Are you looking to expand your storage space & get your own warehouse?  Does the financial aspect of leasing a warehouse intimidate you?

Today’s show is all about the journey of warehouse spaces, what criteria to look for, and what mindset you should have when looking for the perfect warehouse space for your business.  Believe me, the commitment is scary, but the reward is worth it!

Our guest, Ricky Hayes, is the owner of Vox DJ’s and has years of experience with warehouse spaces all throughout the United States. Visit his company at https://voxdjs.com/. Read below to learn more about warehouse spaces!

“What could we potentially do if we had a better space? What could this space create for us? Even though it’s a bigger risk with the lease, which is an added expense, this is going to lead us to where we need to be in five years.” – Ricky Hayes

Types of warehouse spaces

There are a few different types of spaces you could use as a  warehouse.  One is a storage unit! This is great when first starting out.  The rent is month to month & great for storing fewer items.  However, it gets a little tricky with timing as most storage units are only open at certain hours of the day. If your storage unit closes at 9 PM, most deliveries run later than that, so it’s important to think this through whenever deciding where you want to store your inventory.

Next, is a stand-alone warehouse! This is definitely an upgrade from storage units because you have more space & can get inside at any time.  We had a stand-alone storage unit for a few years in Carrolton, TX! The one downside? Our office was across the street.  This made it difficult to communicate with the warehouse team.  If this is the type of warehouse you have, we would highly recommend that you have weekly meetings with the warehouse team to ensure that they feel a part of the team.  Also, make sure that you have a way to communicate with them in case you need to get in contact with them right away.

Lastly, is the office + warehouse combined space.  We highly recommend looking into a warehouse that has an office because it is beyond helpful to be able to walk right out to the warehouse if you need something!  We love having our warehouse in the same building as our office because it helps with communication and we are able to give our clients tours of our space easily. 

Warehouse Criteria

A few things you may want to consider when searching for a warehouse is:

• Tall ceilings!  Tall ceilings are a must in your warehouse so that you can get  maximum storage.  You’ll want to be able to fit 18-20 ft. tall racks so that you can have multiple rentals on top of  one another.

• Natural light.  While this isn’t a necessity, it is definitely helpful to have good natural light in your working area. It makes working in the office a lot more enjoyable, and it’s great for content purposes!

• Good loading/unloading capabilities. Make sure that your warehouse has an area to be able to fit trucks & trailers in.  Not only does this make loading easier on your team, but it saves so much time!

Organizing your Warehouse

There are a million ways you could organize your warehouse, but one way we like to organize is to keep our most popular rentals upfront.  This way, when we have clients come in, that’s the first thing their eyes see.  Secondly, we make sure to label every area so that the team knows where to pull from.  Our contractors might not know the name of every single inventory item, so it is helpful for them to know where the items are at.  Check out our Warehouse Tour to learn more about how we organize our warehouse!

Another way we stay organized is by using the most amazing software, Goodshuffle Pro! We believe this is the #1 thing event professionals should invest in to take their business to the next level. Goodshuffle Pro is an easy-to-use, cloud-based rental software. It is the easiest way to keep track of your inventory (and give your clients an easy-breezy experience).  Head to rendereducate.co/goodshuffle for a FREE 30 day-trial of Goodshuffle Pro.

Joyfully,

Brooke Hicks | Render Co.