Giving Back

    Since I became a self storage owner, I made a commitment to giving back to the communities where my storage facilities are located.  If it wasn’t for the people in those communities using my facility, I would not be able to enjoy the life I lead.

    When I first purchased my property in Danville, Illinois I immediately went to the chamber of commerce and introduced myself.  I went around town and introduced myself to business owners and tried my best to be friendly and converse with anyone I would meet.  I wanted the people of that town to know that I wasn’t just purchasing a property in their town for my own financial gains.  It was important to me to establish myself as a business owner who cares about the community my property belongs to.  It’s possible that this is a reason that my occupancy rates drastically rose shortly after my acquisition.   Regardless, since then I have made a point to be visible at my property several times a year and donate my time and money to good causes within the town when it is feasible.  I offered to help coach kids at a baseball clinic at the local YMCA and I ran in a 5k run during the summer to help raise money for breast cancer.  That was excruciating for me because I am the furthest thing from a distance runner!  Neither of those two actions turned a direct profit for me, but it had the intrinsic benefit of making me feel good knowing that I was giving back to the community that is helping me secure my financial future.

    There are many ways you can give back to the communities in which you own properties or businesses.  If it’s the holidays you can donate clothes or your time to the Salvation Army.  There are so many charitable foundations throughout our great country.  I recommend finding one and spending a little time giving back to the community.  No one wants to live in a place where the business owners just fleece them of their money.  I guarantee you if you expose yourself to the community in a good light through charity, you not only will feel great for doing a great thing, but your profits just might rise as well.

Take care until next time.
-Casey Cavell.