Wealthy in America: You can continue “your lifestyle” without working another day.  For most of the population that would convert into something like a good six-figure income and a multiple millions dollar net worth.  Does $250,000 a year plus income and $4 million net worth work for you? If so, please read on!

It takes 4 things to become wealthy.  The hardest item is becoming an expert in the subject of your choice.  This is the hardest because it often takes 10 to 15 years.  And of course, most people never become an expert in their lifetime because who has the kind of time? Have you notice most people become overnight millionaires in their 50’s & 60’s.  Many professionals are very good at what they do and have 20 plus years’ experience but that does not necessarily make them an expert.  An expert is someone who you know can get the job done when the guy with 25 years of good experience is a risky choice.  You could become an expert in 5 years if you learned from other people experience and your sole focus was to become an expert.

The second thing you should plan on is owning your own business. If you are an expert working for someone else, they will be making the lion’s share of the profits.

The third item is you need to learn how to multiply your expertise.  If you are a great engineer or attorney charging $500 an hour, you will still be getting paid by the hour so when you stop working you stop getting paid.

The fourth and last item you and your team needs is solid business experience.  This includes development, operations, sales, and marketing.  If you’re the best people need to know it and understand how they are getting the best value from you.   There are so many people that think the best way to compete in the market place is to be the lowest price.  Competing on price is the absolute worst selling feature there is!  There is always someone who will have a lower price. Competing by having the best features is also a short-sighted option.  Great product or services are important, but others will soon copy your features. So once again it comes down to you being an expert at your chosen subject and having the business expertise to monetize your knowledge.  No one can duplicate you but you.

Notice I did not talk about hard work, perseverance, ambition or action.  You will have all these traits and more to become an expert and to own your own business.  Millionaires have been created over and over in just about any business-like engineering, hair stylist, mechanic, retail sales, self-storage, car sales……………to you name it, with these four items.

Let me tell you a few stories in my areas of expertise of Engineering & Self Storage to help you understand how the four items can evolve over time.

When I was 24 years old, Richard, the owner of a local civil engineering firm “Meehan & Associates” agreed to meet with me for a job interview. I had 4 years of good experience and was a project designer at a 50-person firm.  I was looking to be a part of a smaller firm where I could also learn the business side of engineering.   He suggested I come back in 10 years when I have more experience. I think I scared him right off the bat when I told him I wanted to be his partner in the next couple of years. Experts must think big before they are experts.

I did get a job at a small engineering firm (10 people) and got the experience and actually became an expert developers engineer.  About 11 years after my first interview with Richard Meehan he gave me a call and asked if I was still interested in being a partner. He accepted a minimal purchase price for 50 percent of the company because he understood we would be the one who got the call when only the best experts would do and be extremely well paid.    I am sure you called Rich he would tell you it was one of the best decisions he ever made.

It was rough going with the staff for a while.  They could not believe that Richard and I would be billed at $200 an hour when a professional engineer was being billed at $95/hr. at that time.  And then they went crazy when we increased the staff Professional Engineer’s billable rate to $125.  They thought we would never get another job.  But just the opposite happened.  We got so many jobs we traded our c and d customers for happier A & B customers. We went from $800K yearly income to $2.5Million income in one year by being experts in all aspects of development.  And the whole staff and our customers were happier in the end because we always gave our customers much more than they expected and they knew they had the best chances of success on their projects with us.

So, in some respects, I duplicated myself by having engineers on my staff do a lot of the basics

Of course, we were smart enough not to take jobs on an hourly basis.  We would figure the job based upon our expected hours and my hourly rates. And then we added 20%, as we knew from experience every project has unknown special needs that can’t be determined day one.  When these special needs (or extras) came up our clients were amazed we did not charge extra.

To be an expert you cannot think like everyone else.  You get to do things the right way and charge for it.  Here are three examples of “expertise” from my civil engineering days.

