Tag Archives: stock storage

It’s Business As Usual Thanks to Self-Contained Storage

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!

Reclaim Your Spare Room Before It’s Too Late

Summer’s nearly gone and you should enjoy the last of the sunshine before the clocks go back – and while you’re at it, do that clearing out you’ve been putting off since the spring. That’s right, your spare room is still bursting at the seams, and like more than three-quarters of UK homeowners, you probably can’t even name five things you’ve stored there.

British homeowners just hate throwing stuff away – why else do we have more self-storage units than the whole of the rest of Europe? So just go with the flow and get your clutter out of your home and into somewhere better suited for it. For those of you in the Thames Valley, Reading Storage Solutions have flexible storage space just waiting for your unused appliances, unworn clothes and unloved gifts.

Hoarders’ Charter?

Not only does the UK lead the way in tucking things away for the proverbial rainy day, it has one of the most active industries for dreaming up new ways of storing them. Be it underbed storage baskets, in-cupboard storage drawers or good old-fashioned storage boxes, we can’t get enough of them. Maybe that’s why our homes are full to bursting with “stuff” – and the more the merrier!

Until it comes to getting rid of it, that is … more than half of us dread clearing out our long-lost junk, with the loft at the top of the list, followed closely by the spare room. The good news is, unlike our grandparents’ generation, we have alternatives to throwing it away, and many of us now use flexible self-storage units as an extension of our houses.

Cost-Effective and Convenient

Rather than fork out a small fortune on the latest storage gizmo that promises to fit an even larger quart in an ever-smaller pint pot, take an organised view of things and follow a plan. Tackle each of your crowded rooms in order and decide exactly what you need to keep at home, what you can’t bear to throw away but don’t use every day and what belongs in the skip. Then act …

Assuming you’re now looking at a neat, tidy spare room and a skip full of junk, the only task left is to find somewhere to put the things you know you’ll need someday. Your local self-storage company is the place to start. However much you’ve accumulated, you’ll find a storage unit to suit you at a price that won’t break the bank.

What Do I Do Next?

If you need extra space to store things, self-storage could be right for you. Reading Storage Solutions offers a generous amount of space at modest cost, and complete flexibility to change or terminate your agreement at short notice. Our competitive packages now include self-storage insurance at no extra cost – there’s no extra paperwork and no fuss.

Call us to find out more about our low-cost storage units in Reading, complete with self-storage insurance – you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create that extra bit of space in your home and reclaim your spare bedroom for yourself!

Downsizing Your Business? Self Storage Can Help

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You may not like it, but for most business owners there comes a time when you need to cut back. It may be the recession, a seasonal downturn or simply bad luck, but when you have to downsize, it’s never fun. Fortunately, you can use self storage to avoid having to dispose of hard-earned business assets at fire-sale prices.

Why Has Downsizing Become So Common?

Since the early days of the 2008 financial crisis, businesses of all sizes have been under increased pressure. For many, reduced cash-flow coupled with an inability to borrow money has lead to failure, while others have anticipated the difficult trading conditions and adjusted the scale of their operations to suit.

The upsurge in online buying and selling has also contributed to the level of high-street failures and cut-backs, with the same general result – a need to reduce costs and streamline operations. For many businesses, this means fewer staff and smaller premises, and often results in the disposal of stock and equipment that no longer has a home.

In practice, this often means that when you are in a position to grow again, you’re unable to do so without replacing those assets that you disposed of at rock-bottom prices. At Reading Storage Solutions, we regularly talk to business owners facing tough decisions who desperately want to keep their companies alive.

How Can Self Storage Help My Business?

For many businesses, a modestly priced self-storage unit can solve a whole load of problems and take the strain off your shoulders. RSS offers practical, affordable storage facilities for short-term or long-term needs, and we allow you the flexibility to upsize or downsize at short notice as your requirements change.

If you simply want to move the bulk of your stock off site in order to save money on business rent and rates, then commercial self storage is the answer to your prayers. All our units offer seven-day access during normal opening hours, and there are only a few sensible restrictions on the type of goods you can store.

We offer low-cost, monthly payments for businesses that may be short of cash, allowing you to spread the cost of storing your property over the full term of your agreement, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by our pricing. You can also drive right up to your unit for easy loading and unloading – we accommodate cars, vans and trucks.

I Want to Know More …

If you need to downsize and you don’t have enough space in your new premises to store your stock or your business equipment, call us to find out more about our low-cost storage units in Reading. Join our many satisfied customers, and we’ll make sure that your business doesn’t have to get rid of its assets just for want of space.

Self-Storage Suits eBay Entrepreneurs

What the Average eBayer Needs

Active eBayers tend to fall into one of two categories – traders use eBay’s high-tech platform both to buy and sell, making a margin on the sale of earlier bargain purchases, while resellers distribute a range of products in one of many specialist niches that include toys, hand tools, memorabilia and gadgets.

In either case, as the business grows, so does the amount of stock that needs to be stored and shifted. Both trading and reselling depend on having the right items to sell at the right time, and you can’t do that without keeping a supply of goods available – but not everyone has the space to do just that.

Space is essential for resellers, as their business depends on buying products cheaply in bulk and selling them in smaller quantities at higher prices. Depending on the type of product, a consignment from an overseas supplier may be as much as several pallet-loads – not quite the thing for your front room!

What Self Storage Offers

Self storage solves the average eBayer’s problems at a stroke, offering great flexibility at a modest cost and providing the space that’s needed when it’s needed. At Reading Storage Solutions, we allow customers to upsize and downsize at short notice, meaning that you don’t have to continue paying for a large unit once your stock runs down.

Convenient access to your goods is another real advantage offered by self-storage companies; in Reading, we believe our package is unrivalled. We provide unrestricted access seven days a week during normal opening hours and at other times by prior arrangement, so you can deal with your eBay shipments and receipts whenever it suits you.

You’ll also find that renting a self-storage unit solves another problem that eBayers frequently encounter – disruption caused by deliveries that involve large commercial vehicles. Most people find that their neighbours aren’t too keen on dodging trucks, but our units provide drive-up access for cars, vans and lorries, making it straightforward to receive shipments in pallets or large crates.

What Do I Do Next?

If you buy and sell on eBay or any other online platform, and you’re finding that you don’t have enough space at home to store your stock, call us to find out more about our low-cost storage units in Reading. Join our many satisfied customers, and we’ll make sure that your business doesn’t suffer for want of space.