Self-storage is no longer a strictly American product. Though the industry's roots burrow here in the States, the business has proliferated across the globe, taking hold on nearly all seven continents, in communities large and small, urban and rural. Ours may be a culture of acquisition and hoarding unlike any other, predicating a fundamental need for storage space, but self-storage has proved its usefulness in residential and commercial settings worldwide.

Foreign professionals regularly report that while their self-storage markets are well behind that of the United States in maturation and sophistication, they believe development in their areas to be following an American pattern. They express optimism regarding industry expansion and evolution. Like their U.S. counterparts, they seek insider advice, innovative strategies and practical solutions to problems. Many find their way to the U.S. for conferences and tradeshows, where they can see the latest industry products, services and technology first-hand, and gain insight from seasoned experts in the field.

The Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, the industry's largest education and networking event, is a natural choice for these knowledge-seekers; and this year, we expect to see more international participation than ever before. With an attendee base so rich in cultural diversity, the show will provide excellent opportunities for information-sharing and in-depth learning. Think of it as an industry exchange program whereby you can make intercontinental business connections and friends.

Raising Many Voices

The 2012 Vegas event, taking place March 14-16 at the Paris Hotel & Resort, will include a formal panel of international self-storage professionals. Areas to be represented include Australia, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa and others. Participants will discuss the overall state of development in their regions and share information about their local successes and challenges. Topics to be addressed include obstacles to construction, legal challenges, consumer climate, staffing issues and more. Attendees are encouraged to come prepared with questions and comments to help guide the dialogue. This event is scheduled for Wednesday, March 14, 3-4:30 p.m.

For Spanish Speakers

Spanish is becoming more widely recognized as a language in which to conduct business. Why? According to America.gov, the buyer power of U.S. Hispanics is growing faster than that of non-Hispanics. The economic fortunes of these 47 million U.S. residents are growing, and consumer businesses, including self-storage facilities, are taking notice.

The ISS Expo attracts Spanish speakers from many regions, not only from the southern states but Latin America and Spain. In Las Vegas, the expo will feature its first ever education seminars in Spanish, taught by representatives of the Latin America Self Storage Association. On March 15, Cristian Batres and Lucia Darnell will talk to attendees about self-storage construction, development and facility operation in Latin American countries.

Wherever you call home, the ISS Expo offers a precious business opportunity for you, whether its a seminar, workshop, peer-to-peer networking event, face time with experts, or just a chance to meet and learn from new and interesting colleagues. Get global with your self-storage knowledge; it just might be an international idea that makes the difference in your business in 2012.

For show details, visit www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.

A fire at a self-storage facility in Everett, Wash., resulted in one death and thousands of dollars in destroyed possessions, but it's also affecting local musicians, as the facility had grown a reputation as a hospitable place for band practices and gatherings.

A sizeable portion of a unit at Storehouse Mini Storage burned, causing local bands to lose a significant amount of instruments and equipment. Musicians told the source the facility began welcoming them as long as 30 years ago, which inspired underground acts to rent space at the facility as well as get together, practice and write songs. Some musicians went as far to say the facility was the epicenter of the Everett music scene.

Several Everett bands plan to join together to host benefit concerts, which will be promoted through Facebook, to replace their equipment. The source does not report if the facility or bands had insurance.

Storehouse Mini Storage is on Smith Avenue, just east of Interstate 5. Everett is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, about 30 miles north of downtown Seattle. The Seattle region has a reputation for spawning popular "garage" bands as the alternative/grunge movement began in the area in late 1980s and early 1990s.

The California Self Storage Association (CSSA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to the local self-storage industry, has launched an online Career Center as part of its website at CaliforniaSelfStorage.org. The new center will allow website visitors, including those who are not CSSA members, to search for positions in the self-storage industry. Members will be able to subscribe and receive notifications when new positions come available.

Users can search by keywords, location or organization. Position filters include facility manager, district manager, operations manager, regional/area manager, training coordinator and others. Additional filters include those for full or part time, and education and experience requirements.

In addition, CSSA members will be able to post their job openings in the Career Center. They can create, edit and remove job listings by logging into their online membership account and clicking the Career Center link on the top navigation bar.

The benefit is available for free for a limited time.

Founded in 2002, the CSSA is dedicated to serving the California self-storage owners, operators, facility managers and vendors. The association represents more than 450 direct member companies that own and operate more than 1,200 facilities. Direct members range from individual facility owner-operators to multiple-facility operations to publicly traded real estate investment trusts.

