Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
1–10 of 68 posts
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#2From the article:
But there is one clear lesson from the storage story.
If you want to be a millionaire, you'd be well advised
to look beyond what's sexy.
There are great startup ideas lying around unexploited
right under our noses. One reason we don't see them is
a phenomenon I call "schlep blindness." "Schlep" was
originally a Yiddish word but has passed into general
use in the US. It means a tedious, unpleasant task.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#3"Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Oxford University, says we have six times more "stuff" than the generation before us."
I run a storage business and I can say that this is no longer the case with the younger generation. We used to store boxes of CDs, Videos, 14" Colour TVs, Desktop Computers, Hifis. Now all this is in a laptop and mobile phone, which people just take with them. We now insist on up-front payment as the items people store are worthless to sell.
90% of what we store is now boxes/suitcases of clothes and books.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#4From the article: But there is one clear lesson from the storage story. If you want to be a millionaire, you'd be well advised to look beyond what's sexy. Quoting from Paul Graham: There are great startup ideas lying around unexploited right under our noses. One reason we don't see them is a phenomenon I call "schlep blindness." "Schlep" was originally a Yiddish word but has passed into general use in the US. It mean…
It's also a great example of the general principle that it's good business to try and figure out how to disproportionately leverage public resources.
Say police protection and property enforcement was privatized. Under such circumstances, the cost of security for a storage facility would be substantial. But in a society where the public pays for security, it's "free" to create a business that presents an outsized target for thieves.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#5"Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Oxford University, says we have six times more "stuff" than the generation before us." I run a storage business and I can say that this is no longer the case with the younger generation. We used to store boxes of CDs, Videos, 14" Colour TVs, Desktop Computers, Hifis. Now all this is in a laptop and mobile phone, which people just take with them. We now insist on up-front paym…
I had a 10x20' storage unit for years -- it was full of all the stuff you mentioned - CDs, stereo, furniture, an astoundingly heavy 34" tube TV... All the media went digital (with multiple backups!) and everything else was either sold on Craigslist, donated, or hauled away to the landfill. Now I can move by just renting a small trailer.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#6From the article: But there is one clear lesson from the storage story. If you want to be a millionaire, you'd be well advised to look beyond what's sexy. Quoting from Paul Graham: There are great startup ideas lying around unexploited right under our noses. One reason we don't see them is a phenomenon I call "schlep blindness." "Schlep" was originally a Yiddish word but has passed into general use in the US. It mean…
It's also a great example of the general principle that it's good business to try and figure out how to disproportionately leverage public resources. Say police protection and property enforcement was privatized. Under such circumstances, the cost of security for a storage facility would be substantial. But in a society where the public pays for security, it's "free" to create a business that presents an outsized tar…
Hardly. Physical security at self-storage facilities is comparable to that at non-classified government installations - at least the ones I've seen in Canada: Perimeter fencing with logged access control, CCTVs and live monitoring, individual locks on storage areas, etc.
Add the cost of insurance, bonding, etc., and there is absolutely no "free" involved.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#7"Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Oxford University, says we have six times more "stuff" than the generation before us." I run a storage business and I can say that this is no longer the case with the younger generation. We used to store boxes of CDs, Videos, 14" Colour TVs, Desktop Computers, Hifis. Now all this is in a laptop and mobile phone, which people just take with them. We now insist on up-front paym…
"We now insist on up-front payment as the items people store are worthless to sell."
Was this ever different? Boxes of CD's, videos and tube TV's don't sound that valuable. But reading into your comment, it seems it wasn't always like this...
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#8"Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Oxford University, says we have six times more "stuff" than the generation before us." I run a storage business and I can say that this is no longer the case with the younger generation. We used to store boxes of CDs, Videos, 14" Colour TVs, Desktop Computers, Hifis. Now all this is in a laptop and mobile phone, which people just take with them. We now insist on up-front paym…
Do you see the overall demand profile for self-storage changing accordingly, i.e. it could be headed for a secular decline because younger demographics don't accumulate as many physical items?
When I was brainstorming startup ideas once I mentally kicked around "AirBNB for self-storage," but liability issues and what I saw as a trend towards minimalism among those who would have been a target demographic as reasons to discard it.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#9"Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Oxford University, says we have six times more "stuff" than the generation before us." I run a storage business and I can say that this is no longer the case with the younger generation. We used to store boxes of CDs, Videos, 14" Colour TVs, Desktop Computers, Hifis. Now all this is in a laptop and mobile phone, which people just take with them. We now insist on up-front paym…
I had a 10x20' storage unit for years -- it was full of all the stuff you mentioned - CDs, stereo, furniture, an astoundingly heavy 34" tube TV... All the media went digital (with multiple backups!) and everything else was either sold on Craigslist, donated, or hauled away to the landfill. Now I can move by just renting a small trailer.
Why didn't you just sell the non-essential things and make room for the rest? I only ask because I have lived in 7 different properties since starting University and now (almost three years into career) and I literally take what I need and chuck the rest; one could probably describe me as the 'anti-hoarder'.
Re: Self-storage: The men who got rich selling empty space
#10Whether it's for economic (less spending money), technological (mp3s are a lot smaller than CDs), or simply cultural reasons, the younger generation seems to have less stuff.
I see an opportunity in 5-10 years...microapartments in former self-storage space?