We had a housing developer who came to us with 100 acres with a beat up 1800’s historic house on the property.  By the time he came to us the town and neighbors were already up in arms, believing he would develop one of his massive new subdivision on the historical property.  He wanted to live there.  But to meet his requirements he needed to move his horse farm there.  That required a creating a large pond, horse fields, and riding trails.  While this would normally not be a be big deal it turned out much of the site was regulated wetlands.  And the last thing the concerned citizens were going to allow is filling of the wetlands so that someday the property could become house lots.

After sitting with the developer for an hour to listen to his goals, I said we have a good shot of approval, but it will take more than just good engineering to get this approved. I gave him a fee of $10,000 to design the pond, horse trails and fields and an additional fee of $20,000 to convince the neighbors and commission of your goals and integrity.  He needed to have both services for any chance of approvals. In the end, he was shocked but knew we were right as he had already gotten nothing but bad news from others.

The application and presentations included lengthy full color “mini-books” on the history of the property, the proposed historical renovation to the home and barn, the owner’s love of horses and their prize-winning stable of horses.  In the end, it was a win-win for everyone.  But if not for being an expert on both design and marketing and integrity, the proposed pond in the wetlands would have been denied and the historical site would have been one more subdivision.  Today when you drive by the site you are in awe of one of the most beautiful majestic views that were created with the attention to details, we promised the town.

Regularly I had developers come to my office with projects that appeared impossible because they did not meet the local zoning regulations.  Sometimes the Town staff even directed them to me because they knew I looked deeper than the written word.  For about 8 out of 10, I would let the developers know the chances were basically zero because they did not meet the regulations or the internet of the regulations and there was no reason for the town to change or bend the regulations for them.  For around 20 percent I would tell them there may be a 50 percent chance of getting approvals, even know they did not meet the written words of the regulations. Since we could show how they met the spirit of the regulations and since we could offer a better fit for the site than other uses that met the regulations there may be an opportunity to work with the Town.  When I told them, it would take about 10 hours of my time and cost them $10,000 some would question the seeming $1,000 an hour rate.  But they were paying for my expertise, insights, integrity, and knowledge that took 2O years to obtain.  I simply reminded then that for the risk of our small fee, they could turn a $500,000 property into a Million Dollar property.  And 10K is a bargain for that opportunity.  Of course, I was prepared to provide examples and references, so they further understand the value they were getting.

On the self-storage front, I had a family friend meet with the town staff and inquire about putting self-storage on his 20-acre property.  They told him flat out that the property was in a residential neighborhood and self storage is not permitted in residential zones.  Disappointed he called me.  I knew the local property and regulations and suggested we meet.  Over coffee, I explained he had one long shot to get approval. The regulations had a single sentence that said in any district a non-conforming use may be replaced with a less non-conforming use.  The plans would still require review by the staff and approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission of which both were anti-development.

The site was a gravel pit many years ago that was left in the raw.  I explained If we simple left it up to the staff or Town Commissions the self storage proposal would not meet the lessor non-conforming use regulation. But if he could get each and every one of the 18 neighbors to agree to write a letter in favor of the project or sign a petition in favor of the self storage and then have them come in speak in favor of the project at the public hearing, he would have the self-storage gods on his side.  I explained what to say to the neighbors; no more dirt bikes and kids hanging out at night, no 20-acre subdivision that would create more traffic and use up tax dollars, etc.  I suspected that would be the end of it.

But to my surprise, Jamie came back to see me in two weeks with a petition in favor of the project signed by all the neighbors. (He did know many of them as he had been delivering their oil for many years) At this point, Jamie still had concerns about risking the design costs and getting approval, as the staff and commission chair had told him they were not going to approve self-storage anywhere in Town but in the Industrial Zone.  He asked If I had enough faith in the property to be his partner and I agreed as long as he would get several neighbors to come to the meeting.  We had to insist the project be put on the agenda for the whole commission to decide if our premise of a lessor non-conforming use was valid.  The gravel pit had been abandoned for years so it was easy to get denied if the board that was the right thing to do.

