What do Britain’s largest online sex-toy retailer, the UK’s first specialist retailer of alcohol-free drinks and a leading international provider of commercial kitchen-safety systems have in common?
There’s a simple answer, but one that should have any budding entrepreneur thinking:
They all relied on self-storage during the start-up phase of business – and Filta, an American company that pioneered an innovative system for recycling cooking oil from commercial premises, continues to do so today. Every day, thousands of entrepreneurs around the globe make use of flexible, cost-effective self-storage to get their businesses off the ground. Why not join them?
The Toyshop with a Difference
Sex-toy retailer Lovehoney, which took its first order in April 2002, is now expanding worldwide, but can trace its origins to a small, unheated self-storage unit in Bath. The founders had very limited start-up capital and no experience of running an online business, so minimised their risk by following a low-cost route.
A flexible, affordable self-contained storage unit ticked all the boxes for the company’s distribution set-up, with the added advantage not only of being cheap, but also being exempt from business rates. The absence of heating and electricity presented some challenges, but the unit served Lovehoney’s purpose exceptionally well.
Drinks Without a Kick
In 2006, The Alcohol-Free Shop started life as a two-person business operating out of a 100-sq-foot self-storage unit in Manchester. The husband-and-wife owners spotted a niche for a specialist online retailer supplying health-conscious consumers with de-alcoholised wines and beers.
Keeping the financial risk of their new business to an absolute minimum was essential, and self-storage provided the ideal premises for their packing and despatch department. Within weeks, The Alcohol-Free Shop had grown into a larger operation, and continued to expand into bigger storage units during the following year. Today, it occupies a 12,000-sq-foot warehouse a few miles from its original premises.
Self-Storage for Your Start-Up Business
Reading Storage Solutions provides you with the same self-contained, easy-access self-storage, giving your business space to grow without breaking your budget. You also get complete flexibility if your needs change at short notice – either way. Our business-storage packages now include self-storage insurance at no extra cost – one less headache for a growing business.
Call us to find out more about our long-term and short-term storage units in Reading, complete with self-storage insurance – you won’t believe how easy it is to get your business off the ground!