There is an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. People are always copying celebrity fashions; songs and movies are always getting redone as well. Successful businesses often results in numerous clones popping up all over. One business in the UK has taken the concept behind self storage and turned it into a brand new business model.
Self storage facilities have something that almost everyone feels like they never have enough of—space. As the world’s population gets larger and houses get smaller, more and more people find that they are lacking sufficient space for what they own. However, there are some people in the UK that find they are in the exact opposite situation.
It is those people that have led to the creation of a business that takes the ‘self’ in self storage literally. Storemates.co.uk is a new online service available in the UK that matches people who have space to spare in their homes with people who need space to store things in.
“Many people, especially those who live in flats have items which they only need occasionally, cluttering up their living space. With self-storage units being so expensive, Storemates.co.uk offers a simple solution that’s cheap, convenient and completely carbon neutral,” said Ben Rogers, co-founder of Storemates.
People that have extra space in their homes and would like to earn a little extra money can sign up with the site where those that are in need of space can find them. Space typically costs half of what it would if users had gone to one of the self storage companies in the UK instead.
The hope behind the concept is to provide people with a necessary service, but at a lower cost. The only time that the site gets paid is a fee paid by the space provider that is equal to about two weeks rent, but this is not applied till after the space has been rented.
The concept is essentially the answer to new construction or renovation, but without having to do any of the dirty work. Banks have been reluctant to lend money for new construction, but getting it for renovations still requires a business with tangibles assets. Storemates takes the banks out of the equation.
This model works in the UK largely due to the lack of self storage facilities in the country as a whole. There are approximately 62 million people in the country and only about 750 self storage facilities. That comes out to one facility for every 82,667 people. The ratio in the United States is roughly one facility for every 6,200 people.
Sources Used:
“Household owners to earn hundreds renting out their unused space as storage.” PRWeb; 05 October 2011.
About Us; Self Storage Association UK.
List of Countries by Population; Wikipedia.