Supporting Local Businesses

Meet Our Customers: Small Local Business

I’d never considered self-storage prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t something that my business of running a small shop had ever required before.

Before Covid raised its ugly head, my small shop was just about ticking over, but it soon became apparent that under the restrictions of a pandemic, I was going to have to call it a day. Almost as soon as the first lockdown hit, I knew that it was time to get out and close down, before I got into too much debt. The cost of keeping my shop without receiving any income simply made no sense at all.

So what was I to do?

A local small business group I belonged to suddenly became very useful indeed. It had lots of different ideas and ways to keep your business afloat. And one of them really stood out to me: Diversify! 

Diversification was the only way I was going to be able to get through this. I needed to find another way to sell my products without having the physical shop. So I quickly set about doing just that. I quickly emptied my shop of stock and put it in the spare room while I decided what the best way forward would be. 

One option stood out instantly as being perfect for me and, since that day, I have never looked back. I set up, with a little help, an online shop website. 

This online shop came with a number of benefits for both me and the customers. It turned out that the money I was saving through not having the shop enabled me to reduce my prices, attracting more customers than usual and offering free local delivery too. I advertised my business on Facebook and within a few weeks I started to see my orders picking up and all of my loyal customers returning.

This all sounds very positive, I know, but with this success did come a few further problems. I soon realised that I didn’t have enough space in my spare room to keep enough stock at home. I couldn’t fulfil my orders as quickly as they were coming in. 

I went back to the small business group to see if there were any cost-effective solutions for this problem and Eureka!! Somebody recommended Louth Self Storage, the perfect storage solution to my growing business. 

I quickly gave them a call and then was invited for a visit. So I popped along and was shown various size units until I found the right one for me. The cost of renting is very competitive and, as my business grows, so does the size of my unit. I can simply upgrade as needed. 

Plus, my stock is safe and secure, and I can come and go as I please during their opening hours.

I am hoping that one day I will be able to open up a physical shop again but, until then, I suppose we all have to adapt to this new way of shopping, storing and sending. And businesses like Louth Self Storage are really helping to keep my business going now that I have to work from home.

I’m so grateful for the online communities such as Facebook for finding me this handy business solution, not only are my products stores safely and securely, but they’re easily accessible and it’s very affordable. My products are now available to a much wider audience. And, despite me missing out on the social and local community aspects of running a physical shop, these solutions have really helped to save and even grow my business. I highly recommend it to any other shop owner too.

To find out how Louth Self Storage can support your business, visit our business storage page. To rent one of our units, get in touch on 01507 327008 or email us at office@louthselfstorage.co.uk