Employment and business ownership in the UK has changed in recent years, with more and more people opting to work as self employed small business owners rather than in more traditional, paid employment. This change has prompted an increase in the amount of businesses using self storage facilities. Self storage is often a more economical option for creating space than either buying a bigger home to create space for running a business or renting business premises.
There are a number of advantages to be gained from running your business from a self storage facility, some you may not have thought of!
Flexibility
Having a flexible space when running a business can be extremely useful. Being able to expand and contract the space you inhabit in line with your business requirements means that you only need to pay for space when you need it. This may be to accommodate seasonal fluctuations in stock for instance. Using self storage facilities rather than a more traditional lock-up space to house your stock means that you could easily rent a bit more space for a limited amount of time (most storage facilities will allow you to take a unit from as little as one month), without having to commit to increased costs in the longer term.
Short-term commitment
Taking on a business lease is a big commitment and commercial leases are likely to be for a specific period of time. What if your business grows, or shrinks or you need to relocate? Month by month storage makes it possible for you to adapt to changing circumstances without having to extract yourself from a lease arrangement that no longer suits your purpose.
No business rates!
If you rent self storage space within a dedicated storage facility and use it to run your business from, you will not be paying business rates, unlike if renting a more traditional warehouse unit. Obviously you need to check that your proposed activity does not contravene the terms and conditions of the storage facility you are using but we have heard of all sorts of businesses using self storage facilities to run their businesses from. It is particularly suitable for businesses who need to hold stock, such as Ebay sellers, but we have heard of personal trainers setting up gym spaces, furniture restorers/up-cyclers using a unit to store finished and upcoming projects, freelance designers or copywriters using containers as quiet workspaces and even a photo studio. Using a storage unit to work from can be a great distraction free space for creative industries.
Leave your work at work
Anyone who has tried to run a small business from home knows that over time, the amount of space your business inhabits can spill over into personal space, perhaps you have sacrificed a spare bedroom as an office or your garage as a storage area. Working at home has many benefits but one of the definite downsides of having your work space at home is that it can be difficult to actually leave work. If you use a storage unit which you can lock up and leave at the end of the day, you will be able to mentally switch off from work much more easily.
Whatever you use a self storage unit for, you do need to ensure that you have the appropriate amount of insurance cover. Our storage insurance policy covers your business goods on a new for old basis and can be arranged from just one month. Our storage insurance policy is flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances, you can log-in to your account at any time and change your cover levels if required.
For more information on self storage insurance, to compare our cover or to get a quote go to www.store-insure.co.uk/storage-insurance, or give us a call – we always like to chat!