Subscriber Webinars & Videos

Looking after your Facility: From Compliance to Best Practice

An essential webinar exploring how to keep your self storage facility operating at its best long term. Not just meeting the minimum standards, but exceeding them. Covering key areas of compliance, safety, maintenance, and site presentation, along with practical ways to help protect your investment, support your team, and boost customer confidence.

Whether you're a seasoned operator or new to the industry, this session will equip you with practical insights and up-to-date guidance to ensure your site stays safe,  efficient, and competitive.

Challenges and common mistakes when developing a facility

An expert session from a previous CEO update on the challenges and common mistakes when developing and operating a self storage store. Covering everything including unit mix, container layouts, insurance coverage, contract details, handling difficult customers, price rises, future proofing for technological change, stacking containers, security, local marketing, daily checks, and so much more.

This webinar also features information on the complete loss fire at Storage World Middleton. This includes the impact of batteries on the fire, media and social media coverage, the use of insurance banding, the salvage operation, and other lessons learned through the process.

How to Grow Your Self Storage Business

Running a self storage business is one thing — making it thrive is another. 

In this session, we’ll explore how to succeed as an operator by streamlining day-to-day operations, using automation to free up your time, and optimising your setup to increase occupancy and profitability.

Whether you're managing a single site or multiple, this session is packed with practical tips to help you get more out of what you already have — without burning out.

Join us for an insightful session featuring:

🔹 Rennie Schafer – CEO, SSA UK & FEDESSA
🔹 Gavin Shields – CEO, Stora
🔹 Emma Banks – Self Storage Manager

Your Self Storage Marketing Playbook
A special webinar presented by Jennifer Mussell from Supplier Members' YBA where you'll learn:

• How to get more customers predictably month in month out – Simple steps to keep units filled without the guesswork.
• The 3 biggest marketing mistakes in Self Storage
• How to avoid wasting money on advertising – The biggest mistakes that cost storage businesses thousands.
• Real-world examples – What’s working right now for storage companies like yours.

Best Practice Standards in the Industry
Learn what the best in the business are doing and how technology is changing best practice in the industry.  Hosted by SSA UK CEO, Rennie Schafer. This webinar covers:

• Security
• Pricing models
• Local marketing
• Online contracts and ID verification
• Data analytics

Calling on examples from other operators both in the UK and globally Rennie will explore what best practice looks like in self storage and how you can achieve it.

Designing a self storage facility for the future
Learn about the development process on how to build a successful and profitable facility from the ground up from someone who has built stores all over the UK. The webinar will cover the design, planning, sustainability aspects and tendering process. This webinar covers:

• Key Elements
  • What does a good store need
  • Environmental factors
  • New Tech
• Conversion vs New Build
• Development Life Cycle
• Planning
• Procurement

The Future of Self Storage

Rennie will be looking into his crystal ball and predicting what the self storage industry will look like in 2033. From the size of the industry to automation and use of AI. Will the industry boom be continuing or are there storms ahead. Recorded at the 2023 Movers & Storers Show

Planning and self storage
SSA UK Board Chairman and owner of blue self storage Chris Bryan is joined by Adam Tuck and Vaughan Bryan from planning consultants, Cheffins, who in recent months have been very successful in helping several operators with their planning applications and appeals. One of the biggest barriers for new sites and stores is gaining planning permission. Whether you are new to the industry and looking to open your first site, opening another store or just expanding an existing one, there's no doubt you've had to deal with your local authority and spoken about planning, or have you...? As well as answering SSA UK members’ questions, during the webinar, Adam and Vaughan hope to deliver a brief presentation that provides general guidance on the following topics, with a stronger emphasis on planning across England and Wales. The video covers:

• Why and when planning permission is needed.
• Navigation through the planning system (e.g. requirements for application validation and maximising the chances of success).
• Self storage sites and the planning system: addressing the issues.
• Retrospective planning and enforcement cases.
• Planning Appeals and the planning balance.

Planning for External Self Storage

Constructing and submitting a planning application can be a very long, drawn-out affair, with local authorities sometimes taking several months at least to reach a decision. This webinar is all about planning in external storage, where we were delighted to invite Emily Temple from one of our supplier members, ET Planning, to cover the do's and don'ts of formulating a planning application.  Helping you to give your application the best chance of being successful first time, but also covering the appeals process and your options if it isn't approved.

Top tips and insights for starting a self storage facility

Hear from Sarah Manning of Secure Stores Nationwide and Phil Austin of Janus International Europe as they give some of their expertise on how to start a self storage site, covering both internal and external sites. Speaking at the Movers & Storers show in 2023 this presenation is ideal for those in the early stages of getting started in the industry.

 

Rennie at the Movers & Storers Show

SSA UK CEO Rennie Schafer is often asked to be a keynote speaker and promote both the association and self storage in general across the globe. Below is a recording of a talk he did in 2022 at the Movers & Storers Show at Stoneleigh Park entiltied 'Why you should not get into self storage'. Giving those who are new to the indusrty a realistic idea of what to expect when starting out.

 

An Introduction to Google Ads with Laura Moxham of YBA PPC
In this video the brilliant Laura Moxham from YBA PPC gives a introduction on how you can get the most from your online marketing. Laura works with many of our operator members and has a proven track record of increasing a stores revenue. Find out why she is in the top 3% and a Google Premier Partner and was voted by Google as One of The Best in Europe for Growing Businesses Online. Stay tuned to the end for a special treat for newcomers too!

 

Introduction to site security with Anthony Hebblethwaite from DSOC
Anthony is the chair of The SSA UK sector forum on security and has produced a presentation and slide show on what he believes are the fundamentals of security within self storage. Anthony is really passionate about his role and with helping self storage business's protect both their customers goods as well as their staff. 

Hear from the experts
Digital Marketing experts and Supplier Members' AMAX have kindly put together a collection of interviews they've conducted with some of the indusrties leading young voices.

Trading Standards - What you need to know
The Intellectual Property Office in partnership with Trading Standards, Self Storage Association and other partners have also developed two training videos tailored to self storage staff. It is designed to help detect and prevent counterfeit and illicit goods being stored in the premises and, to raise awareness about the importance of due diligence to keep self storage facilities safe and free of counterfeit and illicit goods.

The first video gives an overview of what counterfeits goods are, how staff can be alert to the indicators of possible illegal activity taking place in the premises and how to report suspicious activity.
The second video highlights some real cases of fake and illicit goods seized in self storage premises. It will give staff the opportunity to reflect on them, help identify illicit activity and also prevent it from happening in the first place in the premise.