A Storage Closet owner, Byron Snider and Family – Ada, OK.

Bigger is not always better. The self-storage industry is fortunate to be primarily made up of small business owners. Made up of entrepreneurs who are very invested in the successes and failures of their businesses. Being a part of a small business includes some challenges as well, like access to funding, but it provides a greater personal return. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Congratulations to you for being part of the 50% that have overcome the challenges! You deserve some acknowledgment and encouragement. Here are five reasons why it’s great to be part of a small business:

Pride in investment: The success of your business is directly related to your success as an employee. How well you work with your fellow employees, your customers and your community directly determine if the business flourishes. This also increases the bond between employees. You are all a part of the success of your livelihood. This pride doesn’t just stay at work either. Employees of small businesses see themselves as the face of the company and continue to market the company after they leave the office (who doesn’t like good word of mouth advertising?). It provides great personal accomplishment to know that what you do directly impacts business performance.

Flexibility: Being employed at a small business allows you to be one of few influential people at the company. Smaller businesses have greater flexibility in their day-to-day operations and their ability to adapt more quickly. Small businesses can implement changes based upon just one or two people’s opinions compared to larger corporations, which might have a whole board of investors.

Smallwood Self Storage, Waldorf, MD

Quality Service: There is greater opportunity for personal interaction in a small business environment. Time and time again small businesses are ranked higher in customer service satisfaction than their large business counterparts. 81% of consumers think small businesses deliver better service than big businesses do. This might be in part to the strong relationships employees build with customers. With fewer layers of management comes more interpersonal interaction. Even here at U-Haul, the company is run like a small business with just a few levels of management.

Creativity: Working for a small business allows you to be creative in many of your decisions. If you want to implement a new marketing campaign that includes passing out fliers, you don’t need several thousand dollars to print out fliers for all your facilities nationwide. All you need is an idea and a copy machine. This smaller need for funding allows for more creativity because not every decision you implement requires great financial/institutional backing. Your campaigns are mostly implemented at a  local level which means you can user clever, locally relevant techniques with more impact.

Personal Benefits: When you work at a small business you typically have greater flexibility than traditional jobs. You have more control of your work hours, and when personal crises arise you only need to check in with one or two people, not the HR department. “Owning N-Town Storage is a blessing,” said Cissy Cole, owner of N-Town Storage in Nolensville, TN. “We have the freedom to travel and make our own hours. We can run our facility from our  iPhone and iPad and we don’t have to be tied to the actual facility.” Small business owners also can typically deduct from personal income taxes expenses such as the cost of business transportation (your car) or the cost of owning a  home office. So here’s to all the small businesses out there! Keep on keeping on.

It is great to be a part of a small business, but it is also helpful to be a part of a network for greater visibility. See how the U-Haul Self-Storage Affiliate Network can help grow your self-storage business.