The flexibility of self storage can ease growing pains for most businesses, as Helen Brennan explains.

For most entrepreneurs the aspiration when starting-up a business is to see the enterprise grow as well as prosper. Most small businesses will, at some point, have an opportunity to expand.

Knowing whether or not the time is right, and if so how to embark on growth without adversely effecting current business, is an area which requires much consideration and planning.

Detailed analysis will establish if a business is likely to be able to cope with expansion and to plan a strategy to most successfully exploit the opportunity for growth.

A key consideration for SMEs is how to invest in opportunities, resources and structures which will support growth while minimising the financial risk of expanding.

Any opportunity to minimise financial risk is a welcome opportunity. A solution which is helping many of today’s SMEs in their bid to expand is the rapidly growing self storage industry.

Being tied down to a medium or long-term lease 

Fred Taylor, director of operations at Access Self Storage, says, “Two thirds of our business customers are company directors, which goes to show that senior decision makers are realising the value of the service we provide. We believe that we offer the perfect resource for companies which are endeavouring to expand, as we do not require the levels of commitment which can sometimes make the risks seem to outweigh the opportunity.”

One of the risk factors which can hinder the growth of an SME is the prospect of being tied down to a medium or long-term lease.

The commitment of such lease types and being restricted to a certain size area for the duration of the lease does not tend to fit well with the business model of expanding SMEs, which in most cases requires flexibility.

For stock based businesses the flexibility of self storage is of particular appeal, with many storage companies only requiring seven days' notice to up or downsize a unit there is no longer the worry of paying for space which is not needed.

Larger or extra units can be rented to cope with growth due to a general increase in demand for stock, or to cope with busy periods like Christmas or other seasonal fluctuations, and if the increased demand does not continue, or once seasonal stock has been dispatched, a business can resume the lower rental rates of smaller units.

Stock-based businesses

Tomas Dalek imports Polish beer in to the UK and uses Access Self Storage in Boston Manor as his base.

“My stock levels fluctuate on a weekly basis so the flexibility Access offers me means I am only paying for the space I need. I also have the luxury of increasing or decreasing space as and when I need it, and don’t have to commit to a long-term lease, which is something I wouldn’t be able to do with conventional warehouse space,” he says.

Self storage is not only of benefit to businesses which are stock based, all growing businesses can benefit from the flexibility and relatively low cost that self storage offers.

With office space in any location costing a premium it is imperative to ensure that the costly space is being used to gain maximum benefit. 

Businesses which have offices cluttered with rarely referenced paperwork, archive files, excess equipment or unused furniture could use self storage to free up expensive space for additional members of staff.

Freeing up expensive office space 

An Ernst and Young survey revealed that it costs the average company £1,200 per year to maintain the space occupied by a four-drawer filing cabinet.

With self storage costing a fraction of that price and most businesses having more than one filing cabinet, smart businesses are recognising the advantages of storing paperwork offsite.

Freeing up expensive office space to accommodate extra staff allows a business to expand without having to relocate, which has multiple advantages for a growing SME.

Relocation, for any reason, is an expensive and disruptive process, avoiding relocation and the related extra financial strain during a growth period is one way of reducing the financial risk associated with growing a venture.

>>>>> article continues >>>>>