Storage
I move location a lot with my work, as did my father before me. From time to time I need to leave my things somewhere until I have a new home and am able to use them again. When I left college this wasn't a big problem as I didn't have many things and I could just put them at my parent's house or leave them with a friend but as time creeps on you accumulate more things and must pay for storage if you cannot transition immediately from one home to the next.
There are other valid reasons why people need storage, whether it is for business or personal reasons. Many new businesses require somewhere to store bulk purchases such as cups and lids in the beverage industry, but don't need a whole warehouse.
You will need to either own or rent suitable premises, so this idea is not for everyone. You should also make sure that you have appropriate insurance and that your premises are clean and dry; you don¡¦t want to be sued because your customers belongings have gone mildewed.
Renting premises is perfectly valid, as you can usually rent larger spaces cheaper than small units. You can then either split the large unit into smaller units by partitioning and re-renting each unit, or simply store things on pallets that are clearly labelled and will be returned to your customers on request.
Another option is to rent some land and put shipping containers on it. Customers can rent a container, and as your business grows you can buy or rent a crane to increase your storage space. Some customers may only want to store a few boxes, and you could consider providing a service specifically for this purpose. You would need to think about how to keep items separate and identifiable for when they need to be returned but a large locker system might be the answer to this.
Marketing this business would be relatively simple. Adverts in the Yellow pages will let potential customers find you when they are searching. Equally online directories and a website can be optimised so that local customers can easily find your details. This is a business that people will look for, and may comparison shop based on cost, or quality. If you want to be more proactive in finding customers then you could work with removals firms or real estate agents for referrals.
You will need help, either with taking orders, showing people around or helping to identify and move items. Don't be scared by this, you can get part time help cheaply and can find standard work contracts online that you can copy.
Look in your local newspaper, and work with real estate agents to find a suitable space. You will need to decide how big you want to try and grow this business against how much fixed cost such as rent you are prepared to take on in order to get going.
Other places that you can find suitable units are online, or perhaps by working with the owners of a large empty warehouse, factory building or barn on a shared profits basis.
If you or one of your family own property with a large empty unit on it then this business may well become a no-brainer for you.
Not everyone is honest; you should be prepared to work with the police if they are making active enquiries. Try to be helpful but work with a lawyer to ensure you are not compromising yourself legally by helping out.
If you plan to deal with larger units and bulky items then there will be additional expense such as renting or buying lifting machinery.
Don't worry about customers not paying. Ultimately you have their stuff, and they have bothered to pay a deposit and store it somewhere, which means that they will want to retrieve it. Some customers will go bankrupt and not be able to pay, take legal advice on how to deal with this if and when it happens, you may be able to sell their goods to recover your rent.
This is a higher risk business than many as you will be taking on some fixed costs, but it is low maintenance and should provide you with a healthy (almost) passive income once you are established.