Portable

The portable self-storage allows the customer to have their storage shed brought to them. A large truck will drop off the small storage unit and allow the customer to fill it at their leisure. When the customer has the storage container filled - a representative from the storage company will come back with a truck and pick it up to store it at the storage company's site. The customer is charge on a monthly fee just like the traditional stationary location storage facilities.

Traditional Stationary Location

These locations require a large amount of space and require for a storage building facility to be built. The customer must come to the storage facilities location to load and unload their property. The storage facility charges on a per month basis.

Financing Your Self-Storage Franchise

The Department of Commerce proclaimed the success rate of franchises was 90%, while other first time entrepreneurs' success rate was only 40%. Despite the franchisee success rate, you will still find it difficult to borrow the money needed to invest in your franchise branch.

Self-storage franchises require a large initial investment and you need to have liquid capital available for them to use as insurance. There are several different ways to attain the capital needed to open your self-storage franchise. You can obtain a loan from the bank or family and friends. A bank tends to be more difficult to borrow from than family and it also charges a higher interest rate. However, most families do not have the extra money to lend out be careful of those high finance charges.

If you are unable to secure a loan or use your credit cards as equity, then you should try contacting the United States Small Business Association. The SBA offers guarantees on 90% of loans up to $155,000 and 85% of the remainder up to $750,000 total. The interest rates on these loans vary, but tend to be quite reasonable as compared to some bank loan interest rates. The terms of the agreement on a SBA loan can range from 5 to 25 years.

Some state and local governments also offer financing options for franchise owners in order to encourage small business development. However, each state varies on what they do and don't offer. Check in with your local government to see what options they have available.