Melissa Stiles from Storage Asset Management brings her expertise managing marketing for over 600 self storage locations to the group as we dive into digital marketing. What tactics work for lease up, large stores, small stores, or stable properties? When is it time to change things up? What should your budget look like? We explore social media, Google Ads, Analytics, Business Profiles, and competing with other operators in your market. Plus, we reveal the most underutilized marketing tactic in self storage.

This is a re-broadcast of the 11/21 webinar.

Guest: Melissa Stiles, Storage Asset Management 

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

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

What's obvious to you might not be so obvious to others. We swim in the self-storage world, so things like month-to-month leases, drive-up access, online rentals, and pest control might not seem like amazing amenities to highlight. However, the average customer doesn't know the standard self-storage package. Handicap access or the fact that they are the only ones with a key to their unit might be the selling point that brings you the rental over your competitor. Your competitor has those things too, but if you're the only one advertising that you don't require a security deposit, maybe customers will start think that you have the edge over your competition.

Today we take a deep dive into all things obvious, plus share some holiday themed recommendations.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Matt Enger, co-founder of Cubby Storage, joins us to talk about his journey into self storage. From his beginnings storing artwork, to the development of Cubby, he has used his tech background to increase efficiency and enhance the customer experience in a variety of industries. We also dive into self storage software, which has become integral to running just about every facility in the country. What are the needs owners have? What should software do? We cover this and a ton more as we examine his origin story.

Guest: Matt Engfer, Cubby Storage

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

I'm sure most of us in self storage have insurance, but is it the right kind? Are the right things covered? What are the events that should trigger reevaluating your level of coverage? We aren't insurance agents, but we tackle a few of these key questions every facility owner should ask. If you need a solid agent, contact your local storage association for recommendations for your area.

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management

There's a lot of talk about making money in self storage, but what about the best ways to spend it? Do you have a handle on managing your finances? They're the lifeblood of any business. Without proper financial management, you can easily find yourself digging your business into a hole. See what our expert panelists have to say about keeping track of and even improving your self storage business's finances as we learn about accounting, revenue management, preparing for a recession, and a little bit about taxes.

Guests: Magen Smith (Atomic Storage Group) & Alex Erbs (Erbs Management Group)

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management

Finding balance between work and everything else can be a struggle, especially if you own and operate a self storage facility. Customer interactions, maintenance issues, and operational tasks don't always fit neatly into a 9-5, 40 hour a week job. How do you find balance? How much work is too much or not enough? Our hosts offer some tips about making the most of your time and focusing on what really matters to you.

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Keeping your facility and your customers' belongings safe is one of your highest priorities. But, there are a lot of security features to choose from. Let's explore the range of security options, what matters most to customers, and what the future of self storage security looks like.

Featured Speakers: Kristi Adams (Open Tech), Kevin Alvarado (Storable), & Hayden Buettner (Janus International).

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management

Self Storage has been booming lately, but is that season coming to an end? What concerns are facing our tenants? What are the concerns owners should have? Jane Sauls, a facility owner and self storage broker from Sauls Storage Group, joins us to talk about the market and what we should be looking out for as facility values settle down and as the country faces economic uncertainty.

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Self storage has given a lot to us. It's helped pay the bills and provided income for thousands across the nation. Today, Lonnie Bickford (Appletree Storage, StorageAuctions.com) joins us to talk about giving back. His organization Storage Gives provides a unique way to contribute to vetted charitable organizations from the proceeds of our storage auctions. For more info, visit StorageGives.org

Brought to you by the teams at Affordable Storage Guys Management and StoragePug

If you're a self storage owner or manager, you probably get a few calls a week asking if your facility is for sale. What do you need to know to make the most of a sale? What should you look for when buying a new facility? Our experts join Tommy to discuss the market, buying, selling, and growing your facility.

Guests: Jane Sauls (Sauls Storage Group), Kris Bennett (PassiveInvesting.com), and Matthew VanHorn (Black Swan Storage Group)

Brought to you by Affordable Storage Guys Management and StoragePug

The self storage world is always changing. One of the best ways to stay informed is to attend national and state shows. In this episode, we catch up with Chad Lundberg (The Storage Group) at the SSA Spring show. Chad is a part of the Self Storage Association of Michigan (SSAM) and loves shows like this for a ton of reasons. Melissa and Tommy also give their takes on the importance of continuing education.

Brought to you by- Affordable Storage Guys Management & StoragePug

These days software is almost as essential as a building in self storage. But which program is the best? From Sitelink to Easy Storage Solutions to Web Self Storage (and just about everything in between), we cover the good, the bad, what brings a headache, and what we can't live without, all from an operator's/manager's perspective.

