We’ve all heard the old adage that there are two things you never discuss among friends and close acquaintances: religion and politics. It is interesting, however, that over the past few months, the subject of the November presidential election has come up repeatedly amongst the self-storage professionals that we interview. The overlying concern is what effect the election will have on our industry.

While no one can know for sure what the consequences will be, that is the very topic we address in the cover story of this edition of the Mini-Storage Messenger. How will the elections impact self-storage owners? And, what should self-storage owners do in the face of uncertainty?

Moving on, specialty storage is the topic of our first feature in the October issue of Messenger. Given the current economy, is specialty storage a viable means of adding to the bottom line? Our second feature looks at the mobile self-storage industry, its growth, and how some traditional self-storage operators are adding this component to their business staple.

Columns in this edition cover a variety of topics including preparing your facility for winter, how to market specialty storage, selecting doors and hallway systems, and tips for growing top line revenue. You’ll also want to read this month’s Global Watch column which looks at self-storage in Asia.