Obviously, the plans were designed to a T and the presentation hit all the hot issues, lots of tax dollars, quiet, no school kids, no traffic, great design feature etc. But what clinched it was the residences response when at the end of our presentation when the commission Chairperson asked, “Is there anyone in the audience who wants to talk in favor or against this project” One lady quickly stood up and spoke for 15 minutes in favor of the project. She said it’s about time someone fixed the problems of this site as the Town has done nothing to police this dangerous kid’s hangout and ongoing noise and headache for the neighbors.  My favorite line was when she said my daughter got pregnant back there.  And right after her speech, 18 more people got up and said “I am in favor of the project and ditto to everything the first speaker said.  We got the project approved and Jamie and I are still partners today.

It took an exceptional design and other expertise to get approvals and build this property but it was well worth it as it made each of Millionaires. And to this day we are still the only self-storage in town.

Enough stories.  I know many of you reading this, are thinking you simply do not have the years to become an expert.  And secondly, you’re not even sure what subject you would like to become an expert where you could duplicate yourself.  While there are many possibilities there is one exceptional business opportunity, I can help you with.  Self Storage!

I am a self-storage expert and developed Storage Authority Franchising to help others become multi-millionaires in the self-storage business.  You can google me, read my best-selling self-storage books, visit my LinkedIn page, read my Inside Self-storage magazine articles, talk to past clients or Storage Authority Franchisees, visit our website www.StorageAuthorityFranchise.com or visit with me for a cup of coffee and you will have no doubt that with Storage Authority on your team you can become a self-storage expert in record time with our systems in place day one for you.

You will learn we can transfer you many years of knowledge, proven systems, platforms expertise, saving you years of time and tons of money it would cost for you to become an expert. The Storage Authority goal for each franchise is simple.  For each one to make a good six-figure income from their self-storage ownership.  And develop a multimillion-dollar nest egg.  And to do it in 5 years after you say go!

I am not saying developing this income will be easy or even close to being guaranteed.  In fact, this kind of financial security does not come easy or everyone would have it, instead of just the 1 percenters out there. But where else can $500K+- cash equity and a bank loan for the project balance provide such wealth.

I understand there is a bit of self-boasting in this article but that is what it takes to get the word out sometimes, and exactly what your manager will be doing day in and day out for your beautiful premium Storage Authority Facility.

To Success!

Marc

Marc Goodin is President of Storage Authority LLC. www.StorageAuthorityFranchise.com  He owns 3 self storages he designed, built and manages. He has been helping others in the self-storage industry for over 25 years.   He can be reached at marc@StorageAuthority.com or directly at 860-830-6764 to answerer your self-storage franchise, development, marketing, sales, and operational questions.

The April 1-4 Inside Self Storage Expo in Las Vegas is a great place to learn everything self storage! And you get an opportunity to talk directly to the vendors and learn face to face about their products and services.

I would love to meet you there.  Shoot me an email and we can make plans. marc@storageauthority.com

I will be moderating the educational session on Using Data-Driven Technology to make self Storage Investing Decisions.  If you are looking to build a self storage in 2019 you will not want to miss this session.

One of the recent improvement and availability of Data that is had major leaps in the past 2 years is information on the competition.  Everything from their location, size, and pricing is available.  It is important to understand how accurate the data is and other limitations fo the data when using this data.

The mini feasibility study can now be done in hours vs days due to this new data-driven technology.  Here is a link to an article I recently wrote for the ISS magazine.

https://www.insideselfstorage.com/site-selection/how-perform-mini-demand-study-potential-self-storage-site

Imagine what 2019 will bring!

Cheers

Marc

Has the Time Come for the Un Manned, Automated Self Storage Rental Office?

And how you can automate your self storage facility today for more profits.

