Self-Storage Business Plan

The sales and marketing strategy is fairly simple by virtue of the fact that self-storage facilities are in short supply. Westbury Storage will simply have to inform the public of its existence by advertising in local newspapers, and by placing Yellow Pages ads.

Competitive Edge

Although the current local demand exceeds the supply and Westbury Storage will have no problems fully utilizing its capacity, the market situation may change in the future. The company will fully utilize its management’s seasoned experience in the storage business in order to establish a strong foothold in the local community. This will be reached by providing excellent service and offering extra service features like the heated and well-lit rental units, which will supplement the great location of the storage facility.

Sales Strategy

Most inquiries will come through the Yellow Pages ads. Proper telephone manners and professional handling of on-site inquiries are essential. Even though there is an excess of demand over supply, an unfriendly manager or clumsiness over the telephone will cause needless lost sales.

As is the case with the owners’ present self-storage facility in Plainview, many sales are directed through Stote Movers, who are in constant contact with people on the move and, therefore are most likely to require temporary storage.

Sales Forecast

Due to the fact that demand has been outstripping supply in this market, Westbury Storage may well be able to rent out all of its new units within the first year of operation. Prices paid for self-storage units reflect this strong market demand. The ground floor units will rent at $1.40 per sq. ft. per month and the upper floors, served by an over-sized elevator will rent for $1.20/sq. ft. per month. It is assumed that half of the units will rent in the first six months of operation. The second half of 1999 will see a further 25% of the total space rented, leaving the final 25% to be reached in the year 2000. Within these time spans, the growth, for projection purposes, will be assumed to be straight line, i.e. the first 50% of the total space will be reached in equal monthly increments during the first six months, and so forth.

The building measures 240 ft. X 80 ft. A section at one end (40′ X 80′ =3,200 sq. ft. per floor) will be reserved for future offices. This leaves total space dedicated to self-storage units of 48,000 sq. ft. (16,000 per floor). Some space is lost when the partitioning is done. Floor plan “D” suggests a way to partition an area 200 ft. X 40 ft. Doubled, this is exactly the space available in the Westbury building after deducting the office area. This 16,000 sq. ft. (200′ X 40′ X 2′) would be reduced somewhat to allow walkway/passages on the sides. So instead of 16,000 sq. ft. of rental space per floor, we would end up with about 15,000 sq. ft. Total self-storage net rentable space would be 45,000 sq. ft. The 15,000 sq. ft. on the ground floor would rent for $21,000 monthly and each of the other floors would rent for $18,000 each on a monthly basis.

Sales for the first month would be $4,750 (50% of total $57,000 divided by 6). The second month would have $9,500 in sales, etc.

Many self-storage companies charge administration fees to first-time customers. Deposits are also not uncommon. In addition to these sources of income, the sale of certain related items such as cardboard boxes, tape, packing materials, storage containers, plastic mattress covers, etc. can be substantial. However, for projection purposes, it is assumed that income from these sources will wash out any credit losses.

Strategic Alliances

An important strategic alliance is the common ownership connection to Stote Movers. By virtue of its contact with people changing addresses, Stote Movers is in a position to direct a lot of storage business to Westbury Storage.

Milestones

The following table shows the milestones that Westbury Storage has established.