Tricks of the Trade: Setting Up Your Business for Success

There are plenty of opportunities for the trades here in Miami, FL. Areas like Allapattah are great for starting up a new business. You've put in your time. You're ready to make your hard work and solid skills pay off. From marketing ideas to commercial storage, we'd like to share five quick tips to help make it happen.

5 Tips for Turning Your Trade Into a Business

1. Know Your Market
Are you opening an auto repair shop? Set up in a location where you can handle the competition. There are hundreds of shops across the city, but how many operate in the Allapattah neighborhood? Make sure you have plenty of room to grow in the local market.

2. Sell Your Expertise

Make experience a selling point on your website, brochures, and business cards. Come up with a company name that tells customers who you are and why you're the best in your trade. Partner with someone who handles online and print marketing, and offer them your expertise in exchange for their services.

3. Streamline with Software

Every small business runs better with trade-specific software. Look into different apps that can streamline job scheduling, invoicing, inventory, and taxes. Share digital job details with several employees. If you're commuting to the shop from another area like Miami Shores, software lets you stay connected to the office even on days off.

4. Get Licensed, Insured and Bonded

Verifiable paperwork is an important part of opening a new business. Customers enjoy a higher level of confidence in your shop when they know you have a trade license. They trust you because you can show proof of insurance and bonding. Make the information available on your website, business cards, and even field trucks.

5. Line Up Commercial Storage

Compare the cost per square foot of shop space to self storage. A storage unit offers affordable business solutions for everything from storing extra equipment to saving important records. With commercial self storage, you don't have to worry about your trade crowding closets and garage space at home. You also enjoy 24/7 online account management.

Supporting Your Business Success

As you pull all the details together, you can depend on Safeguard Self Storage. Our team of storage professionals are here to help, with 13 Safeguard locations all across metropolitan Miami, FL. From Miami Shores to Allapattah, you have easy access to the area's best commercial storage facilities. We look forward to supporting your trade and business success for years to come.

Storage and the City: Your Solution to Area Real Estate Rates

It's easy to love living in East Tremont with all of the great things New York City has to offer, but it's hard to imagine upsizing your home. Our densely packed neighborhood keeps real estate prices above the national average. How can you live larger without busting the budget? Think small, and expand your space with an affordable storage locker here in Bronx, NY.

Make More Room with a Small Space

A 5-foot by 5-foot self storage unit serves up 25 square feet of space. That's more room than most apartment closets. Just imagine how well your organizing talents can work in a locker-sized unit.

Clean Out the Kitchen

  • Turn a locker into off-site kitchen cabinets for seldom-used pots and pans.
  • Empty the junk drawer, and give all that stuff a home away from home in storage.
  • Clear counters and reclaim space by moving small appliances to the locker.
  • Keep extra dishes safe for special occasions on shelves in your unit.

Go Seasonal with Storage

  • Let extra blankets and comforters stay put in your climate-controlled storage locker.
  • Save closet space by rotating clothes in and out of the unit according to the seasons.
  • Celebrate the holidays with decorations that don't get tangled and broken in locker storage.
  • Stop by your unit to swap out fishing rods for bird-watching gear on the way to Crotona Park.
  • Move vacation necessities like coolers and suitcases out of the garage and into storage.

Stash Personal Stuff

  • File important personal papers in climate-controlled storage for long-term safekeeping.
  • Reclaim home space by reorganizing hobby supplies in your locker space.
  • Use the unit as a holding area to keep garage sale items ready for market.
  • Convert self storage into an affordable clearing house for your home business inventory.
  • Use the locker to save special souvenirs from games at Yankee Stadium.
  • Liberate drawer space by recycling the kids' hand-me-downs through your storage unit.

Expand Your Space with Us

Whether you rent or own, there's never enough room for everything at home in New York City. We solve the problem with affordable storage lockers at all three of our Bronx, NY Safeguard locations. Whether you're in East Tremont, Concourse Village, or Wakefield, our knowledgeable storage professionals are standing by to help you expand your home space.

Making the Most of Your Drive-Up Storage Unit

You know how convenient it is to have self storage just around the corner. Can it be any easier to enjoy extra space for parking extra belongings? It can when you take advantage of our drive-up storage units here in Bridgeview, IL.

