Starting a Storage Service business in South Africa requires some preparation. You need to understand the clientele and competition in your area and learn about the obligations entailed in running such a business.
- Do market research
- You need to plan
- You’ll need to prepare a business plan
- you will need finding to build or renovate the facilities
1. Market research
Storage Service is a fast growing sector of small business and real estate, and it can be highly profitable if you get it right. In order to give yourself the best possible chance, it’s essential that you gain a strong understanding of the sector. You need to know and understand the local demand, the local competition and the kind of costs and profits you might be looking at.
- Search online and through news paper listings for self-storage businesses operating around you.
- Find out what are their prices , and the kind of capacity and service they can offer.
- An area with a lot of storage business suggests high demand, but also may be already well-catered for.
2. Planning
A checklist allows you to schedule your self-storage company’s startup and move quickly into action. Here are some important steps:
- Find one or more potential sites
- Validate the market.
- Determine the number of storage units to be built and the capacity for future development
- Obtain all necessary permits for construction or municipal zoning.
3. The business plan
A business plan essentially is a roadmap for your business; it tells the story of why your business exists (vision)? It speaks of what your business want to achieve (mission), and of speaks of how your business plans to achieve its vision and mission (strategy). read more How to write a business plan
4. Determine your start-up costs.
Before you go any further you need to draw up some figures for your estimated start-up costs. These are costs that you will have to pay to get the business off the ground. Start-up costs should be separate to your ongoing maintenance and business costs.