owners with larger facilities (many buildings) - are you labelling your storage buildings for tenants (showing on the side of the bldg "1-100, etc." If so where are you sourcing your vinyl stickers/signs? We'd ideally like to have large reflective vinyl numbers (or potentially make metal signs - although more expensive)

"I almost quit at month three." That's what Nick told me before he closed his first self-storage facility. Five months of consistent work. Direct mail going out. Cold calls happening every week. Broker conversations that felt like they were leading nowhere. And then one day, one of those broker relationships paid off and he had a real deal on the table. What made the difference wasn't luck. Nick had a system. He wasn't just cold calling one week and then driving for dollars the next with no plan. He ran multiple channels at once — direct mail to owners, weekly broker check-ins, and cheap lead lists pulled through Fiverr — so deal flow kept building even when individual efforts went quiet. That's the part most people miss. One channel is a hobby. Four channels running together is a pipeline. The broker relationship piece is what actually opened the door for Nick, and it's the same way I've picked up several of my 8 facilities. Brokers call you first when they know you're serious, responsive, and not going to waste their time. If you want to see exactly how I build those relationships, watch this one: https://youtu.be/pdQMvZhvSJA. And if you want the full Phase 1 framework Nick used to find his deal, grab the Blueprint here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wkUwltCW9wk7LbsoddYwTfTFn5UgMg2x/view?usp=sharing Nick's story isn't unusual — it's what happens when you stop guessing and start running a system. Which sourcing channel are you leaning into this week, and where are you getting stuck? Dave "Systems Beat Luck" DeMink

Do you folks typically purchase a cyber policy for your facilities?

Most people trying to buy their first storage facility do the same thing. They set up alerts on Crexi, LoopNet, and Storage Asset Marketplace, then refresh their inbox every morning hoping something workable shows up. When a deal finally does hit the market, twenty other buyers are looking at the same numbers, the price gets bid up, and the margin they needed to make it a good deal disappears. There is a better way, and it's how I've picked up most of my 8 facilities. Build a multi-channel off-market system so deals come to you before they ever hit a listing site. That means direct mail to owners in your target markets, cold calls using a real script (not "hey, wanna sell?"), driving for dollars when you're in the area, and yes, paying someone on Fiverr fifty bucks to scrape Google for every mom-and-pop facility in your region. Then on top of that, you build genuine broker relationships so you get the first call before a deal ever gets listed. If you want to see how I approach the broker side specifically, this one is worth 15 minutes: https://youtu.be/pdQMvZhvSJA — brokers control the best off-market flow in this business, and most people torch the relationship in the first conversation. The full Phase 1 sourcing system is also mapped out in the Blueprint if you want the whole picture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wkUwltCW9wk7LbsoddYwTfTFn5UgMg2x/view?usp=sharing Which channel are you leaning into first — brokers, direct mail, or cold calls? Drop it below and I'll share what's been working for our members. Dave "First Call, Best Deal" DeMink

Hi @Dave DeMink and everyone . I’m getting some conflicting advice and would really appreciate insight from those of you who have actually closed on a self-storage facility. I’m hearing two different approaches: One side says to identify a deal, complete enough initial underwriting to determine that it fits your criteria, submit the LOI, get it accepted, and then begin raising or securing the capital. The other side says to establish your capital structure and investor base first, whether through a fund or another vehicle, and then aggressively pursue deals. The reasoning is that once an LOI is accepted, the clock starts. Due diligence, financing, legal, inspections, and everything else begin moving quickly, and that may not be the ideal time to also start figuring out where the equity is coming from. As a longtime business owner, the idea of committing to a transaction before having a clear path to the capital feels somewhat backwards to me. At the same time, I understand that investors generally want to see an actual opportunity before committing capital. For those of you who have successfully closed self-storage acquisitions, how did you approach this on your first few deals? Did you build the investor relationships and capital pipeline first, find the deal first, or develop both simultaneously? I’m especially interested in what worked in the real world, not just what works on paper. Thank you. I appreciate the insight.