Managing your own business can come with many obstacles, sacrifices, and endless demands.
For many small business owners, one key priority is to keep costs down while focusing on growth and development. When it comes to safely storing stock, equipment, documents, and more, using your space bedroom isn’t always an option – but renting out office space can be extremely costly.
Self-storage can provide a cost-effective alternative – here, we’ve covered six key tips for business owners considering using self-storage.
- Find A Good Quality Facility
- Clean, dry, and damp-proof units
- CCTV
- Fire alarms
- Fenced perimeters
- A check in/out system
- Use Storage For Organizing Your Inventory
- Carefully Consider What You Are Storing
- Storing Documents
- Using Your Unit To Run Your Business
- Get A Good Insurance Policy
If you are storing valuable items in your storage unit, you want that instant peace of mind that your possessions are stored in a quality, secure facility.
Things to look for include:
Whether you’re a seasonal business owner and need storage for your excess stock in peak season, or you’re looking for a long-term solution to safely storing your inventory all year round, a self-storage unit can be the answer for every business owner.
A great tip is to start as you mean to go on: when storing your stock, create an inventory system that allows you to instantly take stock of what you have, and the total value of the items stored inside. If you let your unit run into disarray, you could end up with more work than you started with!
Make sure that you are permitted to store each and every item in your unit before leaving it there, or you could risk voiding your insurance policy.
Tools and equipment are often covered by storage insurance, but flammable or potentially explosive liquids and items are not, so this is worth keeping in mind. Likewise, make sure the correct value of the items you have stored inside is maintained and communicated to your insurance provider to ensure you are covered should anything happen to your stock and equipment.
If you are storing documents (tax returns, invoices, receipts, company documents etc), having a climate-controlled unit is a must.
A climate-controlled unit will ensure your important documents don’t rot or get destroyed by damp or pests – being able to store your paperwork off-site can save a lot of room and provide a cost-effective solution, but finding a secure unit to keep them safe is essential.
Some facilities don’t have any rules about running your business from your unit, whilst others expressly ban meeting customers or operating machinery/tools within a unit.
A good tip is to ask before you do – if you start running an element of your business that you are not permitted to do, you could void your contract and insurance, and lose a lot of money on your unit rental.
Running your own business can require a large amount of personal sacrifice and financial investment, and for many owners, losing stock and important equipment could be financially devastating.
Take a look at our self-storage insurance for business owners to make sure the value of the possessions you are storing is fully covered should something happen to them while in storage.