Run it well
This section is for people running a facility day to day, or about to. It suits a new owner preparing to open and an experienced manager tightening routines. It also suits an owner deciding how much of the work to do personally.
Running a facility well is a set of habits. Rents go out on time, rates get reviewed, gates and cameras work, and someone answers the phone. These guides break that work into checklists and simple methods you can adapt to your site.
New owners should start with the opening checklist. It covers the 90 days before you open. Then read setting rental rates for a new facility and how many staff you need. The security basics guide covers gates, cameras, lighting and locks.
Each guide gives a method rather than a market number. Your rates, wages and staffing depend on your town and your site. Where we use figures, they are either cited or clearly marked as example inputs, so you can swap in your own.
Guides
Run it well
Opening checklist: the 90 days before you open
A 90-day checklist for opening a self storage facility: software, payments, insurance, staff, pre-leasing, walkthroughs and the first 30 days.
Run it well
How many staff a self storage facility needs
How to work out staffing for a self storage facility from office hours and tasks, with wage-hour rules, pay data sources and a worked example.
Run it well
Setting rental rates for a new facility
A method for setting opening rental rates at a new self storage facility: competitor survey, break-even check, rate card and lease-up changes.
Run it well
Self storage security basics: gates, cameras, lighting, locks
Practical self storage security for independent operators: perimeter, gate access, cameras, lighting, unit locks, daily routines and protecting tenant data.