By Marc Goodin

Lease by Phone, Website or Kiosk vs.

Lease by Phone, Website or Kiosk or with our Onsite Manger,

Which would you choose?

We know self storage automation to the point of an unmanned rental office it is possible because there are more and more unmanned facilities every year.

Full rental automation simple requires two major components. The first is an office manned by a kiosk connected to a good call center. Open Tech Alliance has you covered when it comes to the best self storage kiosks and call centers.  Their kiosks even dispenses locks.  Even if you are not going fully automated a kiosk will make you more profits because you will not miss after hour rentals to your competition.

Here is a facility I designed that just opened with an Open Tech Alliance kiosk. We require all Storage Authority Franchise self storage facilities to have a kiosk because they are both a profit center and are a backup when a manger is not there for any reason.

The second item required for an un manned self storage facility is individual door looks for each individual unit.  Janus International is the leading provider of self storage door locks. The door locks are the major extra cost for an automated facility since every facility should rent online and have a kiosk.  Presently individual door locks cost about $200+_ installed per door. For a 55,000 net rentable square feet facility this would be about $100,000.  Not unreasonable when you consider the cost of a manager year after year. I expect the price of individual door locks will come down significantly in the next 5 years and that they will become standard even for a manned facility.

Great self-storage management software, like Sitelink is already cloud based and can be run from anywhere you have internet.  Likewise, your self storage camera, security, HVAC controls and gate systems should also be cloud based so they can be operated and monitored from off site.

As part of automation your website should also fully rent units online.  I know 99 percent of everyone reading this article have websites that do not make online rentals that permit renters to move in when you are closed.  If your considering automation (and even if you are not) your first step is to update your website to rent units.

If we just looked at the facts above it would seem clear that automation is the way to go.  But we have to look at one more set of facts: What do our clients want, which in turn relates to profits.  The world is more automated day by day.  In 2018 we hit the 50% mark for online shopping; Mc Donald’s are putting more ordering kiosks in their restaurants; I often use my bank ATM vs going inside the bank.  But for Ninety percent of the time I need something from Home Depot I go to the store. Maybe you make 50% or more of your purchases online?  But that does not mean that it is time to make banks, retail stores or self storages automated and loose customers by eliminating one on one service.

When you are checking out at Wal Mart or Home Depot have you noticed there are two or three people in line at the manned cash registers and 1 person at the kiosk checkout.  Most people prefer to have someone help them check out. We still trust people more than machines, especially when we have a question.  Of course, if I only have a couple of items and there are 4 people with full carts at each of the manned cash registers, I will head over to an empty checkout kiosk. Companies like Home Depot have figured this out and that’s why they have both.

If renters have a choice between two equal facilities most will choose the manned office vs the automated self-storage office. It is a myth that a manned and unmanned facility are equal.  Both can have the same great locations, features, prices but only the manned facility has a real unique selling proposition.  And that is a good manager who gets to know a client, builds trust and loyalty.  A kiosk can not do that.  An un manned facility will often have a lower rental price but if you have not already learned a low price is the absolute worst selling feature a self storage can have.

I have been renting self storage units for a long long time and I estimate 30%  (ie 60% walk ins will rent even if your manager is a clerk) of our rentals would have walked out of the office without renting except for our high end remarkable, rediculasly over the top customer service, sales and marketing provided by our well trained managers.  And our rates are 20% higher than our competition.  Our number one rule at our facilities is every prospect is taken out the door in 30 seconds or less to see a unit.  This gives us time to understand their needs, get to know them, build trust and for the renter to have the opertunity to physically see the difference from one size to the next so they are comfortable and ready to rent. Viewing the size gives the prospect the ability to confirm the size they need so we can say “ looks like a 10 x 10 is the right size for you, let go back to the office and get one in your name.” A self-storage kiosk will never take a customer to see a unit or builds trust.  It’s hard to rent an apartment or sell a house or sell a car, a person has not seen. To a big degree the same goes for self storage.

