A lot of people don’t often think of business owners when they think of storage units. Instead, they picture self-storage as a place to put their currently unused things or store large items during a family move. While these are all great reasons for utilizing extra storage, there are a number of other reasons as well.
One of these is for the benefit of small businesses. Renting out a storage unit as a small business owner can decrease costs, increase efficiency and all around make your life easier. If you, or someone you know, is a small business owner, read on to find out how renting a commercial storage unit can help you today.
Decreased Overhead
A lot of small businesses may be confused as to how paying a monthly fee for a storage unit can actually decrease their overhead and keep costs down. Well, it’s true. This is because a lot of small businesses searching for a location that is both affordable and the perfect size are going to have a hard time.
They want their store to be large, but can’t always afford costs at the beginning. Luckily, maintaining a small storefront doesn’t mean you’ll have less room to work with. When you rent an off-site storage unit, you’ll be able to store all of your non-needed essentials completely out of sight and out of the way. This will give you much more usable space in your starting location.
When you utilize commercial storage rather than finding a larger storefront, you can keep the costs low. It is much more affordable to rent out a unit than it is to pay a large monthly lease. The Lock Up Self Storage offers a range of different sizes for all sorts of small businesses.
Increased Efficiency
Small, cluttered places are hard to work in. Especially when there’s more than one person around. With an additional place to put all of your small business items that aren’t used on a daily basis, you’ll be able to free up space in your storefront. With more usable space, and less clutter, you and your employees will be able to work more efficiently. Plus, we bet your customers will thank you.
Increased Security
Another added benefit for maintaining a commercial storage space is increased security. Small businesses can keep important documents or expensive items in their storage unit, which includes strong security features in their monthly rent. This decreases the chance of anything getting lost or stolen at your store. At The Lock Up Self Storage, all of our commercial storage units feature security-controlled gate access as well as electronic coded access. The lots are also equipped with motion-sensitive lighting and 24-hour camera monitoring with a perimeter alarm to make sure that your assets are well protected.
Convenient and Flexible
Having a commercial storage space for your small business will also increase your levels of convenience and flexibility. With flexible lease terms, you only need to pay for what you need when you need it. As your business grows, you can easily update your unit’s lease and have room for the growth that you’re experiencing.
Industry Specific Benefits
While just about any business can benefit from renting a commercial storage unit, let’s take a look at a few specific circumstances.
Office Use
If your small business runs out of an office, a commercial storage unit is perfect. This is because every office inevitably comes hand-in-hand with giant stacks of paperwork, records and files. Everything from client files, HR paperwork and even employee documents builds up fast. Even with a lot of files merging into electronic documents, there are still people that prefer paper. Get all of your unneeded paperwork out of the office and into a climate-controlled storage unit. All you need to do is take some time to organize everything into an easy to find system and shut your door. Whenever you need something, simply pop on over to your unit and grab it.
Commercial storage units are also a great idea if you’re looking to expand a current home office. This is perfect for people who work from home and want to make sure that their work-life balance is kept separate. It’s easy, affordable and the perfect way to ensure that your work doesn’t overflow onto your family.
Landscaping, Construction and Mechanics
It’s no secret that jobs in these industries have a lot of equipment. Even if you’re a small 
business owner in one of these fields, you’ll still need to obtain a good amount of equipment to get your business off the ground. However, finding a place to keep this stuff can be a headache. That’s why a commercial storage unit is the perfect solution. When you rent one, you might not even need to lease a storefront in order to start your business. If you can successfully market to clients online or throughout your neighborhood, then all you need is your equipment, a storage unit and transportation.
When your company starts growing, you can store extra equipment or equipment that might need fixing. Since equipment for these jobs are costly investments, storing them professionally will ensure that they are safe from the hands of thieves.
Painting and Roofing
Similar to the fields above, painting and roofing companies have a lot of equipment… it’s just smaller. Regardless of size, it still takes up a ton of room. Additionally, a lot of the materials for these lines of work are sensitive to fluctuations in climate – think about how disappointing it is to open a can of paint that’s been sitting in garage heat all summer!
Retail
There are a lot of things that a retail storefront needs to do in order to be successful. With all of the marketing supplies used in order to change out displays, advertise at events and maintain brand loyalty, a commercial storage space is the perfect solution. Keep your investments safe in a secure, climate-controlled unit and you can focus on growing your business without things getting damaged.
When it comes to retail, there seems to be a certain rhythm that every store goes through. This is mainly in reference to seasonal items and fluctuating trends in the market. When you have an overflow of these types of things, it’s best to store them off-site in a commercial storage unit. This way, you have a place to keep things that aren’t currently on the market or extra supplies of what’s selling quickly. A lot of small business retail storefronts just don’t have the room to keep this kind of quantity in their backrooms, so make sure and keep a backup in your unit.
eCommerce
eCommerce is on the rise as a great way to start a small business. Since everything is done online, you won’t have a storefront to display and store the bulk of your inventory. This means that renting a commercial storage unit is almost essential. Having a unit will keep things safe and undamaged until they reach the customer, which will help build your reputation and brand. If you keep things in your home you risk them getting damaged and essentially, losing profit. Plus, the climate-controlled units are perfect for electronics or other temperature sensitive items.
Why Not Just Rent a Trailer?
Some businesses use mobile trailers in order to haul around their extra equipment with them. As they go from one job to the next, they not only need to bring what they need but they end up bringing along everything they don’t need too. The added weight of the trailer decreases fuel efficiency and can turn things into a much bigger hassle than they need to be. Storing these extra things in a commercial storage unit is a much better way to approach this problem. A unit will help you avoid zoning laws, street break-ins and added delivery fees. Plus, you can change your storage unit location as your larger jobs change.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re a small business that is just starting your marketing efforts or a business that has been around for years, a commercial storage unit is the perfect addition to your company. It will give you more usable space, decrease your overall costs and allow your company to work at maximum efficiency. At The Lock Up Self Storage, we understand that every business has different needs – including storage needs. That’s why we’re proud to offer a myriad of different commercial storage unit sizes with flexible lease terms. We make it easy for your business to grow and expand by allowing you to only pay for what you need. All of our units are climate controlled and come with advanced security features so that you can rest easy. Head over to www.thelockup.com and browse the units available in your area today.
