How The Self-Storage Industry Is Coping With COVID-19

The continued spread of the coronavirus is unlikely to abate anytime soon, forcing entrepreneurs and innovators in a wide array of industries to reshape how they go about earning a profit for themselves. The self-storage industry, for instance, has been hit in similar ways to the real estate industry that it’s often associated with. Self-storage starters across the country have been forced to adopt peculiar practices in the era of COVID-19, some of which have worked while others proved lackluster.

Exploring how the self-storage industry is coping with COVID-19, we can see that some serious changes need to be fostered for the sake of public health.

Construction delays aren’t too bad

Construction delays are occuring everywhere, largely because shelter-in-place and social distancing efforts have mitigated economic activity in just about every sector of the economy. Nevertheless, construction delays in the self-storage industry actually aren’t too terrible right now, largely because construction workers were often deemed “essential” early on and thus given greater leeway in terms of shutting down or remaining open for business. 

A helpful conversation with Beyond Self Storage’s Lara Anderson illustrates just how well the industry has been coping with the awkward construction hurdles faced by others. Anderson accurately points out that a good capital base has ensured many self storage companies are alive and well when other businesses are finding themselves seriously strapped for cash. Operators in other sectors of the economy simply can’t say the same thing when it comes to how much cash they had on hand when this crisis began. This means that portable storage containers and other facets of the self storage industry will be available for some time yet. 

There are even reasons to believe that demand for self storage was actually higher this March than it usually is. Many luxurious sectors of the economy couldn’t withstand this temporary halt in business, but people are always in dire need of storage. Many companies and individuals who had to put their economic aspirations on hold likely felt the need to store some of their equipment or personal items in order to ensure they would be safe and sound in the future when things reopened. 

People often store things when their lives change without notice, and that has been happening more these past few months than perhaps ever before. These sudden economic shocks and changes to daily life have thus been good to the self storage industry. All in all, we can expect self storage gurus who carefully manage their businesses to remain alive and well for the duration of this pandemic.

Brett Sartorial
 

Brett is a business journalist with a focus on corporate strategy and leadership. With over 15 years of experience covering the corporate world, Brett has a reputation for being a knowledgeable, analytical and insightful journalist. He has a deep understanding of the business strategies and leadership principles that drive the world's most successful companies, and is able to explain them in a clear and compelling way. Throughout his career, Brett has interviewed some of the most influential business leaders and has covered major business events such as the World Economic Forum and the Davos. He is also a regular contributor to leading business publications and has won several awards for his work.