8 Types Of Small Businesses In Austin, TX (And How Self Storage Can Help Them)

Austin is one of the top cities feeding the CA to TX migration route, thanks to its diverse and rich job scene, its multitude of amenities and the booming business world. But it’s not just the big businesses that make waves in Austin; it’s also small businesses. We’re talking furniture stores, e-commerce, restaurants and more. While it takes a lot to manage a business, one of the things that gets pushed to the sidelines is how to manage the business space and the business-related items. One way to make the workflow easier from this perspective is to consider self storage. The service aids in better handling merchandise and the main business premise, especially for small businesses, which typically enjoy smaller premises. Besides, the service is relatively inexpensive – renting an Austin, TX, storage unit costs around $120/month.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at some small businesses in Austin and see how self storage can help them:

1. Tech-oriented companies

Austin already has an established reputation as a tech hub, making this type of business a prime candidate for using self storage. How? If they’re a small business, office space can come at a premium, especially in the beginning. Therefore, using self storage can come in handy when it comes to keeping office furniture, paperwork, electronics and backed-up data secure.

Ravi Parikh, owner of RoverPass, shares the same thoughts about self storage. “We operate a booking engine for campgrounds and RV parks. We store a lot of data on campgrounds and RV parks available throughout the US. Besides cloud storage, we use self-storage facilities to safeguard our information assets. It is helpful because we get a ready-made data backup whenever needed,” he told us. “Since we store it at a separate geographical location, it safeguards our data from ransomware attacks and data privacy violations that have become rampant recently,” he also added.

Similarly, Socialplug, a social media-oriented company owned by Mark Voronov, is another example of a business using self storage. “Indeed, self storage plays a pivotal role in our operational strategy. Socialplug, like many businesses, relies on an array of physical assets and marketing collateral. These materials are pivotal to our client interactions and campaign executions,” Mark told us. “Self storage facilitates the efficient organization and management of these assets, ensuring our team can readily access and deploy them as needed,” he also added.

2. Boutiques

Austin is home to various boutiques selling clothes, jewelry, stationery, accessories and essential oils, just to name a few local businesses. Not unlike many other brick-and-mortar businesses, boutiques also face the challenge of space. To better manage their space, for many of them, turning to self storage can be a great way to take control of their merchandise. Excess stock can be stored until it’s ready to hit the shelves. For many businesses, buying in bulk or preparing for a sale or a special time of the year – think the holidays or Christmas in July – can be a matter of buying stock in advance to make sure they’re well-supplied to meet increased demand that’s typical of the season.

Whether they’re in the business of selling clothing, jewelry, stationery or other kinds of items, a climate-controlled unit is ideal to store these items. The climate control feature offers optimal temperature and humidity levels to prevent any kind of damage.

Based on the type of merchandise they work with, boutiques can turn to various storage unit sizes to best suit their needs. While a 10’x10’ unit is typically rented, they can go for smaller units, such as a 5’x5’  or  5’x10’ – if selling décor or jewelry – or larger units, such as a 10’x15’, for clothing and bulkier items.

3. Restaurants

Restaurants are another type of brick-and-mortar business that can also use self storage to enhance their workflow. Whether it’s terrace furniture or kitchen tools, many items can be kept away from the premises to avoid crowding the place. Moreover, this comes in even more handy for restaurants that are small businesses that could come with smaller operating spaces. That means that self storage can truly help them make the most of every inch that they need to use at their main location – while keeping non-essential items safely away.

4. Furniture and home décor stores

Furniture stores can also see the perks that come with using self storage. As many furniture pieces are large, they usually require a lot of space. Putting some of them in storage can help furniture store owners to better manage their store floor space. The same goes for décor – while many pieces are smaller and don’t take up as much space as furniture, there are others – such as lamps or statues – that can pose logistical challenges. They, too, can sit in storage until they’re ready to find their spot inside the store.

Moreover, some businesses offer storage to their customers. That’s the case for Uptown Modern, with Jean Heath, the owner, telling us the following: “One of the ways self-storage helps us is by conserving sales floor space. When a customer can’t pick up their bulky furniture piece(s) right away, we offer them off-site storage at a low rate so they can pick their purchases up when the timing is right for them.”

5. Thrift & antique stores

With over 140 thrift stores, Austin is one of the best cities for thrifting nationwide. Since thrift stores typically have a lot of merchandise they’re trying to sell, they’re an excellent candidate for self storage. As it happens, many stores receive daily donations, which means that stock overflow is bound to happen quite frequently. To help relieve the store floor, they can turn to self storage to keep excess furniture, clothing, appliances and other types of items they might typically not have enough room for at their main location. A climate-controlled unit is ideal for these types of items, as the temperature and humidity levels are kept at an ideal level to ensure the stored belongings preserve their qualities.

6. Bookstores

Ebooks have their own audience, but hard-copy books kept their appeal in Austin. Therefore, you can still find plenty of great bookstores in Austin. For bookstore owners, turning to self storage can be a practical way to manage excess books. It can be difficult to make room for new stock on the shelves or in the back area of the store when there are plenty of books that haven’t sold yet. In this case, putting them in storage can help to alleviate the pressure of finding room for the new books.

7. Construction contractors

Austin’s real estate market is extremely hot, especially given the city’s active construction sector in the last decade. The city delivered over 99K apartments and 37K single family homes in the past decade alone based on permitting activity, with demand coming from the city being a prime relocation hotspot. Therefore, it’s no surprise to see that Austin is home to plenty of contractors. For this type of business, self storage can come in handy, aiding them in improving their daily functioning. They can keep building materials and tools in a storage unit located close to the construction site. This saves them transportation time and helps to make their work more efficient.

8. E-commerce businesses

E-commerce has flourished in the past few years, and Austin is no exception to this trend. While many businesses of this kind operate without official premises, the storage unit can act as a warehouse space for their merchandise. Stock that hasn’t been delivered yet can sit here until it’s ready to reach its recipient. Many businesses even use their storage unit as a pickup spot for the delivery service – pickup can be scheduled for a set day, saving the company extra trips to the storage facility.

Regardless of the type of small business you might have in Austin, self storage can come to your aid, helping you better manage your space, your business assets and, ultimately, helping you better carry out your daily workflow.