HOW CAN STORAGE FACILITIES BENEFIT START-UPS AND SMALL BUSINESSES?

Running a business can often be daunting when you first start out. From licensing to taxes, financing to insurance, you’re going to need to keep many plates spinning if you want your business to succeed. It’s hard to keep on top of everything yourself or even within a small team, but there are effective ways to streamline your operations and reduce avoidable costs.One of the best ways is to take advantage of a storage facility. This might not be the best option for every business but storage facilities offer a range of valuable services for businesses that go far beyond locks and bolts. In this post, we will outline the key benefits available to businesses from using storage facilities, especially for smaller companies and start-ups.

FLEXIBLE CONTRACTS

In order to prosper, start-ups and SMEs need to be able to expand and contract. High turnover of staff, uncertain financing and seasonal fluctuations in stock all demand a great deal of flexibility in smaller companies. Operating your business from your home can be messy and inefficient whilst renting an office space or traditional lock up ties you in to lengthy contracts and can be very costly.Using a storage facility allows you to quickly and cheaply adapt to changes in demand, financing and other commercial variables that influence your trade. Unlike commercial leases that bind you to long-term contracts, storage facilities give you the flexibility to rent more or less storage space for limited periods of time or indefinitely. Short-term rolling contracts keep costs to an absolute minimum while allowing you to quickly adapt to your business demands – expansion has never been easier! This flexibility saves you valuable time, energy and – most importantly for a burgeoning business – money.

COST SAVING

Running a business from your kitchen table keeps costs low, without a doubt. However, it won’t be long before you outgrow your home and a space for all of your stock, materials and business documents becomes a necessity. Similarly, renting an office at a business park may offer you the required space but it inevitably comes at a high cost – often too high for most new companies.Establishing a storage unit as your business headquarters is perfect for non-customer facing trades. Not only do you benefit from the extra space and lower costs, most storage facilities happily accept deliveries on your behalf, with some even unloading your deliveries directly into your storage unit. Customer service doesn’t come much better than that!Basing your company at a self-storage facility has the added benefit of avoiding paying business rates. A legal obligation for most non-domestic properties such as traditional warehouse units, firms operating out of storage units avoid this cost as the Valuation Office Agency deems only the operator of the storage company liable for the payment of business rates.

SECURITY

A major benefit of keeping your stock, tools, materials and documents in a storage facility is the peace of mind knowing they’re securely stored. Unlike a residential garage or traditional lock-up, storage facilities have fire and waterproof containers, CCTV surveillance and on-site staff. However, this heightened level of security does not impede access as customers can easily come and go using access-controlled gates, activated by unique codes or phone number recognition.

DOCUMENT STORAGE & MANAGEMENT

It’s not only self-storage units that can massively benefit SMEs; some storage facilities offer additional services that will ensure you keep on top of all that paperwork. As you are more than aware, running a business involves masses of documentation, which will only grow with your company. Much of it needs to be securely stored for years at a time to comply with legal or tax laws, especially since the recent changes to GDPR.Storing your business documents and records at a storage facility ensures their safety, allows you to easily manage them, and also keeps your office or working space free from clutter and sensitive material. The best storage facilities offer a document management service that scans and indexes your files to make it as easy as possible for you to retrieve important documents when you need to.When your documents reach their compliance expiration date or are no longer useful to you, certain storage facilities can even securely dispose of your confidential waste with their shredding services. What more could a small and aspiring business ask for?Business types that could most benefit from storage services:

• Removals
• Retailers & e-commerce
• Events
• Importers/exporters
• Builders/construction
• Ebay sellers
• Marketing
• Theatre companies
• Furniture

Whatever your storage needs, our self-storage, document storage and shredding services will allow you to focus on your business in a clutter free, cost-effective working space. For help choosing the best services for your business, get in touch today.