Most people likely assume a business can only operate from home, an office or other premises. However, it is also the case that a business can be partly run from a storage facility.
We are not talking about someone setting up an office in a storage unit, although we dare say it has been tried.
Instead, we are talking about businesses that can use one or more storage units to benefit their business by providing a cost-effective means of storing equipment, inventory, tools, and other items associated with running that business. Here are ten such businesses and why storage units can help them thrive.
eBay/Amazon Sellers: Whether selling on eBay or Amazon, a commercial storage unit can provide a secure location to store inventory. By storing inventory in a storage unit, sellers can prepare orders and ship them with ease. Also, with 24/7 access, they can receive, retrieve, and prep inventory whenever needed.
Independent E-commerce Retailers: A commercial storage unit provides a convenient location to store products, pack and prepare orders, and ship them directly from the storage unit. With several storage options, including climate-controlled units, many products can be stored optimally while saving money on rent and other overheads.
Plumbing/Heating/HVAC Engineers: For these engineers, a commercial storage unit provides a location to store tools and spare parts for boilers, HVAC units, and heating systems. Using a commercial storage facility with 24/7 access, they can collect parts not usually carried in their vans for customers who need repairs, even outside normal working hours.
Antique Dealers: The key benefits to antique dealers of a commercial storage facility are twofold. First, they are extremely secure, meaning if any antiques have especially high values, they are well protected. Second, thanks to the climate-controlled units, fabrics and wood on antiques will not be at risk from temperature variations or moisture.
Auto Repair Shops: If fitting or selling car spares, a commercial storage unit can provide a dry and spacious location to store them, with the added advantage of no fuel or flammable materials in proximity. With climate-controlled units and 24/7 access, a car spare inventory is kept in optimal conditions and retrieved whenever a repair requires.
Removalists: Commercial storage provides a much-requested service for removalist clients by offering short and medium-term storage when they move home or relocate their office. After establishing what needs to be stored and agreeing on a fee with the storage company, that fee is passed on to the client with or without adding a surcharge.
Charity Shops: For charity shops, a commercial storage unit provides a way to store donated stock. By storing some of its inventory in a storage unit, stock flow can be monitored, and the charity shop can avoid being overwhelmed with all its stock or having too many of the same items displayed.
Importers/Exporters: This will vary from business to business. However, some importers and exporters are at the mercy of supply and demand. This means they often have excessive inventory levels, and when that happens, an affordable and convenient location to store it is a commercial storage unit.
Event Planners: Many events that event planners arrange are seasonal, which means many of the items they require are not used all year round. As such, storing such items in a commercial storage unit makes logistical and economic sense.
Landscapers: Given the nature of landscaping, there are many tools and pieces of equipment, along with landscaping furniture and accessories, which are large. To store these in a warehouse would be expensive, making a commercial storage unit the ideal storage solution for landscapers.
