills looked daunting with a clutch.

Well, of course, we made it and the Kansas City storage facility owned by Storagemart was great and ready for us.  Everything fit inside and we could finally relax in our hotel room after we walked the dog and ate.  It was good and the sites in Kansas City were starting to look better.  There are casinos here too, we smiled, and a big city has big city things to do and see.  Branson being close too is nice, we never had been there before, but we do like country music.  Our son like fast cars and go-carts are fast in Missouri, he was glad to hear.  Jazz, blues, music, lakes, hunting, fishing, and museums are all here too.  We miss our friends of course, but change is sometimes good and a new position and promotion will help the family.  We are in the show me state now, so let us see what we can see.  Snow should be fun too; our kids have never seen it up close and personal.  All in the entire move was not too bad, and the missed friends will become new friends here, and we move on with life in a new state and a new home.  Like the song says, I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come.

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The first time one heard of Minnetonka, Minnesota for most of us was in a movie about Prince called Purple Rain.  He made someone jump in it for some kind of ceremony.  Her name was Apollonia or something like that but the movie is old and Prince has changed his name many times since.

The great American Mall is what most people know about Minnesota and that makes sense.  People take vacations to Minnesota just to see the mall.  A winter vacation sounds like a good idea if one just stays in the mall and avoids the cold weather.  You can stick your belongings in the Minnetonka storage facility owned by the great American company Storagemart if you happen to buy a week’s worth of products at the mall.  Going to a mall for a whole week and not buying anything would be a very peculiar thing to achieve.  I wonder how many people could do that unless you were broke.  Vacations can make you broke.

Moving can be very expensive too.  Trucks, boxes, gas, and all the time it takes to do it can be very stressful.  The planning alone could take months and even years.  The Minnetonka storage facility can help families with all that and ease the stress.

Malls can be stressful too though for those of us who would rather do something else than shop.  They have a lot of shoes in that mall don’t they?  They have a lot of clothes in that mall too don’t they?

Maybe spending time with all the tools in Minnetonka storage is better.  Tools are comforting.  The storage space I have gives me room to move around in to look at things like my tools.

Some people use every inch of space of their storage space and save money.  They open the roll up doors and things spill out in the hallway.  The Minnetonka storage facility has a whole lot of options to choose from so choose the right size for you.  So many people move to Minnesota for all the things it has to offer like great hunting and fishing and all the great outdoor activities.

The Vikings have a great history here.  We are talking about the football team not the real Vikings like Eric the Red or others.  One can walk from building to building in some places to avoid the bitter cold at times.  Many people like the winter because of winter activities.  Hockey is a great sport as well as ice fishing and ice-skating.  Snowmobiles are a blast to ride or drive.

The uninterrupted snow is beautiful to make a path through, and the hot coco afterwards is great too.  Snowmobiles can be stored too in Storagemart facilities and all the other winter things one needs to play in the great outdoors.  You could be remiss though, if you do not see the mall, even if you do not spend all day there.  Buy some ice skates there or a hockey stick than store them in Minnetonka storage until needed.  Get outside than and skate around without loosing your toes to frostbite.  The skating will warm you up enough though, so do not be afraid all my warm weather friends from Texas or Florida.  You will like the cold, the snow, and the ice.

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When a potential Midtown Kansas City self storage customer phones you, you should know all of the information that they will need to rent the space. There are some mistakes that you can make that will give your company a bad image. Knowing the mistakes before they happen can help you avoid them in the future and save yourself a lot of time and trouble. Many sites in Missouri do not focus when they are on the phone. They are trying to do too many things at once. To be a successful Midtown Kansas City self storage company, you will need to focus on one customer at a time. This will help avoid a lot of careless, preventable mistakes.

It is important to schedule a time for the Midtown Kansas City self storage caller to come in to rent the space. A lot of storage salespeople get excited when they get a reservation or schedule a site visit and they forget to schedule a time. You will usually tell the caller the access hours when they call in. This could be mistaken for store hours if you do not make it clear what the difference is to the customer. They may show up after hours expecting to rent a space only to find that your office is enclosed. This could cost you a customer and a lot of revenue at the same time. If you schedule an approximate time for them to come in, you will avoid this problem.

People are busy in Missouri so they may be running a little bit late when they come in to rent a space. You should schedule appointment no later than thirty minutes before close. This is important for a couple of reasons. This will ensure that they will have plenty of time to get paperwork done without people in a rush. This will also give a little extra time just in case they are stuck in traffic.

Some Midtown Kansas City self storage employees do not factor in holiday hours when setting up appointments. At the beginning of each month you should take time to go over what holidays are coming up that month so that you are able to avoid scheduling appointments for that day. When people need storage, they are usually on a strict schedule so setting them back a day may lose that customer.

Knowing your hours for specific days is also important. Some Midtown Kansas City self storage sites may have a day or two where they close early. Pay attention on the call so you do not schedule afternoon appointments on those days.

You should also go over everything they need to know so there are no surprised when they come in to rent. There is more to the storage cost than just the monthly rent. You know this, but the caller probably does not. Assume that they do not when they call in and go over everything they will need when they come in. Cash customers need to know the total they need to bring. Not everyone uses a debit or credit card. Everyone needs to bring in a photo id when they rent. These are simple things that will prevent the customer from making multiple trips to your facility. Multiple trips can cost you storage customers, as well because some are not patient.

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There is a lot that goes into running a great Lyndhurst self storage company. Many companies in New Jersey do a lot of things right, but fail because they neglect something very simple. One thing that causes Lyndhurst self storage companies to fail is taxes. There are always new tax laws and regulations added so it is hard for storage owners to keep up with everything. Some owners make the mistake of waiting until the end of the year to deal with a lot of tax related things. This is not something that you want to procrastinate on.

Some owners are great at running a Lyndhurst self storage company from a customer service standpoint. You can have the happiest customers in the world, but that will not ensure that you are doing everything right on the paperwork side of the business. You need to make sure that you are saving all of your storage documents that you need to throughout the year. The reality for most Lyndhurst self storage companies is that they will be audited by the state of New Jersey and the federal government at some point.

It is important to get a good accountant so that you can run your business the right way from the start. Get an accountant before you even open your business. This will make sure that you do not miss anything. The accountant office will be responsible if you do something wrong. You should spend a lot of time finding a good accountant that you trust to handle the tax side of your Lyndhurst self storage business operation.

A good accountant will save you a lot of time and money. There are a lot of deductions that you will be able to make to save money on your overall tax burden. There are also a lot of deductions that you will not be allowed to make so it is important to have an accountant that knows what you can and cannot deduct.

Some storage sites try to save money by only hiring an accountant around tax time. It would be better to hire an accountant year around so that you do not miss anything throughout the year. Most accountants will agree to a modest monthly fee so that you do not need to spend any money that you do not have to.

It is great to hire an accountant just to make sure that everything is organized. You may want to consider hiring someone that works for your company to ensure that someone is always double checking to make sure that the best decisions are being made for your company. A good accountant can even make a mistake every now and again. As an owner of storage properties, you already know that mistakes can cost thousands and not hundreds of dollars.

With all the paperwork that you will need to keep and organize just in case you get audited, you may find that you do not have enough room in your office for all of the necessary paperwork. The good news is that you own a storage facility and you can just use one of your open storage units for your own storage needs. You will want to develop a system for organization from the start so that you are able to retrieve important documents when you need them.

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