Special Guests- Brian Ward, Erika Weidman, & Steven Jeffers

Brought to you by- Affordable Storage Guys Management & StoragePug

We caught up with special guest Tim Dietz (CEO of the Self Storage Association) at the SSA Spring Show in Orlando. Tim shared his take on the conference and the future of self storage. Is the outlook bright? Any big ticket legal items? How many attended the conference? You'll have to listen to find out.

Brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Experts from 6Storage, Storable, Storage Commander, and Storeganise join us to talk all about software. Good self storage software can make all the difference for both the customer experience and the manager/owner. What functionality should software have? How should it interact with security, call centers, and payment portals? What are the pain points operators are trying to overcome? And of course, what's coming in the next few years? From integrations, to customer interactions, to management needs, our guests overview what you should be looking for in a software system.

Guests: Jason Palmer (Storable), Alyssa Winkelman (6Storage), Steve Smith (Storage Commander), and Jack Colemanzo (Storeganise)

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

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

Automation doesn't always mean unmanned. From leasing to access control to communication, there are self storage facilities implementing technology and automation across their business in all sorts of different ways. Find out how operators are navigating a modern world, when they're adding automation, and when they're not.

Guests: AJ Osborne, Mason Levy, & Josh Parker

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management

Self storage properties are being bought and sold in record numbers these days. Do you know what your facility is worth? Do you know how to increase its value? Special guest Andrew Beeckman (Marcus & Millichap) joins us after a delightful Valentine's day dinner for a fun chat about what drives self storage value. We hit on some important practices to put in place and a few things we think may increase value, but really don't have as big an impact as we may hope.

Brought to you by Affordable Storage Guys Management and StoragePug

Are you offering No Contract Rentals? What about online payments? Automation shouldn't be seen as a threat to managers, but an asset to help do the myriad of jobs in self storage faster and easier. Come see what tools and integrations are out there to boost your efficiency and revenue while maintaining the safety of your team and customers.

Featured Speakers: Stephanie Tharpe, Jim Ferguson, Jane Sauls, Phil Murphy, Scott Worden, & Bob Copper

Brought to you by Affordable Storage Guys Management and StoragePug

2021 has come to a close. We took a chance to catch up with some familiar faces, wrap up the year with some final thoughts and to talk about what waits ahead for self storage in 2022! From value pricing to lessons learned, our panel covers it all, including several hilarious and crazy stories from the past year.

Featured Speakers: Alonna Ross, Jim Mooney, Stephanie Winfree, Chad Lundberg, & Grace Totty

Brought to you by Affordable Storage Guys Management & StoragePug

This webinar originally aired in April, 2020, but is still packed with great info for us today where we'll learn what you can do to empower your manager to maximize their potential. How do you communicate with your teams? How do you handle bonuses? What are the most important tools used to help managers? These are just a few of the self storage questions tackled by our panel.

Panelists: Stephanie Tharpe, Sue Haviland, Cindy Ashby, Jim Ross, Denise Bowley, Ben Hendricks, Jason Lee, & Jim Mooney

Brought to you by StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Welcome to the show! Self Storage has never been this fun and informative! Listen in as we gab about the industry and focus in on particular areas. Want to learn more about auctions, operations, management, marketing, best practices, customer service, and more? Interested in what the best in the industry have to say? Melissa Huff and Tommy Nguyen bring in nationally recognized speakers, leaders of companies, and top experts to help you maximize your self storage business, optimize your management team, and prepare for what's ahead.

New episodes on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month! These come from the monthly Gabfocus webinar sessions, both new and old, and are brought to you by the teams at StoragePug and Affordable Storage Guys Management.

Affordable Storage Guys Management

StoragePug

Tommy Nguyen, founder of StoragePug, shares his origins both in the US and in self storage. From his humble beginnings coming to America from Vietnam, to his early days in tech after UT, to the beginnings of his company StoragePug, we hear all about his amazing journey. He discusses his personal story, the heart behind StoragePug, and his thoughts on the self storage industry's past and future.

Guest: Tommy Nguyen, StoragePug

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

What data matters in self storage? Where do you get it? James McLean from Radius+ joins Tommy and Melissa to discuss all the analytics you can handle. It can be hard to sort through all the available data out there from your website to your online profiles to your management software. We discuss the tools that are available and the key data to keep track of to keep your business competitive and successful.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: James McLean with Radius+

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

Welcome to Episode 2 of Legal Chat. This virtual "Power Hour" covers a variety of topics and questions sent in from self storage owners and operators around the country. Today we cover the recently passed legislation regarding non-monetary defaults, the ability to enforce unsigned leases, properly disclosing fees, force-placing tenant insurance, laws against junk fees, legal tips for taking over a troubled facility, and much more.

