The real estate industry represents the hope of making it big and becoming wealthy. Lots of people are angling for the promised land of making great, highly profitable investments and reaping the rewards. Managing your own self-storage facility is one way to reach that goal.
Owning and operating a self-storage facility is very much in demand by the real-estate-ambitious crowd. Self-storage facilities are relatively easy to own and operate, and profits are relatively high. Moreover, it is rather “shock-proof” to everything that rocks the economy (recession, etc.).
So, is being a full-time self-storage facility manager lucrative? What does it take to be a successful property manager? Let’s address some of these concerns together, shall we?
How Much Does a Storage Facility Manager Make?
Regardless of the size of the self-storage facility, you can expect roughly a 30 percent return on the amount you have invested in the property. Indeed, this is a remarkably high-profit margin compared to other forms of investment, both within the real estate industry as well as in other sectors of the economy.
What Does a Storage Facility Manager Do?
Customer service, overseeing security and maintenance are among the primary tasks of a self-storage facility manager. They need to present the facility to potential customers and describe the terms, services, prices, etc. They need to sign contracts, oversee the moving of stuff into storage units, and make sure the possessions of their customers remain safe, sound, intact, etc. Moreover, they need to run a thorough and consistent upkeep routine to assure the stored materials are unharmed and also install/supervise a security system to protect the stored goods from any crime.
How to Be a Good Self Storage Manager
Have Larger-than-Life People Skills
Self-storage facilities flourish in residential communities, and usually what makes or breaks them is whether they get good word-of-mouth recommendations or not. Therefore, rule number one for a storage facility manager is to be as pleasant as you can to both your potential and current customers.
Make It a 24/7 Job
At most jobs, you need to make a great first impression and establish/maintain a good rapport with clients. Furthermore, you must be patient and accommodating when you are at work. As the owner of a self-storage facility, you must see every soul on the street as a potential customer. Hence, you must display extraordinary people skills. You need to maintain a friendly, warm, and helpful persona at all times.
Be a Good Listener
Like in any other business, building a sense of trust is key in building a steady client base. One of the key factors in earning people’s trust is giving them a chance to talk and be heard. So before, during, and even after being the property manager, you need to come off as someone who listens to the concerns of others and at least tries to oblige them.
Be Good at Taking Criticism
The customer is always right, even when he/she isn’t. You must be or at least appear open to criticism and make customers feel like they have the right to voice them, even when they sound irrational, self-serving, or plain wrong. There are times when their criticism is warranted and they have a point. You should take the criticism/feedback to heart and implement it toward improving your self-storage business.
Be Up-Beat
No one likes grumpy people. If you project a negative vibe, you will see reciprocation/reaction from your clients, impacting your bottom line. They will stop doing business with you. People don’t like to deal with those who are always curt, in a bad mood, and/or impolite. They will go to another facility faster than you can blink.
Maintain a Strong Sense of Responsibility
There are storage facilities whose managers believe that all the upkeep and maintenance hassle should not be part of their job. They’re wrong. Customers need to feel like they can count on you being prepared to do whatever it takes to protect their belongings from any/all harm.
Be Thorough
From keeping your storage facility clean through hiring/managing cleaning staff to keeping the place safe to having security cameras installed and checking them regularly, and last but not least, keeping the facility in good condition by recruiting specialized contractors, you should always do a thorough job. Leaving things half-done and operating only a half-decent joint gets noticed quickly by clients/customers. They will not only resent you and your facility but also will doubtlessly take their business elsewhere. They might even badmouth you, besmirching your reputation/credibility and creating bad publicity for you and your business.
The Bottom Line
You can be a successful storage facility manager who develops a piece of real estate into a thriving business and enjoys a one-third profit margin if you are patient, consistently friendly, willingly responsible, and characteristically thorough.
Want to go above and beyond? For a more detailed how-to master course on storage investment, you can visit our website and learn how to be a truly amazing storage facility manager. Doing so will help you and your business thrive!