The 8 Biggest Benefits of Drive-Up Self Storage

1. Small, Medium, and Large: You don't have to lease large to enjoy drive-up storage. Unit sizes range from 25 square feet to over 600 square feet of space.

2. Fast Loading and Unloading: Are you in a hurry to catch a soccer game up at Toyota Park? You can load or unload most drive-up units in just a few minutes.

3. Easy Navigation: Imagine relocating the contents of an entire house without squeezing through entrances and navigating hallways. With drive-up storage, even the biggest loads are just a few steps away from your unit.

4. Commercial Equipment Storage: If you run a local business and need extra space for tools of your trade, drive-up storage units offer plenty of room for heavy equipment.

5. Business Inventory Storage: Seven-day access makes drive-up units ideal for holding extra inventory. Add to that the convenience of our Bridgeview, IL self storage facility, just south of businesses inside the Loop.

6. Room for the Winter: When winter blows through Chicago, protect your boat, kayak, and camping gear inside drive-up storage. Save garage space at the house by stashing lawn equipment and the grill in your unit too.

7. Room for Extra Cars: Yes, you can lease a unit big enough to park two cars. Even drive-up storage for one car feels like an extra garage at a fraction of the cost of building a major home addition.

8. High-Tech Security Features Available: Drive-up units are protected by the same facility-wide security systems that take care of indoor storage. Computer-controlled access, high-tech digital video cameras, and individual door alarms keep provide peace of mind while your items are in storage.

Count on Our Storage Solutions

When you store your belongings with us here at Safeguard Self Storage, you can count on our Bridgeview, IL storage solution experts seven days a week. With 15 locations across Chicago and the suburbs, we're always just a quick drive from your home or business.

Spring Cleaning: A Complete Guide for Your Storage Unit

You're finally done with spring cleaning. Your home looks beautiful, but you have a few things that need to move to a Baton Rouge, LA storage unit. When was the last time you straightened up that handy household storage spot? Are you sure it still has room to spare? Storage units need spring cleaning too, but the job doesn't have to turn into another seasonal project. Just follow these quick tips, and you'll be done in no time.

Open, Look, and Label

Take a peek inside the boxes in your unit. Make sure each one has a label large enough to note details about its contents. Use bright markers to color-code boxes by rooms and closets.

Round Up Clutter

Get tough with household storage that's crowding you out of the unit. If you haven't retrieved something in more than a year, it's a good candidate for a garage sale or one of the city's weekend flea markets.

Consolidate What You Keep

If you just can't give up that rock collection, round it up into one container. Let your old LSU textbooks keep each other company in the same boxes. Free up room in the storage unit by consolidating keepsakes.

Reorganize Your Layout

Store the books and rock collection in the back of the unit. Save space up front for things you need more often like fishing gear for afternoons at Blackwater. As you reorganize your floor plan, leave clear pathways between stacks.

Switch Out Seasonal Stuff

Make room for incoming winter belongings by liberating warm-weather stuff. Move out sportswear and summer bedspreads as you move in coats and heavy blankets. By turning two jobs into one, you’ll finish in half the time.

Sweep, Refresh, and You're Done

Climate-controlled storage units keep things in great shape, but a little dust can creep in. Bust it with a quick spring cleaning sweep. Keep inside air fresh by placing open containers of baking soda in corners and under shelves.

Be Sure to Give Us a Wave

When you finish spring cleaning in your storage unit, give us a wave on your way out. We're taking care of annual chores too at our Coursey Boulevard and Jefferson Highway locations. All of us here at Safeguard Self Storage in Baton Rouge, LA wish you a beautiful spring and an easy summer, and we hope our storage tips and storage units help unclutter your mind and home.

What to Do with Your Extra Room

Large, empty room

You're always tossing things into the extra room, so it's not exactly wasted space. Still, you daydream about converting it into something really useful. With so many affordable storage units in Brooklyn, NY, why not kick out the clutter and work some DIY magic with these spare room makeover ideas?

1. Shape Up in a Personal Gym

Transform your extra room into a personal gym with all the equipment you've stashed in self storage. When it's too wet to jog in Prospect Park, hit the treadmill back at the house. It's easy to stay motivated in the privacy of your home.