You can watch this episode over on their YouTube channel- Legal Chat Episode 2

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

In this special 100th episode, we revisit our very first topic from two years ago- work life balance. Whether you own a business or just work for one, the motivation behind your work ethic drives everything you do, from the amount of time you spend with your family to the effort you put into your job.

We discuss our own work life balance, the "Why" behind Lighthouse Storage Solutions, and some things to consider as you examine the relationship between your personal and professional endeavors.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

The future of tenant communication is video. Face time, snaps, zoom, google meet, and a host of other options have grown this tech in person to person communication, but we haven't seen it hit its stride in the self storage space... that is until Live Switch decided to enter our industry. It's not often we're blown away by a new piece of tech that enters the self storage space, but today is an exception.

James Hatfield joins us to talk about the origins of Liveswitch, how it's already working with major organizations (Adobe, NFL, Department of Defense, etc.), and how it's changing the way we talk with our tenant and co-workers in self storage. And the best part of it all is the simplicity with which anyone can use this tech.

Plus, we dive into some of the charitable work connected to Liveswitch (linked below) and think about the future of how this tech will impact self storage.

*Live Switch is not a sponsor of this episode

Guest: James Hatfield, CRO of Live Switch

Charitable Organization from the episode: Inmates to Entrepreneurs

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Snakes, birds that attack, glow in the dark tenants... we've got a few fun stories from our recent travels to share on this lighter 4th of July special episode. There is never a dull day in self storage, and we are extremely thankful for the freedom to work in this industry and build our business. Despite the strange circumstances, tempermental technology, or aggessive animals, we wouldn't trade our time in this industry for anything.

Enjoy the fun stories and feel free to share a few of your own with us.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Get ready for one of our most entertaining podcasts of the year. Aaron Harwell from SpiderDoor joins Tommy and Melissa to talk about self storage security. Aaron has experience both as a self storage owner and the owner of a self storage security company and talks about what has (and hasn't) worked for his facilities and what led him to the many unique solutions SpiderDoor provides.

From lasers, to attack dogs, to gates, and just about everything in between, we hit on all the security you should look into for your facilities. Plus, Aaron reveals his top 2 must have security features every facility needs to be using today.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: Aaron Harwell with SpiderDoor

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

Up next in our series on "Dealing with Problem Tenants" are our business operators. This is a tricky category as many of our business tenants are our best tenants. They follow the rules, pay on time, and stay forever. But there's a difference between a business that stores with you and one that operates on your property.

How can you discover this problem business before you rent to them? What are the red flags to watch for? As with the other types, so many problems can be avoided with an active manager and clear guidelines in your lease. We discuss all the angles of this important tenant type, plus give a brief update on StorageGives towards the end.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Welcome to Episode 3 of Legal Chat. This virtual "Power Hour" covers a variety of topics and questions sent in from self storage owners and operators around the country. Today it's all about disasters. With the recent hurricanes hitting the southeast, it's important to understand the legal challenges. Here are a few of the topics covered:

• Tenant Communication During and After Disaster
• Allowing Access After a Disaster
• Handling Tenants' Property During Clean-Up
• What if you don't have flood coverage?
• Remedies for Tenants Who Won't Vacate
• Ability to Create a Contract Without a Signature
• Using Units for Non-Storage Needs

You can watch this episode over on the YouTube channel- Watch Episode 3 on YouTube

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

Theft is one of many security issues facing every self storage facility. Preventing it should be a top concern. Sadly, one of the sources of theft is our own tenants. For most of your renters, you have nothing to worry about. But what about that one bad apple? How can you "thief-proof" your facility? Better yet, how can you head off a thief before they ever become a tenant?

Today, we tackle the next problem tenant on our list, the Thief. We go over very practical ways to prevent them from renting, recognizing them on the property, and keeping your property safe. From curb appeal, to police presence, to unit alarms (plus several funny stories), we explore this issue like Danny Ocean explores a casino.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Tenants are the life blood of our business. Most of the time, and with most of our tenants, the relationship is great. But every once in a while you get that one tenant...

Today we tackle the first of many problem tenant types: The Complainer/Bully. This is the tenant who knows your business better than you do and always has a "helpful" suggestion. You may call this person a "Karen" or a complainer, but sometimes they take it too far. How do you deal with a tenant like this? How do you respond when a complaint turns into hostile behavior in person or online? Thankfully, there are several practical things you can start doing today to help deal with your problem self storage tenants.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

There is a common denominator every self storage business shares that is often under-valued and under-utilized: the customer. Building customer loyalty is the final step in the sales funnel. But too often, companies are so focused on getting customers, they don't know how to truly enlist them to continue building their business.

