03 Jul 2023
Owners or investors in the self storage industry are building a behemoth of an industry - with over 49 thousand self-storage facilities operating in the United States as of 2021. Of these facilities, over half are owned and operated by small business owners. These are not major operations with think tanks, marketing and tech departments. Typically, the owner of a self storage facility works with or employs a minimal amount of people - this industry relies on maintaining low operating costs.
Knowing how intimidating being a business owner can be, and how one bad investment can sink you, it’s important to take advantage of the multitude of data and experience out there - available for free through the magic of the internet - it’s called crowdsourcing and it’s calling your name!
Investopedia defines crowdsourcing as “obtaining work, information, or opinions from a large group of people who submit their data via the Internet, social media, and smartphone apps.” Before the internet, people made business connections face-to-face, and industry knowledge and secrets were naturally gate kept by sheer proximity, helping to maintain a strong industry foothold for the knowledgeable or lucky few - but as the internet as permeated our work and personal lives, basic information has become very easy to access. Data, opinions, experience and even money are available for the taking - it’s almost too much information. How do storage facility owners and operators find the data they need to grow their business when wading through a sea of trolls, talking heads and slick advertising!
There are many examples of how and why crowdsourcing is explosive for small business owners and operators.
Unexpected solutions
Greater thought diversity
Reduced management burden
More marketing traction
Faster problem-solving
Customer-centric data
Reduced cost of operation
Crowdsourcing is quickly becoming a method used daily to reach a broader audience, reduce pressure on expensive and overworked experts, and reduce the cost of research related to management, marketing and budgeting. As owners and operators of our own self-storage businesses, we must take advantage of every opportunity to automate, reduce costs and grow your business sustainably - and crowdsourcing is the answer.
