In this final recorded episode of the Storage 100 series, Joe Downs of Storage Moguls explains how self‑storage operators can boost profitability by adding ancillary services. He outlines why ancillary revenue matters (adding 5‑15% of total revenue, $30‑$50k per year), then walks through specific low‑cost, high‑margin offerings: selling locks ($10‑$15 profit per unit), moving supplies (boxes, tape, bubble wrap with 60%+ margins), truck rentals (partner referral commissions vs owning a fleet), tenant protection insurance (30‑50% commission on premiums), portable storage pods (premium $200‑$300 per month per container), and climate‑controlled units (30‑50% higher rent to offset higher build and HVAC costs). Downs provides concrete profit examples for a 200‑unit facility, a step‑by‑step scaling roadmap (locks → supplies → rentals → pods), and emphasizes the strategic value of layering revenue streams. The episode also promotes the free Storage Moguls community, upcoming live close‑out, and the next vertical series (boat, RV, etc.), urging viewers to join and share the content.
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And welcome to day 105 of the Storage 100 series. I'm Joe Downs with the Storage Moguls. We've reached the final frontier here, folks. This is the last recorded episode of the series. I hope you're not as sad as I am. No worries. There's another series coming. All right. And today we are covering ancillary services and doing a deep dive into storage facility types beyond the basics. And this is exactly why the Storage Moguls community exists, folks. At storage moguls.ai, we cover every storage vertical with AI-powered tools, GPT learning. We've got multimodal content for you to just immerse yourself in this experience. Remember, it's free to join. You can register now. We launch in a couple weeks. You get a free GPT, a deal analyzer free GPT if you register now. Again, free, advance at your own pace. Level up when the time is right, but we will be— self-storage is ready to go. We will be adding modules for boat and RV, iOS, Pro Storage, Small Bay Flex, and parking. All kinds of things you can do in storage. All right, as promised, today we're diving into adding services, which can be a gold mine for found money. We'll explore how locks, boxes, and other ancillary revenue streams can significantly boost your bottom line. And this Isn't just about making money here, folks. It's about maximizing every square foot of your operation. So let's jump in to why this matters so much. Ancillary revenue isn't just cash, folks. It's not just extra cash. I mean, I should say it's bonus profit that directly impacts your success. It's the difference between a good month and a great month. While rent is your primary income, ancillary services can add a significant 5 to 15% of your total revenue. This additional income requires minimal overhead, usually making it incredibly efficient. So let's talk about some of the low-hanging fruit to tap into this found money. And let's start with locks, because locks are the simplest ancillary revenue stream you can implement. Most tenants, about 60 to 70%, will buy a lock from you at move-in. You're looking at pure profit of $10 to $15 per lock. If you have a selling price of $15 to $25 against the lock cost of $5 to $8. So for a 200-unit facility, Brandon, that's an easy $1,440 a year in pure profit first year alone. But locks are just the beginning. Moving supplies offer even more opportunity. Moving supplies like boxes, tape, bubble wrap— just another easy win for found money. Tenants that are moving need these items, and they're often willing to buy them on the spot for convenience. So boxes are like a 60% profit margin. Tape brings in about $5 a roll profit. Bubble wraps, probably another $10 a roll. On average, each tenant is— that is moving will spend $30 to $50 on these supplies. Moving from supplies to truck rental. Truck rental presents a larger yet still highly profitable ancillary revenue stream. You have 2 main options here: partnering with a company like U-Haul or Penske or owning your own truck. Partnerships offer zero overhead and liability operating on a referral commission model that can bring in $10 to $25 per rental plus new customers. Owning your own truck gives you more control and branding with, with potentially more revenue, maybe $500 to $1,500 a month. But it does require overhead, maintenance, etc. You just have to run the model. Tenant protection plans are your highest margin product, pure found money. You're looking at 30 to 50% commission on premiums. We just covered this recently. This isn't just an upsell. It's a significant profit center. Yeah, we, like I said, we covered it day 93 and 101, but it, it's important to repeat in this section because we're talking about ancillary income, and that certainly is one. This single service can add $15,000 to $25,000 depending on the size of your facility and your sell-through rate to your annual profit. All