By Marc Goodin

Who doesn’t like to watch Shark Tank?  They are on their 10^thseason so the intrigue and magic continues.  Every once in a while, we watch it with company, and I hear the same thing: We need to come up and idea for Shark Tank.  If only it was that easy.  Your odds of success and the lifestyle you want are much more obtainable with a Storage Authority Franchise than making a deal with the Sharks.

Most people do not realize how brutal it is to make a Shark Tank Presentation.  After spending years of your time and your hard-earned money on your business, you enter a room full of Sharks and typically have your hopes and dreams slammed to the ground.  When you enter the Tank, you have to be silent for 30 sections before you can even talk – pure intimidation staring down by the Sharks. And after your presentation, you are whisked you off to see a psychiatrist to make sure you can handle the Shark’s rejection.   No need to meet with a psychiatrist with Storage Authority.

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Many businesses start and fail long before they would have a shot at shot Shark Tank.  And then even if you are lucky enough to make it on Shark Tank and make a deal, in most cases you will never become a multimillionaire. So, the big difference between Shark Tank and Storage Authority is you can put tons and tons of effort and money into your business and a Shark Tank deal will still be a very long shot.  A Storage Authority Franchise can make you a multi-millionaire and you don’t have to hope for a deal.  It is much easier and more probable to become a self-storage millionaire than a Shark Tank millionaire.  And I know for a fact every year many more people become a millionaire from self storage than from Shark Tank deals.

At Shark Tank you have to find your own idea and learn your craft vs a Storage Authority Franchise where we have a proven business, financial model and provide the systems and experience to make it successful.

At Shark Tank you first have to get is an interview and then only 0.10 percent for the 100,000 people interviewed a year get on the show. Then most on-air deals don’t actually go through.  With Storage Authority there are a couple of qualifying factors to make sure you will be successful, and they are outline on our website and first call with you so can confirm you understand the requirements before you even apply or request more info.

Did you ever notice how the Sharks want you to quit your job and work full time at the business if they are going to invest in your business?  With a Storage Authority Franchise, you can keep your job and make a great six-figure income from your manager driven self-storage business.  Who can afford to or wants to quit a good job to go work 24/7 for half pay or no pay to see if new “Shark Tank business” will work out?

At Storage Authority we don’t have producers who provide us with inside or personal information via secret earpieces to make the show more interesting.  We just want to get to know you and confirm we are a good fit.  It is important to confirm you are on board with our high-end Ritz marketing vs trying to be the Wal Mart (the lowest price) of self-storage.

Can you believe Kevin O’leary spends $1000a day on food and expects his employees to work on vacation?  The reason most people buy a Storage Authority Franchise is to retire early and work less not more. I don’t spend nearly as much money on food as Kevin does and would not want to be on the road 5 days a week for work like he is. But I do love helping others become successful in self-storage.  You can learn more about my self-storage story here.

Now if you are going to go on Shark Tank or in fact make any business pitch here are 10 things you should know:

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-all-shark-tank-entrepreneurs-must-know-2015-3

Shark Tank certainly makes for good TV but is not a realistic plan to become rich or a good retirement plan. Now that we have established the odds of even getting on Shark Tank, never mind making a good deal, are slim to none,  it is time to stop dreaming of possible Shark Tank business deal and check out Storage Authority Franchise.

Betty, our newest Storage Authority Franchise owner signed up yesterday and has already hit the ground running fast!    Step 1 build a team and find land.

Storage Authority Millstone NJ has started construction of phase 1. Phase 1 is 3 buildings consisting of 30,000 sf of climate and non climate control units.

Storage Authority Mulberry FL 70,000 sf facility is open in and renting up swiftly!

Storage Authority Walters Road Houston opened Phase 1 the last week of March and is already looking forward to starting phase 2 later this year.

Storage Authority Land of Lakes FL is slated to start construction this summer.

Check out more facility pictures at our Storage Authority Gallery: https://www.storageauthorityfranchise.com/gallery.php

If you would like to get a copy of the Steps to Awarding a Storage Authority Franchise, email Garrett at Garrett@StorageAuthority.com or give him a call at 941-928-1354

By Marc Goodin

Land: You need 5 acres plus or minus of usable land excluding steep slopes, wetlands, easement areas, flood planes or other restrictions. It should be zoned for self-storage because zone changes or variances cost money and time and are often turned down. The purchase price of the land cost must be under $900,000 dollars.

