Mark Helm, Author at Creating Wealth Through Self Storage

Vendors Can Make or Break You Today

by Mark Helm | May 22, 2026 | Buy Self Storage

There has never been a moment in self-storage history where the gap between well-chosen vendors and poorly chosen ones mattered more than it does today. We are currently choosing our vendors for a new brand and have discovered one thing… Vendors today can make or...

The New World of GSO and How It Applies To Your Self Storage Business

by Mark Helm | May 8, 2026 | Buy Self Storage

Although you may be tired of hearing about AI and how it applies to your self-storage business, the AI hole is only getting deeper. If you haven’t already, it’s now time to embrace it and begin to understand how it is currently affecting your marketing, operations,...

Rethinking the Millennial Customer – A Force of Nature for Self-Storage

by Mark Helm | Apr 24, 2026 | Buy Self Storage

In the most recent ISS expo I attended, once again I saw that Millennials have become 20% plus of self-storage customers, up from about 16% a year ago. I remember some of the stereotypes many had a few years ago about the millennial generation: Avocado toast and $7...

Self-Storage Myth Number 2: REITs Outperform Small Self-Storage Owners

by Mark Helm | Apr 17, 2026 | Buy Self Storage

I hear partners, people I coach, and investors ask the question, “How can a smaller independent owner compete today with REITs or a big institutional player today? They have a lot more money and people, and their cost of capital is so low.” Valid question, but the...

The Square Foot per Capita Myth

by Mark Helm | Apr 3, 2026 | Buy Self Storage

It’s time to talk about square foot per capita again. I have run into more and more issues with that metric and think it is time to permanently interrupt the myth that still pervades our industry. That myth is: You can get a clear picture of supply/demand in a trade...