This episode's guest is Travis Morrow, Chairman and CEO of Store Local and President of National Self Storage. Few people have seen the industry from as many angles as Travis: operator, co-op founder, publisher, event host, and one of the most connected voices in self storage. He runs a 29-store portfolio, learned the business from the ground up doing feasibility studies as an intern, and has been working remote since 2009, long before anyone had a pandemic to blame. Through it all, he still calls himself an operator first, and every hat he wears traces back to one question: are my stores renting units?

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In this episode, we explore:

• Travis's path from a half-semester internship to a portfolio he owns, develops, and manages
• The mentorship of Bob Schaff and learning to look out for the whole industry, not just your own facilities
• Why the Young Leaders Group exists and what he tells the 25-year-old just entering storage
• The cooperative origins of Store Local and the bet that scale can be shared
• Whether consolidation has gone too far, and why storage trails hospitality by about 15 years
• How Store Local Storage gives independents a brand to fly without becoming a franchise
• The advantage independents still hold: speed and nimbleness
• Why operators have a reputation for being cheap, and what's finally breaking the habit
• "Cheap leads" and the endless hunt for true lead attribution and return on ad spend
• AI as a multiplier, not a magic wand, and how Travis evaluates which tools actually rent units
• Bringing back MSM, the rebrand to Modern Storage Media, and launching a new fall show in Atlanta
• Rapid fire: Red Bull to Celsius, morning person, Tucson vs. Atlanta, and a favorite Braves moment

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In This Episode We Discussed:

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(00:00:00) Intro: a long time coming, and Swivl ahead of the curve
(00:02:50) Travis's many hats, and why he's still an operator first
(00:05:54) The Young Leaders Group and mentorship under Bob Schaff
(00:12:13) Store Local's co-op origins and the long tail of the industry
(00:15:54) Has consolidation gone too far? The hospitality parallel
(00:18:06) The independent operator's real advantage: speed
(00:19:40) Inside the co-op: ownership, choice, and Store Local Storage
(00:23:09) Why operators are slow to invest, and what breaks the habit
(00:27:44) Travis's framework for prioritizing where to spend time and energy
(00:28:33) "Cheap leads" and the endless hunt for true lead attribution
(00:34:25) Evaluating AI tools as an operator and at a tech company
(00:38:27) AI as a multiplier, not a magic wand, and an LLM-as-golf-clubs analogy
(00:43:12) Bringing back MSM and the rebrand to Modern Storage Media
(00:47:00) Why Atlanta, and building a modern conference experience
(00:53:08) Rapid fire: Red Bull, Celsius, mornings, Tucson vs. Atlanta, Braves
(00:59:19) One thing Travis wishes the REITs would stop doing
(01:00:34) Where to find Travis and the MSM show

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Favorite Nuggets

• "I am still a self storage operator first, regardless of any of the other hats that I wear."
• "Now go rent some units."
• "One of the worst things you can tell an entrepreneur is no."
• "Technology is a multiplier. It is not a magic wand."
• "AI today is as bad as it's ever going to be. And as bad as it is today, it's still pretty cool."

🔗 More from Travis & MSM
Learn about the show and view the schedule at msmtheshow.com. Listeners can use affiliate code SWIVL26 at registration to save $100.

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