When it comes right down to it the number one thing that makes your facility different from the facility down the street is your manager. And a good manager will rent more units at a premium price and have more loyal customers and referrals than a similar unmanned facility or a facility with an untrained manager. You could argue the maned facility can’t rent before and after hours.  But online rentals and kiosk provides manned facilities the best of both worlds. It serves as a backup to the manager busy with a customer and is there for the few individuals that would rather do the entire process at kiosk or needs to rent after hours.

Some owners simple do not have the time to manage their facility as they have a busy career or are on too building their third and fourth facility.  In this case the loss in profits is a tradeoff for going with an automated system.  I would suggest they have two more profitable alternatives: a good management company or a Storage Authority Franchise.   Even if the facility office is unmanned who is doing the daily site checks and cleaning each unit before it is re rented.  Who is marketing the facility?  Who is calling the nonpaying renters?  Who is managing the auctions?  A good manager with well-established systems and platforms should be doing these items in addition to renting units.

A second case for the unmanned unit would be for a very small facility.  Maybe you have a 15,000 square feet facility.  This would be a good candidate for an automated facility as the overhead of a full-time manager would not be warranted given the limited income potential.

There are companies that are only building automated facilities.   Ten Federal is one of leaders in unmanned facilities.  Their website headline is Lease by Phone, Website or Kiosk. They have improved the un manned system significantly and I am sure it is working for them.

But again, if you only have one facility, I believe you can add substantially to your bottom line profits with a good manager vs an un manned facility. Even up to an extra $100,000 or more. I have no concrete proof for this dollar amount but in my selling self-storage book Crush your Competition in week 1, of 52 weeks of self-storage marketing ideas, I outline how you can make well over a $100,000 a year with over the top marketing & sales.  And a kiosk just does not have the ability to implement a sales and marketing platform for extra profits.

Ten Federal website clearly notes they do not have a move in administration fee.  I like administration fees! This fee is worth over $12,000 a year in profits for me and provides for one heck of a vacation every year for my family.  And even more concerning for the single operator is their prices are all web prices which are typically reduced from the office rental price. And they are also giving huge discounts for the first month, another no no for the single operator.

Bottom line, we will be seeing more unmanned facilities because many owners and management companies do not want to take the significant time and effort to prepare and implement the self storage managers operations, sales and marketing systems and platforms and an ongoing training programs   But that is good news for those of us willing to get it right for our customers because we will have the opportunity for oversized profits, others have given up.

To be competitive now and certainly in the future all facilities should have the unmanned components in the sense your potential clients should be able to rent when your office is closed.  These tools will also reducing costs by shortening the managers hours.  The days of the self storage office being open from 8am to 8pm seven days a week are long gone and have been replaced with closed Sunday and reduced hours the rest of the week.

Marc Goodin is President of Storage Authority LLC, the only self-storage franchise in the US. He owns 3 self storages he designed, built and manages. He has been helping others in the self storage industry for over 25 years.   He can be reached at marc@StorageAuthority.com or directly at 860-830-6764 to answerer your self storage franchise, development, marketing, sales and operational questions.

Every once in a while there is a technology that is fun, easy to use and cheap that every business has to have to first hit home run out of the park and them eventually just to survive.   I believe voice command technology (especially combined with other technology) will be one of  the big hits for self storage in 2019 and moving forward.

We are heading out to Texas early next month for training for a new Storage Authority facility. www.StorageAuthorityWaltersRd.com  

We are very exited to help Ed and his team become self storage experts. And we are also excited to see  Alexa in action at a self storage for the first time. Self storage technology is swiftly evolving and everyone will need to include High Tech – High Touch platforms and systems if they want to have high end profits and Crush your Competition.

Alexa who was the last one on site? Alexa how many renters are on site?   Alexa open the gate.  And this is just the start of voice command opportunities to make your self storage managers job more efficient and to impress your renters for more self storage profits.

Alexa,  can you answer Mr. Goodin’s question, Can we give him a discount?

Mr Goodin I understand your concern, You want to get the best value for your money. I am sure you can agree we have the nicest facility in the area and provide exceptional value. And you know Sally the manager and I will work hard every day to earn your business.  If we we started giving out discounts we could not be able provide our customers the service and value they deserve and expect.

Mr Goodin would you like to get that unit in your name today?

Storage Authority is happy to be partnering with Open Tech Alliance to insure we have the high tech that our clients want and deserve.

It is time to get past management and become self storage leaders!

Twenty-six items you want to remember during the Construction process to save you time and money.

1. Research and completely specify as many items as possible. Construction allowances/change orders and extras always seem to cost a lot more than if they were in the original specifications and contracts. Even simple things like who pays for the temporary power, dumpster and temporary bathroom facility make a difference.

2. You will need both construction and specialized self-storage insurance. For construction, you will need Builders Risk and general liability insurance.

In addition to the standard Property and Business Liability coverage, you may need insurance for Blanket Building and Contents, Customers’ Goods Legal Liability, Sale and Disposal, Legal Liability, Extended Business Income and other insurances post construction.

Once your site plans are approved you should contact an agent who specializes in Self Storage Insurance.  There are several things you need to consider in order to determine your self-storage insurance limits.

3. It is recommended that construction contracts include a provision to hold back 10% of each payment until the work has been completed, including the final punch list items and the Town has completed its review and issued a final Certificate of Occupancy. Check with your bank to see what their required hold back is and make sure it is included in your bid package. Find out how often the bank will provide draws and how long after an inspection is request until the money is available.  Your contractors need to be aware and accept the payment schedules of your bank.

4. Often you bid the job on preliminary plans. Prior to signing the final contracts make sure all parties confirm they have reviewed the latest plans and their bids are based upon these plans. This is especially important for the building erectors.  They will provide a price based upon similar buildings they have erected in the past.  But every manufacturer has different systems and components and construction times can vary.  Your building manufacturer should be able to email you a set of final plans for you to forward to your erector.  When construction starts check again to confirm everyone has the final set of plans.  You would be amazed how many times construction gets screwed up because outdated plans are used.  A list of all the current plans and last revision dates should be issued to all contractors when construction starts.

5. There will be problems and questions. Make sure the contractor provides you a contact person both in the field and the office, including cell numbers.

6. The contract should be clear that all change orders require signed approval by the Owner. Do not violate this requirement. This will not always eliminate change orders but will permit for you to confirm the cost and possible negotiate the costs or find other options.

7. Your design team should determine what independent testing (typically paid directly by you) that is going to require, such as compaction test for the building base, driveway base and concrete strength testing. The contract should require your contractor to coordinate these tests and redo any work not meeting the specifications.

8. If you are the general contractor expect discrepancy between where one contractor leaves off and the next starts and the condition of the work by the previous contractor. For example, if the grading for the floating slab is off by 1 inch it can easily be an extra couple of thousands of dollars or more in concrete.  For this example, it would be important to know how many cubic yards of concrete is included in the concrete contractor’s price and his contract should say he has to review and accept the foundation grading and excavation prior to placing any concrete forms.  Of course, if there is a discrepancy, the problem becomes scheduling and delays when the concrete contractor notifies you the site work is not right and either you have to pay extra or have the site contractor fix his work.  So whenever possible, check completed work in detail as soon as possible yourself or hire the appropriate engineer or surveyor to check for you.

9. All contracts should make it clear who pays for the building permit, who is responsible for inspections, as built, and any documents or inspections the Town (or bank) may need to the issue the occupancy permit. If at all possible, it is recommended the contractor be required to hire a licensed surveyor to stake out the buildings and set proper grades. If you hire the surveyors you often have to pay for several stakeouts, as the contractor will inevitably knock out the stakeout survey stakes.  Also, if you hire the surveyor you will be responsible if there are any discrepancies or errors.