Anne Ballard, president and founder of Universal Management Co. and a renowned expert in the self-storage industry, is offering a series of online workshops in 2012 to provide self-storage operators with tips, insights and tools for facility operation. "The Hat Lady Speaks: Master Class Series" will include four live two-hour sessions, each featuring active training opportunities.

Each registrant will receive a copy of Ballard's book, "The Hat Lady Speaks: Marketing Self-Storage," and its companion product, "The Hat Lady Speaks: Forms & Checklists." They will also receive a class workbook and participate in in-class polling.

The sessions are:

• Jan. 25: Finding Your Hidden Income
• May 23: Leasing Season Has Begun ... Are You Ready?
• July 25: The Heat Is On ... How Hot Are You?
• Nov. 14: Ready, Set, Go! Planning for 2013

The cost to attend is $149.95 for each class or $499 for the complete series. Group discounts are available. Registration can be completed through MiniStorageMessenger.com.

The first session on Jan. 25 will focus on ways for self-storage operators to create more profit in their business. Using the class workbook and store-specific information, each participant will create an action plan for the coming year. Areas of focus will include target income types, box sales per lease, insurance sales, fees, discounts, yield management, budgeting, goal-setting and more.

Ballard trains hundreds of self-storage professionals each year and regularly presents at industry conferences and tradeshows. She will be a featured speaker of the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, March 14-16, where she will present a seminar titled, "Great Customer Service in Self-Storage: How to Quit Discounting and Greatly Improve Profit."

The ISS Expo, the self-storage industry's largest annual conference and tradeshow, will take place at the Paris Hotel & Resort. It provides three full days of industry education, product and service exhibits, networking events, workshops and more. Universal Management Co. will be participating as an exhibitor at the show. Event details are available at www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.

StorageMart, a self-storage company with more than 130 locations across the United States and Canada, will give away two pairs of tickets to the Feb. 6 National Hockey League game, Edmonton Oilers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

To enter the drawing, participants need to visit the StorageMart Canada Facebook page and select the "NHL Ticket Giveaway" tab. The entry form requires only a name, e-mail address and a prediction of who the entrant thinks will win the game.

The deadline to enter is midnight CST on Feb. 1. StorageMart will announce the winners via its Facebook page on Feb. 2.

"Local youth and adult sports leagues often use our storage space in the off-season," explains Sarah Little, StorageMart's interactive marketing director. "The Canadian Football League's Argonauts rent self-storage here and our customers are sports fans ... Canadians are sports fans! Basically we look for any excuse to give something away that we know our customers will enjoy."

StorageMart is a full-service self-storage company that offers moving and packing supplies in addition to storage. The company also funds the StorageMart ScholarSmarts program, which annually awards $10,000 in educational scholarships. The company partners with many local charities and events.

By Casey McGrath

Some see renewable energy as the most recent fad, embraced by hippies and environmentalists, but the reality for many self-storage owners is solar just makes economic sense. Climate-controlled units that produce obscene electricity bills mixed with an abundance of roof space create an ideal environment to invest in solar energy. Throw in federal, state and utility-based incentives, and you can generate a pretty nice return on investment.

The hurdle for many, however, remains the upfront capital costs and the question, How am I going to pay for this? With costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, occasionally approaching millions, its difficult to imagine funding such a project with cash. Alas, not to worry storage owners, there are several ways to either forego capital expenditures completely or finance the installation using traditional debt and equity.

Power Purchase Agreements

The most common structure for storage owners is to set up a power purchase agreement (PPA), a contract by which the property owner agrees to purchase all the electricity produced by the system at a set price. Under this structure, a third-party PPA developer/installer funds the installation in full and is entirely responsible for the maintenance of the system. From an owners perspective, this situation is nearly ideal because no capital is being deployed to install the system, and theres no production risk if the solar panels do not produce electricity as advertised. In a PPA structure, all of these risks fall on the developer.

A typical PPA structure will price the solar-generated electricity below the retail rate charged by the local utility. This is a win-win for self-storage owners. Not only do they avoid any capital expenditures, theyre able to decrease their monthly utility expense, however subtle that may be. Of course, the rate offered by the developer is dependent on varying factors including local solar incentives and the level of competition among PPA developers.

