One of the hardest things about running a business, any business, but especially a retail business from home has got to be storage. For me it has been a perennial nightmare.
When I first started the business my stock didn't take up that much room, just a few shelves and boxes that could be tucked away here and there but over time the amount of stock just grows and begins to take over your home. Before I knew it there was dolls, kits, boxes of Hello Dolly Magazine, jewellery, paints, craft stuff everywhere. By the time I realised it, it was out of hand the house looked like a warehouse instead of a home and my sons were too embarassed to bring friends round. The dolls in particular were an enormous source of embarassment for my teenage sons.
I rented a garage from the local council for a number of years and whilst that was great for storing household crap, it was never a good place to store stock, over the years the roof had developed a leak and the weeds were starting to take hold creeping in through the cracks in the concrete and let's not even think about the little droppings I was finding, I was just grateful not to come face to face with the little varmint(s) that left those!
When I first started the business my stock didn't take up that much room, just a few shelves and boxes that could be tucked away here and there but over time the amount of stock just grows and begins to take over your home. Before I knew it there was dolls, kits, boxes of Hello Dolly Magazine, jewellery, paints, craft stuff everywhere. By the time I realised it, it was out of hand the house looked like a warehouse instead of a home and my sons were too embarassed to bring friends round. The dolls in particular were an enormous source of embarassment for my teenage sons.
I rented a garage from the local council for a number of years and whilst that was great for storing household crap, it was never a good place to store stock, over the years the roof had developed a leak and the weeds were starting to take hold creeping in through the cracks in the concrete and let's not even think about the little droppings I was finding, I was just grateful not to come face to face with the little varmint(s) that left those!
I was initially drawn to Access Self Storage when I was googling storage solutions, they have a wonderful 1p offer that meant I could get a secure storage space that I could access 24 hours a day and test it out for a month whether or not it would work for me. Trust me after a month of clean, dry, cobweb and rodent free storage there was just no way I was going back to that damp drafty garage, specially not with my valuable stock.I can honestly say that since I took my storage space with Access Self Storage I have been very impressed by the customer service and the cheery, chatty staff that I meet whenever I go to my space during the day time. I've also loved being able to pop along at times convenient to me to pick stock up, sometimes that has meant at midnight after a cinema trip or just because it's the first time in the day I've had the chance to get there and because of all the security measures in place I have never felt afraid of going there. I go in, get what I want and go home. job done!
Outside storage has also meant that I can buy more stock and have more choice for my customers, having said that though the best part of having a storage room for me is knowing that I can pack my dolls and stock away in a clean, dry, easily accessible and organised storage space.And best part for the boys? They can bring friends home without being worried about them being freaked out by my doll heads... or can they????
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