10. Don’t forget to make sure the contracts include bringing the various required underground utility conduits and utilities for phase 2.

11. It is a good practice to visit the construction site every day during construction. There are always plan interpretations and changes or corrections to be made. Scheduling constantly needs to be reviewed.  Often, what you told the foreman today is not relayed to the new foreman the next day.

12. Makes sure the limits of construction are properly staked in the field prior to the start of construction. Any trees in the limits of construction or near construction you want saved should be barricaded with fencing or hay bales prior to the start of construction otherwise they are very likely to be eliminated during construction.

13. Make sure the erosion control silt fence is securely in place prior to the start of construction. One rainstorm can make a mess if the silt fence is not properly installed.

14. Check to confirm they are compacting the fill in 8” layers per the contract. Contractors like to save time by filling and compact a couple of feet at a time.

15. Check that the rebar and wire mesh is installed for all the concrete per the plans. Hint: neither should be on the ground.

16. For a single-story metal building there is typically a 1.5” lip in the concrete foundation edge to make sure no water gets in the building. This is done with the use of a 2 x 10. If the concrete under the 2 x 10 is not vibrated extremely well, and even then, sometimes, there will be air pockets under the 2 x 10 that create surface voids the size of a silver dollar and larger when the boards are removed. Let the contractor know in advance about this concern.  Insist they take off the 2 x 10’s while the finish crew is still there.  If there is a problem, it needs to be fixed while the concrete is “wet”.  If they wait until the next day to fill in the voids, it is extremely likely after a winter or two all the filled-in patches will pop out and require expensive ongoing maintenance.

17. It is critical that the entrance gate opening and the entrance and exit keypads be staked in the field, so you can try them with your car prior to their installation. What looks good on paper often is a difficult maneuver for a car in the field and can be corrected with ease if done prior to construction.

18. Make sure the office windows and doors sizes and locations are coordinated long before the contractors show up. Often, approximate locations and sizes are provided until a window manufacturer is chosen.

19. Make sure the concrete is sealed the day after the concrete is poured. This will not only help the concrete cure but also just as important, keep the concrete dust down for your renters.

20. The concrete saw cuts should be done as soon as possible after the concrete is poured, typically no later than the next day. This helps reduce the number of visual cracks.

21. After the office concrete floor is in, draw the office floor plan, including interior walls, desk and cabinets on the concrete floor with a maker. It is easy to make a change now.
22. Make sure your communication wires and electric wires to the gate controller are in separate conduits.

23. Layout your perimeter fence for review before the fence installers come. There are typically conflicts and options. You will want to take time to review.

24. Often one of the biggest problems is construction scheduling. Review the schedule in detail with all contractors, including the building manufacturer. The scheduling should be reviewed when the request for bids are submitted, again when the contracts are signed and again when construction starts.  Delays due to scheduling are one of the most stressful parts of construction.  Add some buffer time to your schedule.

25. Your bid document should require all contactors and sub-contractors to provide proof of insurance. The bid documents should further require all contractors and sub-contractor to wear hard hats and meet all local and OSHA job site safety requirements.

25. Often the building manufactures will require large deposits and final payment on or prior to the delivery of the buildings. These fees should be reviewed with both your contractor and your bank to insure there will not be a cash flow problem. Sometimes the size of the deposit can be negotiated but full payment upon building delivery or prior to delivery is typically required.

26. If you build your own buildings or if you hire local guys who are building self storage buildings for the first time remember temporary bracing is required and not shown on the construction plans. Temporary bracing is required in all directions until the final construction of the entire frame. You can see some of the bracing in the photos below.

That’s me in Caraquet, New Brunswick, Canada, and my first international project!  When you start construction, your marketing must be full speed ahead.