Some states such as New Jersey offer generous incentive programs that allow PPA developers to aggressively compete for business. Furthermore, because PPAs must compete against local utility rates, states with expensive electricity ratesCalifornia, Hawaii and the northeast United Statesare prime territory for PPA developers. In other parts of the country where electricity is particularly cheap, such as in the South and Midwest, its more difficult for PPA developers to compete.

Generally, PPA contracts include an annual rate escalation of 1 percent to 2 percent. This is in line with historical retail electricity-rate inflation so, theoretically, PPA rates should parallel retail electricity increases. Its important to note that most local utility rate structures are very complex, sometimes with tiered rate structures or region-specific rates, and its necessary to have a good understanding of your current electricity rates before signing a PPA contract.

PPAs are long-term contracts, varying from 10 years to 25 years, with the norm being 20 years. There are several areas of negotiation to consider when signing the PPA including but not limited to annual rate escalators, early purchase options, and minimum kilowatt hour (kWh) production limits by the developer.

Some of the largest PPA vendors are SunEdison Solar Electricity (who created the PPA structure in 2003), MMA Renewable Ventures, SunPower Corp., Regenesis, Solar Power Partners, Tioga Energy and Recurrent Energy. Generally speaking, there are more active players in markets where solar typically works including Arizona, California, New Mexico, the Sun Belt states, Utah, and the Northeast (especially New Jersey). Finally, for owners contemplating a PPA structure, its critical to shop around, since per-kWh prices can vary dramatically among PPA contract providers.

Solar Leases

Solar leases are similar to PPAs in that they fully eliminate any up-front capital costs. Under this structure, the property owner leases the solar installation from the lessor at a fixed monthly cost, and subsequently collects all the offset electricity benefits. The major difference under this structure is the owner is now liable for the electricity production of the solar system.

More important, if the system doesnt perform as well as was anticipated, or if it is particularly cloudy in a given month and the system doesnt generate the energy expected, the offset electricity costs may not be sufficient to make up for the monthly lease payment in that month. On the flip side, in months when production exceeds expectations, the benefits should more than offset the monthly lease expense.

There are two distinct types of operating leases prevalent in the market, both of which create different tax implications for the owner. A capital lease is structured such that the property owner (lessee) is effectively considered the owner of the system. Under this lease structure, the owner collects all the federal and state tax incentives, however, he must also list the solar array as an asset and the lease payments as a liability on his balance sheet.

The second and more common type of lease is an operating lease. Under this structure, the lessor owns the system, therefore, the property owner doesnt book the installation on his balance sheet, but rather treats the lease payments as an operating expense. Its critical to understand the tax consequences when deciding which lease is best for your facility. Its recommended you seek the counsel of a qualified CPA when contemplating between these two lease structures.

Traditional Balance Sheet Financing

For self-storage owners with adequate cash on hand, financing the installation with equity would certainly be an option. However, given most self-storage owners may not have that kind of equity ready to be deployed at a moments notice, its also possible to use traditional debt financing to fund the installation.

Yves Bienvenu of Global Infrastructure Asset Management LLC is an intermediary who specializes in arranging capital structures to finance large-scale renewable energy projects. He suggests that If your local bank is your current lender, they are likely the best option for solar financing as they are already familiar with the property. Having a single lender finance both your real estate and your solar project avoids any priority lien situations on your solar installation.

Financing a solar installation is similar to financing traditional real estate as lenders will want to perform a credit analysis to determine the financeability and structure the rate and terms accordingly. If the lender is comfortable with the project, leverage can reach as high as 80 percent of cost.

Unfortunately, however, many local lenders are not familiar with renewable-energy projects, neither from an investment nor technology perspective. Because of the general lack of knowledge about renewable projects, debt financing at the commercial scale is sometimes difficult to achieve, often making PPAs and solar leases a more attractive option.

Property Assessed Clean Energy

The newest financing vehicle for solar energy is the PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) program. PACE financing allows property owners to borrow money from their local government to fund the cost of renewable-energy projects. Under PACE, the amount borrowed is then repaid via a special assessment on property taxes. The major benefit of PACE is the assessment follows the real estate and not the owner, eliminating any complications upon a sale of the property.

