All about investment

By:Dean Brown

The turn of the century brought with it another turn: that of the baby boomer generation into retirees. However, retired boomers aren't spending their free time puttering around the country in RVs or taking in 18 holes on the golf course. Rather, they're starting their own businesses.

A 2006 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation showed that people between the ages of 55 and 64 were the ones most likely to start up a new business.

Why, after working for 30 or 40 years, would people want to suddenly start working more? According to a recent article in U.S. News & World Report, it's possible that the baby boomers are having a sort of existential crisis. After so many years spent working for other people, they want to work for themselves. And, unlike many young bucks, they actually have the money and experience to do it.

To many of these aspiring entrepreneurs, I offer a humble suggestion: why not consider a self storage building for a post-retirement career? Self-storage steel buildings is one of the few small business investments that's relatively low-risk, high-reward. Here's why:

1) You've got a good chance of success. Steel Self storage has about an 8 percent failure rate, as opposed to other commercial real estate ventures, which have a failure rate between 53 and 63 percent. That's nearly six times as high.

2) You can pay your loan off quickly. On average, self storage steel buildings have about 80 percent occupancy. If that's the case, then even if you're paying off your land, materials, construction, and everything, you can usually get your entire loan paid back in about six years.

3) You don't have to hire the Seventh Fleet to run it. You'll be managing yourself and maybe one or two other people for the day-to-day upkeep of your self storage business. After years of working in giant buildings amongst thousands of other people, who doesn't want that kind of low maintenance?

4) You'll be entering a growing industry with demonstrated demand. Self storage has been the fastest-growing sector of the commercial real estate industry for the past 30 years. In 2006, gross revenues for primary self storage facilities were $22.6 billion - an average of $441,208 per facility.

Many boomers built a huge network of contacts over their years in the corporate world, which they can use in the post-retirement world to enhance their own businesses. And after spending so many years in the corporate world, many are ready for a chance to be their own boss while doing something that they love.

Growing right along with the number of baby boomer entrepreneurs is the self storage industry. It's been the fastest-growing sector of the United States commercial real estate industry for the past 30 years. In 2006, gross revenues for primary self storage facilities were $22.6 billion - an average of $441,208 per facility.

Any new business is risky, and those risks have to be accounted for before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. However, self storage steel buildings have a better track record than other start-up commercial ventures.

According to an in-depth study by National Development Services Inc. of the performance of multi-family, office, retail and self storage developments in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Louisiana, self storage steel buildings have a failure rate of about 8 percent, while other real estate ventures have a failure rate nearly six times that amount.

No business is a guarantee by any means, but with a failure rate of only 8 percent, self storage buildings are more secure than many other small business investments.

It's not a huge initial investment

Compared to other new businesses, you're also looking at a smaller initial investment with self storage steel buildings. If you consider an 80 percent occupancy rate, which is about average, then even including the purchase of the land, you could still have your loan paid off in about six years. That's considerably less than other small businesses.

Plus, self storage buildings don't require a huge staff to maintain upkeep. Most likely you'll just be managing yourself and a couple of other people. That way, the hiring process won't be a headache.

Self storage is not only a stable industry, but a steadily growing one, with demonstrated demand. Businesses require storage for surplus office supplies or equipment while moving. College students need storage when they go home for the summer. Military personnel need storage for their belongings while they're overseas. The possibilities are absolutely endless.

About Author

I am the President of American Steel Buildings, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We specialize in steel self-storage buildings. Our success is dependent on taking care of our customers. Our site is www.gosteelgo.com