It may seem sort of strange to say in this day and age, but connecting with people can be difficult. Yes, communicating with them can be done in more ways than people thought imaginable 25 years ago. Cell phones have become commonplace, the internet now allows us to video conference with people, and there are always the old, reliable ways like email and snail mail.
Communication does not always mean that a connection has been made though. That is often something where face to face interaction is really necessary. It is in this kind of interaction, where connections are being made, that we often learn the most as well.
That is where industry related events like the Inside Self Storage World Expo just held in Las Vegas last March and the one coming up in the Seattle/Tacoma, Washington, area October 4-6 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.
Much like the one that just finished in March, this one will feature a number of educational tracks that are geared towards helping self storage owners, managers, and employees learn how to improve their day to day operations and facility management, market their self storage facility and generate more sales, and then construction, development.
Education does not come just in the classroom. While there are about 30 seminars expected to be held at the expo, attendees can get some practical experience at workshops and pick each other’s minds at numerous peer-peer events.
As nice as it would be to attend a national conference like the aforementioned one, it is not always convenient for many people to go to. A self storage owner that is just starting out will not be able to afford the $1000+ dollars it would take to fly in and get a hotel room for the weekend.
For these people there are conferences and seminars hosted by their home state self storage association. A number of them have activities coming up in the next few months.
On April 28th, the Michagan SSA will be hosting an event geared towards keeping self storage owner stay informed and get connected. They have another one scheduled for May 10th as well.
The Maine SSA will be hosting an Annual Workshop, Cocktail Reception and Educational Seminars, Hollywood Slots, Bangor, Maine from June 9-10. Texas’ SSA has an executive retreat later that month (16-17).
Missouri’s SSA is having their Missouri Self Storage Owners Association Conference & Tradeshow in early August (3-5).
The Arkansas SSA holds theirs in late September. If people in Wisconsin are unable to get to Tacoma in early October, their state SSA is holding its conference on October 7th.
Sources Used:
“ISS World Expo Serves Up Education With a Helping of Vendor Exhibits.” Self Storage Industry News; 09 March 2011.
InsideSelfStorage.com/events