As with other forms of solar financing, the first lien holdergenerally the lender if the property has an existing mortgagemust approve the additional debt to be incurred under the PACE project. Residential PACE programs face obstacles because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refuse to purchase mortgages from homes with PACE assessments, citing priority lien issues. Fortunately, however, this doesnt apply to non-residential properties.

The commercial PACE program is currently only available in a few communities in California (Palm Desert, San Francisco and Sonoma County) and select communities around the nation. To see if a program exists in area, visit www.dsireusa.org. While PACE is still in its infancy, its anticipated the success of these programs will be the catalyst for expansion into communities across the nation.

If all of this seems too complex, it may be worthwhile to engage an advisor who can create a project rate of return based on energy usage, local electricity rates, and state and local incentive programs among other factors. He can present an array of options from local PPA developers, solar lessors and potential bank financiers. As with any business decision, the focus is on profitability and return. For some self-storage operators, an investment in solar just might make good business sense. 

Casey McGrath is an associate vice president with The BSC Group. The Chicago-based firm arranges debt and equity financing for commercial real estate investments nationwide with a focus on self-storage. Hes experienced in renewable-energy financial modeling, solar-policy research  and electricity-rate analysis. To reach him, call 800.605.7880; visit www.thebscgroup.com.

The 671-unit, 71,67-square-foot facility was stabilized at 82 percent occupancy at the time of sale. The seven-year-old facility at 8110 South Cockrell Hill Road will be rebranded AC Self Storage Dallas.

AC Self Storage closed the transaction in less than 60 days from receipt of due-diligence materials and nearly two months ahead of the contract closing date. The company also closed a new commercial mortgage-backed securities loan with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. that was funded 40 days after the loan application was submitted.

It has been a real pleasure to work with Wells Fargo on this transaction, said Troy Downing, CEO. Everyone on the lenders team was professional, thorough, and responsive, allowing us to complete the purchase well ahead of schedule and well before our financing contingency period expired.

According to Downing, the non-recourse loan at 65 percent loan-to-value has a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization. The interest rate is 5.9 percent.  

AC Self Storage contracted Westport Properties to manage the facility. Westport is the property manager for the entire AC Self Storage portfolio.

AC Self Storage Solutions Newport Beach, Calif.-based operator of self-storage facilities. Focused on acquiring stable, cash-flowing properties, the company is a joint venture between Axxcess Capital Ventures LLC and Specialized Storage Management Holdings LLC.

SMD Software Inc., provider of SiteLink property-management software for self-storage and portable-storage operations, will host its very first User Conference on March 13, immediately preceding the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas. The SMD event, open to the more than 10,000 users of SiteLink software worldwide, will take place at Bally's Resort & Casino.

Following the theme Building a Foundation From the Ground Up, the conference will focus on SiteLink Web Edition, highlighting ways to grow profit and cut costs. Presentations, panel discussions and roundtable meetings will showcase the software's reports as well as its revenue-management and CRM (customer relationship management) functions. Demonstrations will explain how these and other tools assist self-storage operators.

The one-day event creates opportunities for SiteLink users to share ideas, network with peers, join panel discussions with industry leaders, and interact with SiteLink experts and vendors. Attendees will experience how the latest information and innovations in technology transform self-storage operations and result in improved productivity and profitability.

Conference speakersmany of who are also participating as presenters and/or exhibitors at the ISS Expoinclude:

• Anne Ballard, co-owner of Universal Management Co.
• Carol Krendl, owner of SkilCheck Services
• Jay Wallace, president of Monster Self-Storage and Monster Management
• Robert Madsen, president of the U-Lock Mini-Storage Group
• Dallas Dogger, managing director at Centreforce Technology

In addition to the User Conference, SMD provides customers with online video training, webinars and customer service.

More information about the User Conference can be found at http://uc.sitelink.com. Early-bird registration ends after Jan. 16.

The ISS Expo, the self-storage industry's largest annual conference and tradeshow, will take place March 14-16 at the Paris Hotel & Resort. It provides three full days of industry education, product and service exhibits, networking events, workshops and more. SMD will be participating as an exhibitor at the show. Event details are available at www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.

Goal-setting is a formal process for personal planning. By setting goals on a routine basis, you decide what you want to achieve, then move step by step toward fulfillment. The process of setting targets allows you to choose where you want to go in life. By knowing what you want to achieve, you can plan out exactly what you have to do to get there. All else is just a distraction.

