We open a wholesale warehouse: everything you need to know at the start of such a business

Every resident of a big city who lives in an apartment is faced with the problem of storing bulky things, for example, a bicycle, sledges, skis and other equipment, which is required only in a certain season of the year, the rest of the time these things devour the useful space of the living space. In this article we will talk about a business idea based on keeping personal belongings of city residents by renting a small box in a warehouse.

There are many offers on the market for renting large warehouses with huge areas for storing various stocks and other things. And what to do for individuals who do not need a warehouse of 200 sq. ., and enough area 1 - 5 sq. ... in order to put there all the seasonal things that his family does not need at the moment? The self storage service, or as it is called the business of individual storage of things, solves this issue. This type of business appeared in the United States; the first self storage warehouses opened back in the 1960s of the twentieth century.

You can make good money in this market segment, but first you need to equip warehouses, attract the first customers and provide a high level of customer service. Let's take a look at all the aspects of launching a personal storage service.

Target audience

As a business owner, you will need to cooperate with both individuals and legal entities. Your target customer is a person who wants to dump a small pantry into several squares to keep their personal belongings. All clients can be divided into two categories.

• Individuals. These are all residents of the city who want to solve the issue of storing their belongings without turning their apartment into a cluttered warehouse, this is especially true for owners of small residential areas, of which there are many in any city, and against the background of the popularization of smart apartments, this service becomes especially relevant.
• Small business. These are the owners of online stores, and outlets in the shopping center, where there is no way to store inventory. Experts argue that keeping stock of stores outside the shopping center, where the price tag for rent is simply cosmic, the owner of a trading business can save 20% - 30% on renting a warehouse.

The bulk of clients will still be individuals, but with competent advertising promotion, small businesses will also connect to ordering services, and it is more profitable to work with them, because such small companies rent warehouses for a long period of time.

How to choose a room?

The main thing in the business of a temporary storage warehouse is location and premises. Since it makes sense to work in this niche only in large cities, there will be problems with finding a good premises. You should not look towards expensive rental options in the central part of the city; instead, pay attention to the industrial zone on the outskirts of the city near residential areas. There are two options for getting the premises, and the choice will depend on the budget that you set for starting a business.

When constructing a "hotel for things", the space is divided into zones inside the premises, using plastic containers or dividing the storerooms with walls made of metal profiles and corrugated board.

An interesting and profitable type of real estate business in skilled hands is a warehouse for individual storage of things. Which ones? Owners of small-sized city apartments have probably already answered this question.

Who needs warehouses for storage?

Ordinary people live in apartments of multi-storey buildings with common interests, for example, fishing, as well as the habit of keeping unnecessary things just in case. To have your own garage for this purpose in the city is a luxury available to fewer and fewer people. So all seasonal items are stored on the balcony at best, where over time it becomes unrealistic to find anything. And if a city dweller also has a car, but does not have a garage, then wheels and tools may end up in one of the rooms. What would you like to do? This is where a business idea (a warehouse for individual storage of things) comes in handy for enterprising people.

It's time to offer city dwellers a warehouse for storing things, which will free up huge space in the home.

As polls show, there are many people who are able and willing to pay for this service, which, for example, is common in the USA and Great Britain.

To accommodate a warehouse, boxes are not very large in area - metal or brick. They can be rented by anyone independently or in cooperation with someone. The service is paid monthly. Its cost in Russia depends on the area of ​​the premises and ranges from a thousand rubles per square meter for a period of a month. The client receives the box for his use, and only he has the right to use the keys from it. The company that leases out the premises for individual storage does not have access to it, but is not responsible for the safety of the content. The scheme is simple.

Bringing a real estate business idea to life

To organize a business, you need a large city with many multi-storey, apartment buildings. It will be great if you can draw attention to the service of businessmen who also have a need to store various necessary items or goods. This means that those who are engaged in off-site trade can also become interested in the service.

Students are another category of citizens who need a warehouse for the temporary storage of various items in the summer, when most of them go to their native places on vacation.

A storage box may also be needed for those who are engaged in repairs in their apartment.

The increase in demand for warehouse space is directly related to the growth in turnover. Today, tons of various cargoes need storage, daily arriving in all large cities and even small settlements, where there are many companies that use the services of warehouse facilities.

Today, experts assess this market as unsaturated: the demand for warehouse premises exceeds supply. This circumstance is attractive for large developers and companies with few resources. With a well-organized business, a warehouse business can bring good profits on an increasing turnover.

Warehouse business: rent or build

The most profitable warehouse business option is to build your own warehouse. Using modern technologies of fast construction, you can in a short time become the owner of a warehouse complex that meets all European standards.

If we consider a warehouse as a business, then renting it can be profitable only in two cases:

• lease with subsequent purchase
• long-term lease of the old premises, which can be completely refurbished to upgrade the class of the warehouse complex. By paying a low-cost rent, you can sell your services much more expensive.

Therefore, when deciding how to open your own warehouse in order to do business on it, it makes sense to talk only about building your own premises.