Today we gab about the customer and how to utilize them in your sales process. Yes, asking for reviews is a part of it, but there is so much more, from regular communication to referral programs to going for repeat business from past tenants. Take advantage of this free final stage in marketing and enlist your customers.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

The self storage laws in Georgia were recently updated to include new provisions for non-monetary defaults and unsigned lease agreements. But along with these changes are best practices to protect both the facility owner and the tenant. While some practices are now legal, owners must be careful to implement them in the right way. We break down some of the changes, what this means for the industry, and how they can really benefit your business.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Increasing occupancy is top of mind for most self storage operators. Advice is plentiful, from upping your ad spend to dropping your rates. But what really works? Luke Westbrooks joins the webinar to discuss what has and hasn't worked for the portfolio under his care. You won't be surprised by the bottom line- it's all about the customer experience. Your customer interaction has a direct impact on their desire to rent with you or recommend you to others. The gabfocus team work through communication, move-ins, billing, collections, and more as they tackle this important topic.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: Luke Westbrooks

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

After more lunches, sessions, trade show seminars, podcasts, and webinars than we we can count, we've finally cracked the code and figured out the most important thing in self storage. It's not your website, location, class, security, software, or curb appeal, although all those elements relate to it. At the end of the day, self storage is a business, and you can't have a successful business if you don't make money. So where does our money come from? *Spoiler Alert*...Customers.

We often think about the customer experience, but have you thought about your actual customers? What do they want? What are they looking for? What can they handle? That's our topic for today as we unpack the common customer themes we've seen from dozens of operators and dozens more educational sessions. If you know your customer, you'll know how to please them, utilize them, and ultimately earn money from them.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

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

Your Google Business Profile accounts for almost 50% of the ranking factors that impact when you'll show up in Google's search results. This free tool is constantly updated and is often the first intro customers have to your business. This profile is a free tool available to every self storage business owner. Are you making the most of every feature? Every box you check on this profile sends positive signals to the most powerful search engine on the planet.

Today, we cover some of the newer features you should look into. Parking, online hours, videos, and social profiles are just a few of the updates we touch on. Plus, we highlight a few things to avoid when making your updates.

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

The lease is probably the most important document for your self storage business. It's the agreement between owner and tenant, outlining all the fees, penalties, and agreed upon practices for having a good relationship with your customers. One of the most frustrating things we are seeing through the industry is owners not enforcing their lease. This not only hurts your bottom line, but could open the door to legal troubles.

Today we tackle the important parts of a lease, getting started if you don't have a good one, why it must be enforced, why it's really ok to enforce it, and what could happen if you let things slide.

Find out more about the Procedures Manual and Training Opportunities

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

Training is essential... Seems like a fairly obvious statement, but how many of us put it into practice? Do you have a training plan for yourself and/or your team? Training is so much more than handing a new manager a book of policies on day one, expecting them to read and implement it their own. It's about the people and equipping them with all they need to make themselves and your self storage facility a success.

We reveal our top tips for regular training, plus unveil a brand new product line from Lighthouse- our Procedures Manual and Training Sessions. We're a bit on-the-go for this episode, so hop in the car with us, run a few errands, and join our conversation about training.

Find out more about the Procedures Manual and Training Opportunities

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions

It's time for an economic temperature check for the self storage industry, and who better to share his insights on this than John Chang from Marcus & Millichap. Where are we now? What should we expect with the recession, occupancy, street rates, or construction? How should operators be approaching pricing, expanding, or investing? What should self storage be concerned with in the next year?

All this and more is tackled by our experts. Plus, we take a ton of LIVE questions from one of the largest audiences Gabfocus has ever seen. Don't miss this special rebroadcast episode.

Hosts: Tommy Nguyen & Melissa Huff

Guest: John Chang (Marcus & Millichap)

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

We pay all sorts of attention to our curb appeal to make the most of that first impression. Same thing with our phone skills (more on that in last week's episode). Do we have the same focus for our websites? Are they intuitive and customer friendly? Is the experience of renting a unit as easy as if a manager was walking them through the process on the phone or in person? Well, it should be.

A customer friendly website is essential in our digital age. How many clicks should it take to make a rental? Are you buttons the right size and correct design? How much movement is too much for a website? We cover all this and more as we examine the customer experience through the lens of your website.

Hosts: Josh Huff & Melissa Huff

Produced by Lighthouse Storage Solutions