Goal-setting is a standard technique used by top-level athletes, successful businesspeople and achievers in all fields. It gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your attention and helps you organize a plan of action.

By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in their achievement. You can see progress in what might previously have seemed a long pointless grind. Youll also raise your self-confidence as you recognize your abilities. The process of achieving goals gives you assurance that youll be able to reach higher and more difficult objectives.

First, decide what you want to do with your life and what large-scale goals you want to attain. Second, break each goal into smaller tasks you can reach over specific periods of time. Once you have your plan, start working toward its realization!

Lifetime Goals

The first step in setting personal goals is to consider what you want to achieve in your lifetime. What legacy do you want to leave? What achievements or milestones do you want to accomplish? Setting lifetime goals gives you the overall perspective that shapes all other aspects of your decision-making. Consider some or all of the following:

• Education: Is there any knowledge, information or skills that will help you achieve other goals?
• Family: How can you purposefully create memories with your loved ones?
• Artistic/creative: Have you always wanted to learn to paint, do woodwork or play piano?
• Career: Are you doing what you love?
• Financial: Have you set a plan in motion for retirement?
• Physical: Do you need to lose weight, quit smoking or exercise more? What steps are you taking to achieve this?
• Pleasure: What is it you have always wanted to doskydive, hike the Appalachian Trail, golf, travel? Dont wait for the fun, plan for it!
• Public service: Do you want to make the world a better place? Set a goal to participate in the community for a number of hours each month.

Once youve set your lifetime goals, create a 10-year plan of smaller goals you should complete in preparation. Then set a five-year and one-year plan, along with a six-month and one-month plan of progressively smaller goals. Each should be based on the previous plan.

The following broad guidelines will help you set effective goals:

• Create a positive statement. Express your goals positively and with enthusiasm.
• Be precise. Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts wherever possible so you can measure your achievement. Youll know exactly what you need to do.
• Set priorities. When you have several goals, give each a priority. Dont set yourself up to fail. Be realistic. Too many goals is overwhelming and distracts you from the most important ones.
• Write goals down. This clarifies them and gives them more strength.
• Keep operational goals small. Keep your low-level goals small and achievable. If a goal is too large, it can seem that youre not making progress and your motivation may wane. Keeping goals incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
• Set goals based on performance, not outcome. Take care to set goals in which you have as much control as possible. Theres nothing more disappointing than failing to achieve a goal for reasons beyond your control. These could be bad business environments, bad weather, injury or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on your personal performance, you can control their achievement and draw greater satisfaction.
• Set realistic goals. Its important to set goals you can and want to achieve! All sorts of people (parents, media, society) can set unrealistic expectations for you. Set goals so theyre out of your immediate grasp but achievable. No one will put serious effort into a goal he believes is unrealistic.

To-Do Lists

A to-do list encompasses all the tasks you need to reach your goals. It consolidates all the jobs you have to do in one place. You can then prioritize these tasks, which allows you to tackle the most important ones first.

To-do lists are a simple and easy way of keeping yourself organized. Something that may seem overwhelming can be broken down into manageable tasks. Set a daily to-do list of items you should accomplish today to work toward your lifetime goals. At an early stage, these goals may be to read books and gather information that will help you reach your aims.

Track the Course

Review your plans and make sure they fit the way you want to live your life. Once youve decided your first set of plans, regularly review and update your to-do list. Periodically review the longer-term plans and modify them to reflect your changing priorities and experiences.

Remember, your goals will change as you change. If they no longer hold any attraction, let them go. Goal-setting is your servant, not your master. It should bring you real pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of achievement. Failure to meet goals doesnt matter as long as you learn from it. Feed lessons learned back into your goal-setting program. If you find yourself off track, just get back on the path.

Goal Fulfillment

When youve achieved a goal or milestone, enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Appreciate the accomplishment and observe the progress youve made toward the end goal. Reward yourself appropriately.

Having achieved this goal, review the rest of your plans. If you achieved the objective too easily, make your next a little harder. If it took a longer time to achieve, plan the next phase accordingly. If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so. Look at all youve accomplished!

Goal-setting is an important method to assist in deciding whats important to you. After all, its your life.

Linnea Appleby is the owner of Lime Tree Management, a self-storage management and consulting firm based in Sarasota, Fla. The company provides acquisition due diligence, site audits, full property management and consulting. For more information, call 941.350.7859; e-mail lappleby@limetreemanagement.com.