Warehouse format selection

For a wholesale warehouse as a business to quickly pay off and start generating income, it is necessary to reduce the cost of building and equipping its premises. The cost of building a warehouse largely depends on:

• type of construction (concrete monolithic construction or metal construction) - examples of modern warehouse projects
• type of the warehouse itself (A, B, C, D) - view the classification of warehouses

Construction types

To determine what kind of warehouse you need to build and calculate whether it will be profitable, you need to conduct marketing research in your region and be sure to draw up a business plan for the warehouse, which will take into account all initial and fixed costs, profitability of the project, terms of its recoupment.

When building a warehouse, you need to know that the construction of buildings from light metal structures is more expensive than construction from a concrete monolith by about 25%. Moreover, each type of structure has its own advantages.

The rapid development of small and medium-sized businesses is beginning to show the need for storage space for storing goods and materials. In most cases, it is much more profitable for them to rent a warehouse than to build it themselves. The warehouse business is a profitable investment, even though it has a large initial investment, it pays for itself with interest. The main thing is to choose the right place and organize the area for all types of goods. A number of rather strict requirements from the sanitary service are put forward to the wholesale warehouse, but a properly equipped complex will instantly attract customers.

Pros and cons of a business idea

Like the rest of a business, a wholesale warehouse has a number of pros and cons to consider when drawing up a business plan.

• Huge demand for this type of service.
• Low level of competition.
• Construction takes a fairly short period of time.
• Good business profitability.

• Large upfront investment required.
• In construction, you can run into unscrupulous workers - risks during construction.

Preparatory stage for opening a warehouse

At this stage, you need to decide whether to rent a room or build it yourself. Choose the type of warehouse, weigh all the risks of the business. It is sensible to assess the competition in your city.

Building or renting?

An entrepreneur who is counting on serious profits and prospects for the future must understand that renting a room in order to rebuild it as a warehouse is impractical. In case of termination of the lease, all your investments will simply dissolve into thin air, and you will find yourself in the red.

For the successful development of the warehouse business, it is necessary to build a building from scratch, and then rent it out.

Warehouse type definition

Warehouses are one of the most important elements in the prosperity of any business in general, and before thinking about how to open a wholesale warehouse, you should familiarize yourself with them.

The idea of ​​opening a warehouse and making money by providing storage services for raw materials and finished products is promising. More and more companies are looking for ways to reduce costs, so they refuse to build their own warehouses, preferring to find this service on outsourcing. By renting out a warehouse space, you will be able to earn a stable income. In the overwhelming majority of regions in this industry, competition is still low, so there is a chance to have time to occupy a niche.

Business Relevance

Opening a temporary storage warehouse as a business is an interesting and promising idea in the field of B2B services. Many companies that have to store large quantities of raw materials or finished products are looking for ways to optimize this stage of their work. It is expensive to maintain your own warehouse: rent, utilities, equipment and staff labor. A profitable solution is to use the services of specialists, replace all expenses by paying for the rent of a finished warehouse.

The tendency to cut own costs and outsource maximum work makes the opening of a warehouse for tenants a relevant and modern business. With a good level of organization, it will be possible to find regular customers who will bring the entrepreneur a stable income. Another advantage is that such a business is just beginning to develop, in many regions the industry is absolutely free. It will be easy for a start-up company to enter the market because of the low competition.

But the warehouse services business is not without its drawbacks. Building your own premises from scratch is expensive, so the payback will stretch over several years. Renting is fraught with the risk of losing all invested funds and the client base at any time (if the tenant decides to terminate the contract and take the business for himself). But even the high cost of construction and risks cannot cover the prospects that a temporary storage warehouse opens.

Warehouse types

To prepare a business plan for a warehouse complex, first determine its type. The choice is based not only on the wishes of the entrepreneur, but also on a preliminary study of demand. It is important to understand what kind of warehouse is required in the region. There are several classifications.

Purpose of use:

• Manufacturing. Raw materials and finished products are stored here. Such warehouses are most often built on the premises of enterprises or near them in order to simplify logistics.
• Transit. They are located at road junctions, railway junctions, in the area of ​​airports. The goods are stored here for a short period of time, between loading on other vehicles.
• Distribution and wholesale. Large consignments of goods are stored, which are distributed in several directions, for example, in several outlets.
• Custom. Designed for storing goods during registration of transportation across the border. Opening a customs warehouse will only work in the immediate vicinity of the border with another state.
• Retail. Used to store products from one outlet.
• Reserved. Designed to store stocks of raw materials, finished products on demand.
• Safekeeping warehouse. A special variety that is not suitable for business. This designates the place of storage of the goods, which the buyer refuses for any reason. The cargo is stored there until the end of the proceedings.

By design:

• Closed. Traditional, fully enclosed hangars.
• Semi-closed. Premises protected by only 2 or 3 walls.
• Open. Areas adapted for storage, covered with an awning. The most unsafe.

By product type:

• Specialized. Designed to store only 1 type of product or raw material. For example, dairy products, meat, fish, shoes or clothing.
• Mixed. Products of related categories are stored here. For example, grocery, clothing, raw materials.
• Generic. Adapted for storing different types of products and raw materials.