2. Create an Art Studio

Set your inner artist free inside a home art studio. Hang sectioned shelving dedicated to oil, pastel, and watercolor supplies. Use a tilting table as a sketch board, and set up your easel next to a bright window.

3. Give Kids Study Space

Liberate spare desks and chairs from self storage for homework in the extra room. Set up a quiet space where the kids can study. Make it a designated spot for stashing school supplies and backpacks.

4. Give Youngsters a Play Station

Let younger kids go wild in their own special play room. Corral their stuff with bench seating that doubles as toy storage. When the kids get noisy in their new den, quietly close the door, and let them have fun.

5. Make Man Cave Dreams Come True

Turn the extra room into the ultimate man cave with a gaming table that can handle cards, poker chips, and dice. Set up a small flat screen opposite comfy loungers and console setups for non-stop online multiplayer action.

6. Glide Into a Fashionista's Walk-In

Treat yourself to a beautiful walk-in closet with this DIY spare room conversion. Install wall- and floor-mounted storage units with hanging racks and glide-out shelves. Add full-length mirrors to reflect your fabulous fashionista taste.

7. Relax in Your Own Cocktail Lounge

Elevate the home bar a few shots above an ordinary happy hour with an in-house cocktail lounge conversion. Center decorating around the retro fun of a leather-padded island bar, hipster stools, and a wheeled cocktail cart.

Keep Kicking Out Clutter

Whether you work out, sketch, or toss back a few, enjoy your new room. We make home makeovers easy with several self storage locations across Brooklyn, NY, including our Crown Heights facility. Our Safeguard Self Storage facilities are the best in the borough, so keep kicking out that clutter and expand your personal space at the house.

Our Two New Miami Facilities: Giving You More Space Than Ever

We're always excited to open up new locations and expand our services here in Miami, FL. If you live or do business in Allapattah or Miami Shores, your self storage solutions are now closer than ever. Our newest facilities offer all the convenience, security, and amenities you've come to expect from Safeguard Self Storage.

Just Down the Road in Allapattah

If you make your home here, you know it's one of the city's hardest working neighborhoods. If you do business here, you know the opportunities grow every day. Even downtime is exciting when you can explore nearby shops or catch a ballgame at nearby Marlins Park.

Our modern storage facility on Northwest 27th Avenue is situated less than a mile from the heart of Allapattah. The new location puts our modern storage units just down the road from your home or business.

Room for Everything in Miami Shores

Do you commute into Greater Miami from this friendly village? Are you one of the community's happy retirees? With Silver Blue Lake due north and Miami Beach across Broad Causeway, Miami Shores is a great place to live and play.

We can help you do both with our new facility on Northwest 7th Avenue. Our units are ideal for decluttering the house or downsizing into a smaller home. From storing seasonally to stashing fishing gear, we have extra room for everything.

The Amenities and Security You Expect

Whether you're reclaiming space at home or expanding business inventory, our two new Miami locations are open and ready to serve all your storage needs with:

  • Climate-controlled units
  • Access seven days a week
  • Digital video security
  • Individual door alarms
  • Our friendly storage solutions staff
  • Carts, dollies, boxes, and packing supplies

Lease a closet-sized unit just right for a few boxes, or reserve expanded space that holds up to 12 rooms worth of furniture. It's affordable, convenient, and all yours at Safeguard.

The Best Storage Facilities in Miami, FL

How well do we serve you here in Miami? For years, we've provided storage solutions in Little Havana, Miami Gardens, and West Miami. Our modern facilities include locations in Coconut Grove, the Design District, and Hialeah North East.

Add our two newest locations plus Palmetto Bay, Miramar, and Hollywood, and you have 11 of the best storage facilities all available within Miami, FL's city limits. Our Safeguard Self Storage teams are always proud and happy to be at your service.

Self Storage: The Next Stop on Your Band's Tour

Guitarist jams with band on stage during a gig

Along the road to top billing, you pick up extra guitars, drums, and brass. No one in the band has room for it all back home, but you need a place to park everything between gigs. It's time to set up a permanent staging area in Tamarac, FL with convenient, affordable storage units.

