Most of the stuff we put in self-storage is pretty pedestrian: Bed frames, unused furniture and boxes of magazines probably make up the majority of storage units in America. Who would have known that in Europe, self-storage has evolved into a place where millions of dollars worth of art and collectibles are being stored?
If you’ve seen Toy Story, or any variation of a moving away story made by Disney/Pixar/Nickelodeon/etc. – yes, Homeward Bound counts – then you know that inevitably, you always leave something behind when you move away. When you’re young, your Buzz Lightyears and Mr. Potatoheads are the most important things in the world (alternatively, maybe you had a Chance or Sassy that you loved more than life). You simply couldn’t imagine a future without them. “Mom, did you check to make sure we packed my Barbie and my Beanie Baby?”
The $22 billion self-storage industry is a hidden giant among us. You probably drive past at least one storage facility on your daily commute, with or without realizing it. They’re everywhere, but you don’t notice because self-storage is boring— a boring goldmine, that is. It’s one of the fastest-growing sectors of commercial real estate, with the amount of storage space in the U.S. doubling to 2 billion square feet in a mere five years from 2000-2005.
by Justin Lee, The Square Foot (unaffiliated real estate startup)
So you’ve signed an office lease on a new hub for your business. Tip of the cap to you, because that’s no easy feat. Hopefully you didn’t procrastinate and went through the proper steps on your way to finding the perfect space for your business. Now comes the really fun part— moving. It’s universally considered one of the worst activities known to man, yet we all have to go through it, whether it’s to a new home or new place of business. We can’t tell you we can magically make relocating your business fun, but we can give you a few tips on how to make it as painless as possible. Follow these five basic tips to guarantee a smoother transition.
The U.S. green movement has been a rollercoaster of support, progress, opposition and steps backward. So what’s really going on right now? Studies have shown the growth of green initiatives, from alternative energy to sustainable building, has been almost stagnant since last year. The unstable economy has pressured many American businesses to tighten their purses and take a conservative, skeptical approach to implementing green initiatives in their operations. While working toward energy conservation means a more sustainable business and can lower long-term costs, financial payoff won’t necessarily come along for years, sometimes decades.
If you’re an independent artist, you’re familiar with the difficulties of finding a place to work. Quiet, dedicated studios for artists are on the decline as properties trend toward live-work development, cooperatives, or just plain overpriced studio spaces. So where can you go to make art in peace? The answer might lie in your friendly neighborhood self-storage facility. → Keep Reading
Multi-instrumentalist Dave Gironda, Jr. (pictured on right) recently moved to Austin, but speaks fondly of his hometown Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix’s relatively unsung music scene is the birthplace of Dave’s band, The Whisperlights, whose fluctuating membership ensures the music is always evolving.
Happy Earth Day, friends. To celebrate, we’ve compiled a list of ways to make the self-storage experience as environmentally friendly as possible. The storage industry is actually inherently greener than many others that utilize commercial buildings. Storage facilities are made of steel, which is a recyclable material. Facility offices produce less waste, as fewer employees are needed to maintain operations. And because storage units and lockers are not accessed very frequently, they use little energy— especially those that don’t offer climate-controlled self-storage.
Everyone knows that people aren’t allowed to live in self storage units— and if you didn’t already know that, you do now. But does the same necessarily go for using your self-storage rental as a workspace? Interestingly enough, there are self-storage rental companies that offer units designed specifically to operate as workspaces. These units are priced higher than standard storage units, and are intended for commercial use. But why would you want to rent office space at a self-storage facility? Here are the top three reasons why this might just be a great idea:
Business owners these days have to have sharp instincts in order to survive the tough economy. This is no big piece of news, but the fact that some have actually taken to utilizing self-storage facilities to accomplish this aim is. So why should you rent self-storage space for your business?
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