Congratulations! You’ve grown your staging business to the point where your inventory, when it’s not in use (hopefully not often!), is filling every nook and cranny of your home. It’s time to rent a storage space. Whether you’re based in a city or a rural area, choices abound for spaces to rent to keep your inventory. Some options to consider are other people’s unused garages, sheds, extra rooms, public storage units, and warehouses. With my own staging business, I rented a small self-storage unit at a storage complex a couple blocks from my home. Location, size, and cost were the key considerations for me at first, but I quickly learned that there were other important factors I hadn’t thought of at the beginning.

First of all, signing a contract to rent a storage unit is not something to take lightly. It’s an extra overhead expense that you probably haven’t had to incur until this point. You’ve got to be sure that you can cover this expense, or that your business is growing at a healthy enough rate to cover it. You’re signing a contract which is a legally-enforceable commitment – take it seriously! In my opinion, it’s best to find a storage space which you can rent on a month-to-month basis, with a time period in which to give notice of leaving it that is as short as possible.

As for the size of the unit, you probably won’t need as much space as you think. If business is good, hopefully the unit will be empty much of the time! But, as we’ve all experienced, there are ups and downs in this business, and you should anticipate that much of your inventory may be back in your possession at some point – especially around the holidays.

You should feel comfortable in the space you’re renting. Get to know the manager by sight. Security is key: Who else has units near yours? During what hours can you access your unit? What type of security is there? When is a manager on duty? Is there adequate lighting in your unit? At one point I had some transients essentially living in the unit across the hall from mine – I always felt a little uncomfortable opening my unit when they were around to reveal all the beautiful new furniture I had!

Make sure that you will have access to the units in the early mornings and evenings. I would always be loading my truck at the crack of dawn, and often returning at dusk. Believe me, it sucks after a long day to realize you can’t unload the truck as you’d planned! Also note how you will load and unload – are you near a loading dock or parking area? Climate, water and pest control are other things to inquire about before renting – how awful it would be to have termites destroy your inventory!

Be sure to notify your insurer of this exciting development in your business. If a fire destroyed your unit, it would be devastating to lose everything only to find that your insurance didn’t cover items kept off the premises of your home or business address. Many storage rental contracts state explicitly that their insurance will not cover loss of your stored items. Finally, as always, read the fine print in the rental contract before you sign. Remember that you most likely have a lot of options in this area, and you have the ability to negotiate terms you may not like. Happy storing!