October 22, 2019
A storage units business is a solid investment for a number of reasons, including its resistance to recession, its potential as an absentee model, and continuing industry growth. In fact, in 2018, the storage and warehouse rental industry produced $37 billion.
Another big reason a mobile storage units business is one of the more attractive investment opportunities out there is scalability. A franchise partner can add more and more containers, at his or her own pace, to grow incrementally as demand grows.
The more a franchise owner develops the operation, the more sales increase and profit margins widen. This differs from a traditional storage units business with a fixed number of storage units onsite.
Container by Container
“Unlike multi-unit development where you need to duplicate your efforts to develop a new location, the scalability of the UNITS franchise model comes not in additional locations but in additional containers,” explains Matt Dillon, Director of Franchise Development at UNITS Moving and Portable Storage. “The business model stays very simple. It’s also a very low-labor model. All the owner needs to do as their business scales is add to their container growth.”
“This incremental way of scaling is very measured, allowing the owner to know what kind of return to expect, container by container”, Dillon says. “They’re only buying containers when they know that the demand is increasing,” he points out.
A Less Risky Point of Difference
Consider the contrast of this model against traditional fixed-location self-storage, in which an owner might have to build a large number of storage units at once or even a new, additional business location.
“If you go out and spend $4 million on a fixed storage facility, and you rent out those units, when that next customer calls, you’ve got nowhere to go—unless you want to spend another $4 million to build another multi-unit facility,” Dillon notes. “If a UNITS franchisee has 100 containers and knows they’re trending to where they’re going to hit 100% utilization, they can just pick up the phone and buy more.”
Franchisees Can Keep Growing and Growing
To illustrate the range of scalability that is possible, Dillon shares the examples of a location in Charleston, South Carolina, that services and supports a market of approximately 350,000 and another in Phoenix serving more than 3 million.
“The mobile nature of UNITS allows all of the business to radiate from one location and add units to expand your reach,” Dillon says. “You don’t hit an invisible ceiling.”
Founded by Michael McAlhany in 2004, the mission of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage is to provide personal customer service while supplying the most innovative equipment in order to eliminate the frustrations associated with moving and storage space issues.
UNITS Moving and Portable Storage currently has 24 franchised and three corporate territories across the United States. With a presence in more than 40 markets, and growing, the brand is looking to expand with the right people in the right markets.
For more information on how to take advantage of this opportunity, or simply to learn more about the moving and portable storage industry, visit https://www.unitsfranchisegroup.com/ and fill out the inquiry form. We will reach out to you to talk more about your interest in our brand, and how UNITS Moving and Portable Storage can help you reach your personal and financial goals.
