My guest today is Scott Meyers, the expert behind Self-Storage Academy and Self-Storage Investing. These two businesses are the crux of Scott’s efforts to teach people how to make money in the self-storage industry. We discuss the types of self-storage facilities and how an owner can find the best fit for them.

Self-storage is a ripe industry for investment opportunities. It is the best of both worlds, real estate, and retail. Scott expands on the idea that self-storage facilities are often treated as businesses to increase their value. He describes his process to create a storage facility and offers his opinion on current market trends.

MINUTE MARKERS

00:00 -- Introduction to the Big Mike Fund Podcast.

00:22 -- Welcome Scott Meyers to the podcast.

01:30  -- Scott’s work with Ywam Homes of Hope.

04:22 -- The value of self-storage real estate.

05:00 -- Why Scott pivoted away from single-family rental real estate.

08:10 -- Mike’s observations of Scott’s storage units and his educational tools.

09:19 -- How you can invest in a self-storage facility as a business.

09:50 -- The 3 types of self-storage projects.

11:28  -- Type 1: Rehabbing existing self-storage units to increase value.

12:29 -- Type 2: Converting an old industrial building to storage units.

13:15 -- The benefits of converting a former business.

13:40 -- Type 3: Building from the ground-up.

14:34 -- Why Scott enjoys conversions and rehabs.

15:28 -- Why Scott likes to find bigger projects.

16:50 -- Why old shopping malls make ideal locations for self-storage businesses.

18:25 -- Mike’s interest in self-storage and the projects he has going right now.

18:39 -- The predictability of the self-storage business model.

20:25 -- How to increase ROI (return on investment) on a self-storage unit and still keep tenants.

22:00 -- The storage condo trend and what Scott thinks of it.

24:47 -- What Scott takes into consideration when creating a self-storage facility.

28:30 -- Scott’s contact information.

29:33 -- Scott’s advice to new business owners.

31:36 --  Thanks to Scott Meyers for joining us today.

31:47 -- Outro to the Big Mike Fund Podcast.

RESOURCES

Big Mike Fund Podcast

Homes of Hope

Self-Storage Academy

Self-Storage Investing

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman