My daughter is a senior in high school now. Earlier this week she came home with the “senior package,” stuffed with everything we need to prep for graduation—announcements, cap and gown, the critically important tassel. As she held the thick envelope in her hand, her facial expression said it all. Her high school career was coming to an end and she needed to start preparing for the next step. While she hasn’t quite figured it all out yet, it’ll likely involve, you guessed it, more education.
While we often think of our education ending after graduating from high school, college or a trade program, the fact is we’re all life-long learners. We read books and magazines, attend conferences, watch webinars, work with a mentor, obtain on-the-job training, and so much more. These educational pursuits can be for personal growth or related to career development. Most of us desire to learn so we can explore new things, keep our skills sharp, improve our health, challenge ourselves, boost our self-confidence and be entertained. We also seek educational opportunities just to keep pace with life!
As a self-storage owner, manager or investor, it’s critical that you practice continued learning to stay current with our ever-changing industry. From new technology to the customer experience, innovative facility design to digital marketing, this isn’t the same business it was even five years ago.
Operators who are members of Self-Storage Talk, the largest industry online forum, know this. It’s one of the reasons they joined the community—to learn! Attending industry tradeshows at the state and national level is another avenue to storage-specific education. In addition to our annual expo, Inside Self-Storage (ISS) is bringing you a new opportunity that won’t even require a plane ticket or road trip.
This week, we announced ISS has signed on as the platinum sponsor for The Self Storage Summit, a new online conference that’ll offer free education to industry professionals. The three-day event, Nov. 19-21, will include dozens of presentations from more than 30 experts on all things storage. You’ll learn about revenue management, training relief managers, getting more from your management software, security, investing, facility automation and so much more.
The summit is hosted and produced by Jim Ross, owner of Self Storage Domination Management and host of “The Self Storage Show” podcast. To register, you only need to supply an e-mail address. Jim has shared dozens of great videos on Self-Storage TV, including interviews with several 2019 ISS World Expo presenters, so this summit promises to be informative.
One of the best parts of this event is that it’s all happening online. Even if you can’t clear your schedule to attend every information-packed session, you can surely carve out a few hours each day to watch a handful. You can also upgrade to the All-Access Pass to receive additional perks, including unlimited access to the sessions.
One of the best things about continuing your education is there are so many options. If attending a tradeshow isn’t for you, consider watching a webinar. Interested in how to become more proficient on social media? Pick up a book or read a few articles on the topic. If you’d like to tap into data stored in your management software, ask your vendor for a tutorial.
You’re not limited to job-related pursuits, either. Take up photography, become a master quilter, read biographies by influential people, learn to fly a plane, build up your vocabulary or become a painter. All roads lead to an improved life. Be curious about the world and never stop learning!