Have development questions?  We are ready to help.  Marc 860-830-6764

Seven items you DO NOT want to forget to bring to your Wetlands Commission meetings for a faster approval.

1. A colored rendering is a Must. While many items like the building design or looks are not supposed to be a part of the wetlands commission purview, but a pretty picture goes a long way.

2. Pictorial information about your facility. Pictures of cameras, TV monitors, fencing, access gate, lighting, signage, office, mounted on a single board tells a great story about your security.

3. Know your facilities policy on prohibition of storage of hazardous materials. Provide a copy of your lease provision prohibiting hazardous materials. Provide a copy of the sign to be posted in your office prohibiting hazardous materials. Give an explanation that includes how you know your customers, i.e. a copy of every renter’s driver license, home & work phone numbers, email address, a second contact person etc. An explanation in detail how the staff is required to walk and inspect the site several times a day can help give the commission confidence there will not be a problem at the facility.

4. If you are going to rent units for car storage (which is worth fighting for!) be prepared to explain the steps you will take to insure gasoline will not leak and cause a problem. If you can’t figure this one out email me and I will point you in the right direction. (Hint: look up the requirements for cars in public buildings like a car show in your civic center and include the 2 or 3 safety items in your lease.) Also, you should only rent for cars that are registered and insured, i.e. no problem cars.

5. While you (and your engineer) always had to be prepared to explain the storm drainage design and storm drainage detention design, now it is common to provide detailed (and expensive) storm water quality best management practices. Make sure you personally understand these site features and the required maintenance, so the commission has confidence that they not only will be built but you, as the owner, personally understand the importance of maintaining them.

6. Make sure that you and your engineer have walked the wetlands, even though your soil scientist is coming to the meeting. Your knowledge of the property could help turn the deciding vote your way.

7. Early on in the design process you should have confirmed there are no endangered species on the site. Often the Department of Environmental Protection can provide areas of know or reported endangered species. Be prepared to confirm there are no endangered or threatened species or be prepared to discuss the impact to endangered or threatened species if they exist.

Ten items you don’t want to forget to bring to your Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, which can make a difference.

1. All the items you brought to the wetlands meeting.

2. Bring all the professionals (you can afford), design engineer, landscape designer, traffic engineer, architect and attorney if customary in your town. But a single presenter can do the majority, if not the entire presentation.

3. Office hours and gate hours.

4. Samples of the building materials, including colors.

5. Light photo metrics to show the light does not impact neighbors. A manufacturer’s detail sheet for full cutoff lights is helpful. LED lights cost more to install but will pay for themselves in a short time and save you money for many years. Let them know you are a green builder and will be using energy efficient LED lighting.

6. A copy of a standard lease. You can get one from your state’s self-storage association.

7. Knowledge of your marketing study to confirm the need for self-storage in the area. Again, this should not be part of the commission decision process, but I have had the questioned asked several times. Let them know it’s a benefit to the area as most of your customers will be the people located within 5 miles or less from your property.

8. The owner should attend all meetings and be prepared to let the commission know they are an expert on self-storage and are excited about being a part of the community. Be prepared to make concessions the night of the meeting if necessary to get an approval.

9. Be prepared to rebuff the many myths about self-storage such as; noise; drugs; low value; no taxes; people living in units; used mostly by people from out of town; ugly; self-storage does not mix with residential uses; high traffic, etc.

10. Be prepared to present a traffic study. Traffic is often a concern if there is any opposition. If the Town did not require one as part of your application, I would at least have a simple on page summary for the estimated daily and peak hour traffic generation. This can be very beneficial to show that self-storage is one of the lowest traffic generators and has less traffic than typical retail, office, businesses and even a residential subdivision.

Self-storage is a local business. The majority of your renters will be people from town. Early in the design phase you will have to determine the percentage of climate control units for your site. Often the outside of the Climate Control building will have non-climate control units with doors directly to the driveway.