Business Storage Solutions: How Self Storage Can Benefit Your SME
Humble Beginnings
Maybe it started in the spare room, the shed or even at the kitchen table. Maybe you’ve found yourself some office space, or a shop unit.
Wherever your small business calls home, we wish you success.
Who needs storage space? We all do!
There are all sorts of businesses who need space to store the tools of their trade, and keep them organised for whenever they’re needed – for example, retailers and eCommerce stores for stock; building contractors for tools and equipment; restaurants and caterers for hospitality equipment.
How about somewhere for archive and file storage, or merchandise and promotional material? Seasonal decorations, unused furniture and equipment – everything’s got to go somewhere, right?
Maybe your need for space is temporary, or seasonal, or you’re moving to a new premises or expanding – go you!
Whatever your need, the likelihood is that your small office, or retail outlet, or van – or wherever you’ve set up probably won’t cut the storage mustard. In that case, a self-storage unit for a small business is a no-brainer.
Let’s take a look at some of your small business storage problems, and see just how self-storage can solve them:
Space
Stock, equipment, supplies, products. If you haven’t got these at hand when you need them, you’re not going to have them when your customers or clients need you, meaning that they may take their business somewhere else.
Get your house in order with a unit where you can store everything you need from stock deliveries, to specialist tools and equipment, to display units, to … well whatever you’ve got, really. And when that customer or client asks for something specific? You’re all set to reply; “I’ve got just the thing!”
Stock Horror!
Limited storage can lead to inventory chaos. This, in turn, can lead to under- or over- supply, or in- and off-season stock getting mixed up, or just a complete and total logistical nightmare.
Manage your stock by keeping it clearly organised and accessible in a self-storage unit. You can keep track of what’s on sale and what’s not, and have space to store excess merchandise plus it’s all to hand whenever you need it.
All About The Money
Rent, overheads and rates are expensive enough for the business space you absolutely need – if you’re paying through the nose to include additional on-site storage space that could be too big or too small, then that’s going to eat into profit margins.
Self-Storage rates are surprisingly affordable, and you can rent the exact size you need, for as long as you need it. Check it out – you could be pleasantly surprised that what you save in overheads leaves you a bigger chunk of the financial pie for your main operational location – and even some profit too!
Signed Sealed, Delivered …
Your traditional commercial lease is ironclad and unbreakable. Good, yes? Not if you need more or less space. Inflexibility can be a liability if your business circumstances change for any reason.
When you’re working with a professional self-storage company, you can look at contracts for only as long as you need, at times of the year that suit best. Less signed-in-blood, more go-with-the-flow.
Health and Safety
Every business, of every nature, has to comply with certain rules and regulations to keep their staff safe. If you’ve got limited space, trip-hazard boxes everywhere, and Mary in accounts currently cowering behind a teetering tower of sale stock that won’t fit anywhere else, then that’s a problem.
Imagine putting all of the clutter away where it can’t be tripped over, trodden on, go on fire or be destroyed by accidental tea spillage? The health and safety of you, your staff and your stuff is paramount after all!
Compact and Bijou
So, the launch merch has been delivered early and in order to fit everyone and everything in, Reception’s moved to the kitchen and Bob’s sharing a desk with Joe and Barbara, while poor Tim’s getting hit by a gale every time the front door opens. Productivity, collaboration and good office relations are at rockbottom and nothing’s getting done because all everyone can think of is how cluttered and uncomfortable they are.
Picture the scene – store all that stuff and then everyone’s back in their rightful space, feeling comfortable and much more inclined toward productivity. There’s room for brainstorming and ideas and also privacy for those important conversations. Aaaand breathe.
Safe and Sound
Those new tools will be grand in the van overnight, right? And that single lock on the shop door with all the new inventory inside? Well no one’s broken in before, have they? And what do you mean that stack of papers is a fire hazard?
You get the drift, right? You never know the time or the place that something’s going to go wrong and, particularly if it’s after hours, there’s not much you can do about it.
24-hour monitored units, locks accessible only to one person, biometrics, alarms, CCTV, fire-safety – with self-storage your belongings couldn’t be safer, and those risks to your business and livelihood? All but eliminated.
In The Short Term
You don’t actually need storage. Well, you do – but not all the time. Your business could be seasonal, or pop-up, or what about if you’re having some renovations done and you need to keep things safe while the painters and decorators are in? How about if you’re moving and you need to keep everything safe while you transfer operations from A to B?
Look into using an appropriately sized unit to stash that stock in September for your Christmas stall, or in March for the Midsummer Madness.
As for computers, kitchen appliances, chairs, filing cabinets – keep them all out of the way safely until you’re ready to carry them over the threshold of your new place, or until the builders are done.
When you use self-storage in business you’re not just getting yourself extra space. You’re giving yourself the gift of convenience, breathing space and possibility.
“Unlock the freedom of extra space. Get in touch with Storage World today or get a quote online.”
