Self Storage Solutions for Small Businesses

According to government statistics, there are at least 5.6 million small businesses in the UK . The majority of these are micro businesses: the UK private sector is mostly made up of non-employing businesses or small employers. These SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) account for more than 99% of the business population.

Small businesses in Wales

According to Welsh Government business statistics,  there are around 248  thousand enterprises active in Wales, one of the areas where Pink Storage is active, offering employment to an estimated 1.2 million people. SMEs accounted for 99.3% of total enterprises in Wales in 2023, largely in agriculture, forestry and fishing or production industries. (2024 figures not yet published)

Small businesses in Greater Manchester

Ten percent of the UK's companies are in the Northwest of England, 47% of which are in the Greater Manchester area, where Pink Storage offers self storage for businesses as well as for individuals. (Hit Horizon statistics ) Whilst the biggest sectors are wholesale, retail, science  and administrative, Manchester outperforms all other major UK cities in the fields of AI and data, advanced materials, cyber, construction tech, eCommerce, IoT, MedTech and service design. (Invest in Manchester statistics)

Small Business Solutions: Popular uses of storage units

Storage space meets the business storage needs of small businesses in many ways, including:

Storing merchandise

Large business storage units really come into their own when buying merchandise in bulk. It allows the business to ensure supply, reduce delivery charges and obtain better prices for bulk purchases.

Similarly, it allows out of season stock to be kept safe and dry until back in season again, or sale time.

Keeping palletised goods

Grouping goods on a pallet can make storage, handling and transport easier. Pallets support the load and protect the products, keeping them in perfect condition for use and/or transporting.

Self storage offers the space to organise this.

Storing furniture

Research published by insurance broking and risk management firm Gallagher in September 2023 showed that most UK business leaders (63%) are changing office space due to a shift in ways of working: 21% plan to move to smaller offices; 37% plan to move to a shared space; and 7% have already moved. The move to hybrid working (partly from home, partly from office) has been a big driver for this, Self storage can help make that move by storing furniture safely until needed again.

Similarly, businesses which need to store furniture seasonally to keep it from weathering (outdoor chairs and tables) have a great solution.

But amongst the businesses which can really take advantage of furniture storage are outdoor catering and event planning businesses. The number of catering businesses in the UK has been slowly, steadily increasing for almost a decade. A similar trend can be seen in the number of party and event planners. Self-storage offers a flexible way to keep stocks of furniture and decorations safe, dry and accessible.

(Keep an eye on the Pink Storage blog for hints and tips on how to package and move things.)

Amazon and eBay stock

On their UK sites, there are around 200,000 professional sellers registered on eBay, and 280,000 registered sellers on Amazon.

Many of them are small, specialist sellers or resellers. Self-storage spaces like those offered by Pink allow the space not only to safely store, but also to prepare and package goods for despatch.

Archiving and Document Storage

Every business needs to keep financial records and that often means pieces of paper and files. Why spend out on expensive office workspace, when a safe, dry, well organised self-storage unit can keep things in order in a safe, central space? Ever more businesses are waking up to the costs of using expensive office space unnecessarily to keep things that rarely get looked at, but must be kept for tax, legal and regulatory reasons.

Warehousing and distribution

For anything needed regionally but both irregularly and FAST, local storage can help. From meeting customer orders to keeping stocks of spare parts, from repair equipment to stationery, self-storage units can be a business’ best friend.

Office moves

From decorating the foyer to moving accounts to a different floor, from downsizing as workers choose to work from home or moving to a bigger space, even as the business space is rewired, as businesses grow and develop there are often times when things need moving.

A self storage unit can offer safe, dry short term respite!

Storage considerations for small businesses

Not all self storage is born equal. Some considerations include:

Flexibility (Choice for Small Businesses)

Simply examining the differences between business types in Wales and Manchester, despite being relatively close geographically, it becomes obvious that each has very different business needs. It is therefore important that your self-storage supplier is flexible enough to meet the needs of the business.

Flexible times: Small business owners often work long, irregular hours. Having storage with limited accessibility/limited opening hours is often impractical. Make sure your storage supplier can cope.

Flexible contracts: No-one knows what's around the corner in business. Changes in business environment, regulation, pricing and more can affect business – for both better and for worse. Being tied into a long term contract can be detrimental and limiting to small businesses, especially those with growth plans, so finding a flexible supplier is important to help future proof your business.

Flexible partnerships: A good self-storage supplier, like Pink Storage  will work with you to expand and contract not only space but help with pricing as small businesses grow. Pink Storage, for example, prides itself on becoming a partner to the businesses it serves, providing seamless and cost-effective storage solution

Security

Statistics vary, but around 15% of businesses have experienced theft in the last year, followed by burglary and vandalism as the most common crimes against businesses. It is clear that many retailers in particular view it as part of the cost of business, and many businesses sadly view reporting as a waste of time and resources.

There is, of course, no easy solution, but neither is there any reason for your self-storage supplier to lack security measures. Storage units are widely considered amongst the safest places to store, with robust units and security measures such as PIN access and 24/7 state-of-the-art CCTV.

Pink Storage has state of the art security in place, including everything you´d expect plus number plate recognition. If our customers are storing something, it´s because it has a value to them. Security offers invaluable peace of mind.

Solutions for Small Businesses: Accessibility

Small business owners work hard, with one US based survey (New York Enterprise Report) suggesting that a third of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week, and one in four working more than 60 hours a week. Gallup´s figures are higher still, suggesting 39% of business owners work over 60 hours a week.

Storage facilities need long opening hours to match the fact that these entrepreneurs are working after hours, often completing their day job before heading off to at least four hours of admin each week and preparing for the following day´s work.

Similarly, it helps for businesses to be able to drive up to their units for loading and unloading goods, depending upon the type of business, rather than having to unload, relocate and unload again.

(Pink Storage offers drive up units, and is open to customers from 6am to 11pm.)

Ventilation

Keeping things safe and dry is a vital consideration when choosing a storage unit, but so is ventilation. Without it, mould can grow, needlessly damaging stock or paperwork.

Pink Storage's container storage units [link to container storage page if  up] were originally designed to keep cargo safe in the toughest of environments, at sea facing the elements. They have been bought new and are spotlessly clean when customers take them on, but their design is perfect for keeping goods safe and dry.

Business Storage Solutions with Financial Benefits

Circumstances are different for every small business, but renting self-storage space can offer financial advantages over using office space for storing things.

For example, the average price per square foot for storage space in the UK is £26.23. Compare this with price per square foot for office space in Manchester: £81.13 per square foot - three times more!

Business rental is tax deductible.

Moreover, many storage providers offer introductory deals including Pink Storage, who are offering 75% off storage for the first 12 weeks.

Our handy hint to small businesses is that if you sign up for longer term storage or more space, you can often negotiate better rates.

Pink Storage: Extra Business Storage Space for Small Businesses when needed

We believe that our Pink Storage container storage offers one of the best business storage solutions around:

• Cost effective (with a price match guarantee);
• Large units as standard;
• Your own space and privacy: no shared spaces or corridors;
• Extra space if you need it (see space calculator);
• Drive up storage;
• State of the art security;
• Spotlessly clean on delivery to customers;
• Weather-proof;
• Quick and easy sign up.
• No long-term complicated leases

So what's holding you back from finding out more?