Curb appeal isn't just about what you see. It's about what others see when they visit your property, whether in person or online. The right curb appeal can attract a great tenant leading to long term healthy arrangement. But the reverse is also true. Negative curb appeal can keep good tenants away or attract the wrong kind of tenant. So, what are the essentials? How do you manage your curb appeal?

We are excited to have Jane Sauls, broker and self storage owner, join the show to talk all about curb appeal and specifically how it impacts marketing. She drives home the three "R"s that are the foundation of her facility, showing the value of being Real, Relatable, and Reliable.

Guest: Jane Sauls (Sauls Storage Group and Little Vine Storage)

Host: Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions and StoragePug

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This famous slogan rings true in more areas than just keeping your hair free of dandruff. It's especially true in the self storage industry. What are people's first impression when they drive by or walk on your property?

Today we dive into the different aspects of keeping your facility neat, clean, and bright. Organization, signage, landscaping, and all the rest are covered as we look into the good, bad, and ugly of curb appeal. We'll also tackle digital curb appeal in a future episode.

Related Episodes: Keeping Up With Your Facility with Jackie Belau & Nigel Kreft

• Click Here to listen to Part 1
• Click Here to listen to Part 2

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

One of the top training guru's in self storage, Carol Mixon, joins the podcast today to talk all about selling skills. Active listening, problem solving, customer care, product knowledge, and of course closing those leads are just a few of the many topics covered in todays episode. Carol shares a variety of helpful examples along with practical advice for training your team or doing the work yourself.

This is a rebroadcast of the Gabfocus webinar originally aired on 3/28/2024. You can watch it over on StoragePug's site.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: Carol Mixon (SkilCheck)

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Lighthouse Storage Solutions

We're back from Inside Self Storage with all our fun takeaways from the education, networking, and trade show. Dozens of speakers, hundreds of vendors, and thousands of attendees made this an event to remember. And speaking of thousands, the Storage Gives event was HUGE, raising thousands for all the worthy causes they support.

Interested in purchasing sessions from ISS? Visit their store right here.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Welcome to Episode 1 of Legal Chat. This is the podcast version of the virtual "Power Hour" featuring Carlos Kaslow and Scott Zucker which covers a variety of topics and questions sent in from self storage owners and operators around the country. Today we get to know Carlos Kaslow's origin story before the guys dive in to the legal topics facing the self storage industry. They cover updating leases with electronic signatures, tenants attempts to stop auctions, potential rent control bills, and some very important non-monetary default legislation.

Start at 6:20 if you want to skip to the Legal Chat.

You can watch this episode over on their YouTube channel- Legal Chat Episode 1

Make sure to subscribe to watch future episodes.

Hosts: Carlos Kaslow & Scott Zucker with the Self Storage Legal Network

Brought to you by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

We're back (for a few days at least) from the recent '24 Self Storage Association Spring Conference. Honestly, we were blown away by the amount of new additions to the storage space. Today we share a few key takeaways regarding new tech players in the industry, session highlights, and products to consider.

There are more tools today than ever before to help any self storage owner be competitive, but you have to know the tools exist in order to see if they'll work for your business. We tackle this and a lot more, including a teaser for the upcoming legal chat, as we share our takeaways.

Interested in the new Legal Chat webinar? Subscribe to that right here.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Collections may be the least favorite part of self storage management. But you gotta do it. It starts with a good policy and ends with getting paid, but the in-between part of interacting with customers and vetting excuses is where it gets fuzzy. Or does it? As with most things, consistency is key with collections. Rent is due when it's due. If you're late you get a late fee. If you don't pay, you get overlocked. That may seem heartless in some circumstances, but as the late great godfather taught us, it's not personal. It's just business.

Next week we'll be at the SSA Spring Conference in DC. Make sure to stop by our session and roundtable and say hello. Now go collect that money!

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Digital marketing dollars don't go as far as they used to, but don't worry- Stacie Maxwell, the Grassroots Guru, joins us to explore the ways you can get involved in your community to keep your facility top-of-mind when people need storage. Do you host local events? Have a robust referral program? Use QR codes? Engage in social media? Partner with other businesses? We explore these options and more as we take a deep dive into grassroots marketing and find out how to measure its success.

This is a rebroadcast of the Gabfocus webinar originally aired on 2/29/2024. You can watch it over on StoragePug's site.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: Stacie Maxwell (Universal Storage Group)

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Are you getting the most out of your self storage facility? Raising your rates is still the best way to increase your income, but these days price increases are a bit more tricky. Today we explore several affordable and effective ways to increase revenue from retail, to technology, to value pricing, and many more in between. Our industry is full of ways to maximize your revenue and you need to be taking advantage of every one of them.

Plus, we touch on a new Georgia rent control bill recently introduced that could have huge implications for self storage. And we highlight a brand new legal show coming soon: the SSLN Legal Chat. You can subscribe to that right here.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Trade show season is off to a great start! We were at the Florida Self Storage Association Conference & Expo last week and noticed a few things trending in self storage. Of course, AI was talked about, but we don't share the same opinion as some others who think it'll be a slow roll-out in our industry. Plus, we're noticing a growing trend of more niche service providers which is a great thing for you if you want to be more hands-on with your facility. We highlight vendors, services, trends, and what's on the horizon. Plus, our serious and silly recommendations.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions