With house prices going through the roof, business premises rent continuing to increase and a recession not far behind us, one of the very few industries that is reaping the benefits of this is self storage.
It's hardly surprising that this industry continues to enjoy consistent growth because during difficult times, self storage can be a lifesaver for businesses that need to downscale and families who can't afford a bigger house. Believe it or not, there are now as many self storage facilities in the UK as there are McDonald's restaurants and here are just a few of the most creative things people have been using them for.
Increased living space
Sick of not having enough space in her house to entertain guests, one Bristol resident has been renting out a self storage unit to act as her living room. Full of homely decorations and complete with its very own sofa, the lady regularly invites her friends around for coffee and a chat.
Cage fighters
A professional fighter started up his own business teaching martial arts but was struggling to find a premises because standard gyms don't have the specialist equipment required and the overheads of starting up at his own location were far higher than what he could afford. Six years ago he decided to use a self storage unit to teach his classes in and within just six months the business was expanding. Requiring more space for bigger classes, he rented the unit next door and simply removed the partition so he could have one big room.
A charity
Taking inspiration from a devastating accident that left him with life-long injuries, an ex-demolition engineer from Surrey decided to set up a charity to help others going through a similar experience. The man and his business partner collect unwanted false limbs from rehab centres across the UK and send them to an organisation in Tanzania that desperately needs them. They use self storage facilities to hold the limbs until they're shipped and the location they're at even very kindly lets them use it rent free.
A music academy
Truly testing how sound-proof self storage units can be, this fully functioning music academy complete with a recording studio operates their business from one. The huge draw for the academy was the fact that the unit started as a blank space which means that they could sound-proof the unit, improve the acoustics and add their own recording studio.
Source by Charles Cockerton
