Running your business from a self storage unit

Whilst we have spent much time blogging on this site about using the most affordable storage units in your area in order to enhance lifestyle and business, there are those that virtually use their storage unit as business premises. So it isn’t a case of having an office down the road, and a bit of surplus stock held in a storage unit which you might fetch once or twice a week. Just imagine having to go to the storage unit once or twice a day, then once or twice every hour, and you may as well be working from there, right? This is indeed what some small businesses have been doing, and as far as many storage companies go – that’s absolutely fine by them.

If you can get over the surroundings of endless metal shutters and long corridors, and perhaps the lack of personalisation and feeling at home that having your own premises can provide, then this is a great business solution, particularly for those working in online retail who need to be on the warehouse floor more often than not. Many storage companies deliver well and beyond what is required for providing business space – they are often open all year round 24/7, require little upkeep, and extortionate business rates and drawn out rental agreements are a thing of the past. Running your business from self-storage, if you can manage the surroundings, can reduce running costs and increase your options. Essentially you are transferring a lot of the headache of running facilities to the storage company, leaving plenty of space to focus on developing your business. No need to write huge cheques to the authorities, and if business is booming then expansion simply means getting a bigger bay at any time you want, rather than holding out until the end of a lease. Or you can be creative and hire several different storage units in order to create separate departments, or stock areas, or even separate chains of a process. Naturally the tax can be claimed back too, so it could work out even cheaper than you might originally envisage.

It is anticipated that many retailers will begin to follow this route, as shopping online becomes more popular, much to the detriment of the traditional high street shop arrangement. And there exists a symbiosis now with storage companies that are starting to offer office services on their sites so that entire businesses can be run from the location, and some of the reception and admin work may be contracted out to form a managed service with a front office team. Obviously storage sites are designed to make delivery very easy, and if you can’t be around for a delivery there’s always going to be somewhere that it can be kept safe until you pick it up.

So if you find your company is moving up but you can’t budget for a warehouse and office space just yet, you can do a lot worse than speak to some storage companies near you and see what sort of packages they can offer you.