Location: The property should be on a main street in town/city with typically 10,000 vehicles a day or more. The property should have easy access and great visibility. If it is too far off the beaten path for a grocery store it may not be the right spot for a self-storage. Remember around 70 to 8O% of self-storage rentals are by the ladies. If the location is not in an area the ladies would go to on their own day or night, it may not be a suitable location. Self-storage in industrial areas is a thing of the past.

Facility size: In order to make a good six-figure income and be large enough for the Reits and larger players to purchase for a good resale value it should be between 50,000 to 60,000 net rentable square feet. In order to keep the cost down to fit the $500K equity model, it will be single-story facility with a total cost of approximately 5.5 Million dollars built in 2 phases. Multi-story facilities cost more to build and typically can’t be built in phases.

Demand: There must be sufficient demand in the 3-mile radius and no other new or proposed facilities in the 3-mile radius. There could be a large needed demand in the area but if you have multiple facilities renting up at the same time, the rent-up period (and associated carrying costs) can double or even triple. Typically, in the US there is an average of almost 8 Sf of existing self-storage per person with the average capacity at 85 – 90% occupancy. So, until we do research and understand a specific area, we often use a total demand of existing and proposed self-storage of 8 sf of self-storage per person in the 3-mile radius as equilibrium for a quick demand review until we study the area and demand in more detail. Radius can be used to assist in determining the approximate existing self-storage square footage and area unit pricing.

Further competition review and feasibility study: Not all self-storage is created equal. Many self-storages are ancient, poor shape, have no pavement, no security and are not open most of the time. Often these facilities will not be your competition. Your goal is not simple to be full but to be full at premium rates. So, it is important to visit your competitions to determine rates, occupancy the quality of the facility and management. If all your competition is charging $85 a month for a 10’ x 10’ unit this is not a good sign. Either there is too much competition, so rates are depressed or the owners simply do not raise their rates, either way, a bad sign for future development.

In Houston, the average existing sf or self-storage per person is over double the national average and in New York, the average is less than half the national average. And in both places, there are good and bad locations. Unless you have the years of expertise a feasibility study by a self-storage expert is highly recommended.

Loan: A typical bank loan will require 25 to 35 percent down and will not provide any working capital. A traditional loan would often require one to two million dollars or more cash equity. Many new developers are going with an SBA loan that only requires 10 to 15 percent down. With an SBA loan, the numbers can look like this: $5.5MM project with phase 1 being $3MM. Fifteen percent down is $450,000 leaving $50K, out of your $500,000 cash equity for phase 2 soft cost before the phase two loan. Often phase 2 will not require more than the $50,000 equity because there is equity in phase one to provide for the SBA 10 to 15% owners cash equity.

Team: While listed here last is the most important item and should be done before you make an offer on land as they will help you review the land, make the offer, complete your initial due diligence and then move on to the design and construction phase efficiently. Your team should include a land use attorney, banker, a land broker, civil engineer, architect, and a contractor.

Secret Sauce: There are thousands of questions to be answered in the development process. In addition to the team members above you will also need a self-storage mentor who has built and owns multiple self-storages. None of the previous experts listed are all around self-storage experts. If you do not have a mentor, it will be important you hire a self-storage expert to help answerer those thousands of questions and go around the land mines so planning, design and construction mistakes do not cripple you. Your mentor or expert must also be there to make sure you hit the ground running with a detailed operational plan and the execution of a premier marketing plan.

Storage Authority Mulberry FL is open for Business! www.MulberySA.com

First, it was just a thought and then a dream.

And then a sketch

And then a Rendering.

Then a Feasibility Report.

Then a Set of Plans.

Then Construction.

And a Lot of pre Opening Marketing!

And more marketing!

Of course, if it was just that simple there would be a lot more Self Storage Millionaires. A lot of planning and work goes into turning a dream into a reality. 

And the Grand Opening was a huge success!  And in their first month open they already have over 50 units rented.  Great job Scott & Daine!