Self-Storage for Start-Ups: A Clear Advantage

Start-ups: they can take over an entrepreneur’s living space before the business even begins generating revenues. Bills, paperwork, inventory, tools, marketing materials, and countless other items can quickly invade an entrepreneur’s home. When a business outgrows the entrepreneur’s living space, the most efficient and economical way to expand that space is to rent a self-storage unit or mobile container.

Box Me Up works with businesses of all types and sizes, but start-ups are some of our favourite clients. We love to be a resource for those starting out with a new project. We can but only admire their passion and determination. This is why we’ve collected the following tips for start-ups needing more space, and how self-storage can be a massive advantage for expanding their business. 

Why self-storage?

Let us state it from the outset: self-storage provides start-ups with the perfect bridge.

Of course, as one expands their business, their goal is to likely move out of their own home and into a proper office space, one with its own storage space, among other amenities. An immediate move into an office though will cost between 6 and 10 times the amount self-storage will – at the very least.

Start-ups should use self-storage as a bridge therefore, between moving out of home and into office. And even after moving into an office, businesses will still find affordable advantages to utilizing self-storage.

Self-Storage Advantages for All Start-Ups: 

The advantages for the entrepreneur and their family

The entire family will benefit from clearing the living space of excess paperwork, tools, inventory, etc. into self-storage. A home needs to be a home, so adding the separation by freeing more of the living space of business-related materials is a huge advantage for the mental health of all living there. The home will be reclaimed, and the entire family will all be able to enjoy it more because of this. 

The advantages to the business’ operations

Gaining a space specific for your start-up and no longer shared with personal space will provide immediate organization for the business. Keeping your billing history, receipts, invoices, agreements, and all other paperwork filed in storage will keep them more organized and out of the way during the regular workday. Inventories, additional supplies, excess tools or equipment, similarly moved to storage can free workspaces of congestion, confusion, and distraction. You, the entrepreneur, can be more productive when the business is more organized. 

The advantages to the business’ bottom line

As noted above, renting a self-storage unit is far more cost-efficient than moving into a full office. Unlike office spaces, which typically require long-term leases, self-storage is more flexible, providing space on a month-to-month basis. If one’s business suddenly booms and they want to move to the office more quickly, self-storage provides the exact sort of flexibility such a start-up requires.

With self-storage, start-ups can avoid the expensive hydro bills and maintenance costs that usually come with renting office space. Self-storage is also something that is far less sophisticated than an office, and that of course massively lowers the rental cost incurred. This is exactly what any start-up needs to hear.

(Learn more about the advantages mobile storage provides businesses in this article.) 

Self-Storage Advantages for Specific Start-Ups: 

The advantages for e-commerce businesses

E-commerce businesses rely heavily on the inventory they are selling, and self-storage is an excellent solution for housing inventory for a number of reasons. Not only does it clear space in the entrepreneur’s home, and not only is it economical to utilize storage like this, but it also provides space away from their home to accomplish any packaging and preparations for shipping the products. In fact, all packing materials can be stored there as well, making everything to do with storing and shipping the product hyper-easy. 

The advantages for real estate agents

Real estate agents can find great benefits from renting self-storage. All real estate agents know that if they are selling a home, then they are also staging it. This, of course, means moving out the family’s personal furniture, and replacing it with more neutral, stock furniture, art, and accessories. A self-storage unit will not only house your stock furniture between stages, but it can also serve to house the family’s furniture during the staging, allowing the real estate agent to serve their client(s) completely and easily.

(For more on the advantages of self-storage for real estate agents, read this article.) 

The advantages for contractors

Contractors always own numerous tools, often expensive ones, and typically have extra supplies and materials carried-over from previous jobs. Self-storage is an obvious solution here.

Self-storage doesn’t merely provide a solution though. It can be more than that. Contractors can utilize their self-storage unit to execute small, offsite carpentry jobs, or as a meeting place for employees. Mobile containers can provide even more advantages for contractors and construction sites.

Self-storage and mobile storage can provide start-ups of all kinds with numerous advantages as the business expands beyond the entrepreneur’s house. Renting self-storage is quite often a big step every start-up needs to build towards their success.

Box Me Up is Eastern Ontario’s premier self-storage provider and mobile storage experts, and we are here to help you and your start-up. Learn more about our self-storage and mobile storage options, or connect directly with a Box Me Up representative here.