Self Storage Technology
When you are considering the management question (DIY, hire an employee, or hire a management company) keep in mind the technology that is available to you. A wise use of technology can increase your efficiency ten fold.
CELL PHONES: I know, cutting edge technology, right? We use a cell phone for our self storage business phone calls. This allows us to be away from the office, but still take care of business.
REMOTE CONTROL: Occasionally someone calls and needs to be let into the facility (the gate has them locked out). Rather than getting in the car and driving down to the facility, we can log into the office computer and change their status in the gate software. The entire process takes 2 minutes, and I can go about my day!
KIOSK: We use an Insomniac Kiosk at our self storage businesses. This kiosk looks similar to an ATM machine. It allows a new customer to sign a lease and move into a unit, and buy a lock. It also allows current customers to look up their account and pay their bill. Often, we will have new customers move in, and we had no idea they were even considering using our self storage business. It is fun to go down and collect our money for the week and see that we have new customers. Talk about passive income!
Date: September 12th, 2008 @ 08:01
Categories: management
