Reality of self-storage as an active business

Today’s guests bought six self storage facilities in just four years, all while working full-time jobs, and during a time of rising interest rates. They had zero experience, no self storage background, and have only used their own money. How did they grow so quickly, and what’s the secret to scaling your self storage business? These are the bootstrapped self storage investors to hear from.

In 2020, self storage investments weren’t on Nick and Steven May’s radar. But after hearing an episode of this podcast, they decided it might be their next great opportunity. Luckily, a small vacation market two hours south of them had old, poorly-reviewed facilities around. So they did what everyone with little experience and a desire to invest should do: started calling owners without expectations. One owner was willing to sell, and the ball started rolling.

Fast forward four years from their first purchase, and Nick and Steven have six facilities, all in the same market. They’ve gotten better at negotiating, underwriting self storage, and running their business. How did two guys scale to 150,000+ square feet in self storage space without any prior experience? Today, they’re sharing exactly how they did it. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

• How to build your self storage business even while working full-time, even with no experience 
• Why waiting out stubborn sellers is worth it (and why you always submit an offer)
• The basic tweaks you can make to turn an underperforming facility into an over-performing one 
• Investing in self storage with high interest rates (why it still works in 2025)
• The secret to scaling your storage portfolio while working a full-time job 

Where to find more

📷 Steven’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenmay_realestate/  

🚣 Lake of the Ozarks Self Storage: https://lakeoftheozarksselfstorage.com/

🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! We seriously love them. https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/  

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself.  https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/ 

📚 Get my FREE self storage starter pack to learn how to analyze, underwrite, and operate your next storage investment: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/start-podcast 

📰 Sign Up for My Newsletter Here:  https://ajosborne.com/newsletter