right. Let's talk about another high-value service, portable storage. Because portable storage using pod, the pods model, Also offers a premium service and premium pricing. This is a step up from your basic tenant protection plans. You deliver the container, the customer loads at their own pace, and then you store it or move it. This model commands $200 to $300 a month per container compared to $100 to $150 for traditional unit rental. But we're talking overhead here. Requires truck, containers, labor, but the revenue potential is huge. And it's another way to differentiate your business. It's not for everybody or every facility, but you should know about it if you're on your way to becoming a storage mogul. Next, we'll explore how climate control can further boost your bottom line, because climate control units are a prime example of premium pricing, allowing you to command 30 to 50% more than the standard units. While the build cost is higher at $65 to $85 a square foot versus $45 to 65, the increased rent offsets this. So operating costs are higher due to the HVAC, but again, the premium rent covers it. You're targeting customers with valuable items like wine, documents, electronics, nice furniture. This is about smart segmentation and maximizing revenue per square foot if the market warrants it. All right, let's wrap this up and look at the overall impact of these ancillary revenues. Ancillary revenue isn't just a nice to have, it's a game changer. You add $30,000 to $50,000 per year of revenue. Whoo! Apply a cap rate to that. Those are big dollars. Start with the easy wins like locks and tenant insurance. You can implement those on day 1. Then you can scale up with moving supplies and inventory by month 3. Then if you can expand into truck rentals, and if you, if you have the space, the time, the wherewithal, etc., You can look at pods within a year or so. This is a roadmap for significant profit growth. If you're going to be in this business, you need to know what your options are. All right. It's all about building layers of revenue, not just relying on unit rentals. All right. Please like, subscribe, and share this video and every other one you watch. And again, I'm going to keep reminding you to do this because it's not just for me. You're broadcasting to your networks, you're advertising to everyone that knows you. That might be a future investor someday that you are becoming or are a storage mogul. This is a win-win. Yes, it helps me spread my message and helps grow our community, which, by the way, is another win for you. You want more people in the community, but it also helps you spread yours. And again, you didn't create the content. All you got to do is share it. Like, share. Not that hard. And you get more benefit than I do. Kind of crazy how that works. All right, remember, ancillary services and understanding the full spectrum of storage types is what separates a storage owner from a storage mogul. Think about that. All right, tomorrow, our final episode, day 106, the live closeout. We are live tomorrow night again where I'm going to blow the doors open on adjacent opportunities that most people don't even know exist, and every single one of them will live inside the Storage Moguls community. So you might as well join, and because you can join for free right now, storagemoguls.ai. After that— after this, I should say, after tomorrow night, it's a better way to say it— we're not stopping. Boat and RV 100 launches immediately. If you made it this far in Storage 100, you're not going to want to miss what comes next. Same format, same depth, different asset class, and we start right away, day one, right after our live tomorrow night. So I think it's Friday. Because remember, folks, self-storage may be what brought you here, but it's all the other verticals that make it that much more exciting, will transform you from someone interested in self-storage to a Storage Moguls that your friends are going to be talking about. And for those wondering why you should become a Storage Mogul, who should become a Storage Mogul? Well, it's not just because we have a lot of fun. It's because Storage Moguls live out their dreams. We're not just doers, or we are doers. We're not just talkers, we're doers. We're a helping community, not a community of takers. We're the identifiers of what our personal whys are, and then we seek to achieve them. We fulfill them. We're on the road, we're on the journey. And remember, journey's a— or mastery is a journey, not a destination. I'm learning every day. I've enjoyed this series because I'm actually learning while I deliver it, right? I'm still a student of this game. No matter where you on your— where you are in this path, if this is night 1 or night 105 for you, you're on the journey. Welcome. If you want to join the journey and do it with friends and support, become a Storage Mogul. Register at storagemoguls.ai. See you tomorrow for the grand finale and the launch of a new series.
