OK… I have said before our industry is evolving fast, but now I really mean it.
I can remember when I met the first person I ever knew in the self storage business. It was an Acquisition Director for a REIT in the mid-1990’s.
He told me self storage was a boring industry, and the last innovation was climate-controlled space, and not much ever changes in the business.
Fast forward 25 years, and that is not the case.
In fact, it is the complete opposite. How we do business today is vastly different than how we did business five years ago.
And nothing has been a game-changer in our business like the last year.
On-Going Education
In my opinion, it does not matter where you are in the evolution of your self storage business; education and being exposed to how other people are doing business are key.
You can be getting in self storage or a seasoned professional. It does not matter. I truly think going to at least one convention this year, even if it has to be virtually (although in person is better), is critical.
The industry is evolving exponentially fast now, and the larger institutional players are becoming very sophisticated in how they find deals, run their facilities, and market their space.
As small investors, I believe that to stay relevant, we need to keep up and figure out how to outplay them. We have advantages they don’t, and I have found out many of them at these conventions.
We can move quickly, change tactics, test, and then scale when we find something that works much faster than a large company.
Even the aspect of competing with the larger players I feared most, online marketing, I have seen small investors beat the REITs at their own game.
My fear has always been that REITs have so much money they can throw at add words and online marketing, we as small investors, can’t compete effectively with them.
I had a friend in the business in a market dominated by a REIT ask me, “Why can’t I beat them at online marketing?”
With his project in lease-up, his cost per click is lower than theirs, and he is out-performing them in virtually all of the key metrics we track.
I once again learned the biggest limitation to life and business is our own thinking.
We are taking large competitors to head on now in our online marketing in different markets and holding our own with them.
Perhaps you could go to a convention this year with one of your goals to be figuring out how to up your online marketing presence.
Relationships
I believe that no matter how high-tech and no-touch our business gets, at the end of the day, relationships are what will make the difference in our success.
As Tony Robbins says, “proximity is power.”
Almost every relationship I have with vendors and leaders in the industry, I developed at the conventions.
I go by their booths, meet them, see what they have to offer, learn what others are doing, and find different and better solutions to what and how we run our business.
I have found everything from better light packages, to how to restore doors, to how to improve my online marketing, to how to be more relevant on social media and on and on.
How You Can Show Up At A Convention
I suggest going to a convention with one or two goals in mind on how to improve your facility or business, then be open to one or two more surprise ways to improve your business you were not expecting.
That is how I show up, wanting to learn something specific and expecting to learn something I didn’t know much about before.
The Inside Convention is coming up in Las Vegas this July 13th through 16th. I will be there doing a little teaching, running a booth, and doing a lot of learning. More information about it is here .
I also go to the Self Storage Association in Vegas from Sept. 7th to 10.
Given the last year, how much things have changed in the industry, I think we must stay up on industry trends, education, and relationship development, and at least for myself, these conventions are the best place to do just that.
If you see me there, feel free to come up and say something about how you are doing as you get in or grow your business. This is the best business there is for small investors, and I hope to meet you somewhere on the road.
Perhaps this year at a convention.