Protect Your Investment

Whether you strum an acoustic guitar or blow an alto sax, you want to give that investment as much protection as possible. Climate-controlled self storage insulates band equipment and expensive electronics from Florida's heat and humidity. Modern facilities offer high-tech, on-site security, and you can lease a drive-up unit for quick access between shows. If you'd rather stay inside, available push carts make it easy to haul heavy gear back and forth.

Preserve Equipment Long-Term

The best storage units in Florida can't take care of your equipment if you don't take care of it first. Always clean each piece before putting it away, and use these long-term storage tips for your valuable musical instruments.

  • Guitars: Relax neck tension by tuning strings down a few notes.
  • Brass: Protect casings, bearings, and valves with a coat of heavy oil.
  • Drums: Reduce head tension top and bottom by half.
  • Pianos: Wrap legs and pedals in heavy padding.

Use Smart Storage Strategies

Prep instrument cases for extended self storage by lining them with acid-free paper. Hit high notes of extra safety by adding silica pouches. Set up wood pallet stages that keep equipment elevated a few inches off the floor. If you're doubling down on the unit with furniture storage, cushion cases between soft surfaces like mattresses and sofas.

Keep It Ready to Rock

Get everyone in the band on board with a regular sound check in the unit. You don't need to turn anything on. Just take a minute to open cases and look for any cracks, discoloration, or mold. Change out sheets draped over equipment to ward off dust, and enjoy knowing it's all ready to rock when you need to roll. 

Stash It with Us

Wherever the next gig takes the band, you always have a home here in Tamarac, FL with Safeguard Self Storage. Fill up your schedule, expand the playlist, and stash the tools of your musical trade with us. With locations all across South Florida, we're just around the corner from your next stop on the tour.

Food and Functionality: Improving Your Kitchen Layout

Full view of a kitchen

Wonderful meals and great company make every kitchen the heart of a home. Whether you're building a new house or planning a remodel, think about this special room's function, design, and space. Make the project deliciously easy by including Baton Rouge, LA self storage in your recipe for the perfect home kitchen.

Build with Universal Design

When you're going over new home floor plans, talk with your builder about universal design in the kitchen. This approach helps make a room both functional and comfortable for everyone in the house. Use the principle to customize things like free floor space, door widths, and counter heights.

As you work out details for the new kitchen, pay close attention to the locations of the sink, stove, and refrigerator. Picture each of these busy spots as a point on a triangle. Ideally, you want a clear path that lets you move easily from one station to the other.

Remodel Looks and Function

With a kitchen remodel, focus on upgrading both the room's looks and its function. New backsplashes add colorful accents while protecting walls over sinks and stoves. Pendant lights are another easy way to freshen up decor and brighten up prep and cooking areas.

Marry form and function by turning wasted kitchen space into handy storage units. Open up areas under corners where countertops meet with lazy Susan shelving and folding doors. Install drawers in the kitchen island, and make it a decorative center of attention with pot racks hanging overhead. Free up extra remodeling room by moving old kitchen furniture to a nearby storage facility. 

Say No to Kitchen Mistakes

It's easy to get caught up in the fun of kitchen design. It's also easy to overlook common mistakes that can spoil the best building and remodeling plans.

  • Open shelves are pretty, but they're dust magnets too.
  • Garbage and recycling bins need their own hiding spaces.
  • Kitchen islands breathe easier with three feet of free space on all sides.
  • Refrigerator doors need four feet of clearance to open properly.
  • Too much trendy decor wears out its welcome in just a few years.

Save Space with Us

Once you set up your perfect kitchen, keep it organized while you expand your culinary horizons with room to spare. Just shelve deep fryers, boiling pots, and cast iron skillets at one of our convenient Baton Rouge, LA storage units. Here at Safeguard Self Storage, we're always cooking up great ways to help you save space.

Turn Your Dream Game Room Into a Reality

Pool table in a game room

Every home needs one room dedicated to the fun of gaming. The space should accommodate your favorite playing table, video setup, or arcade cabinet with enough range for serious action. How can you make this gamer's fantasy real? Take a few measurements, move some things to nearby Chicago, IL storage units, and score the game room of your dreams.

Make Room for Fun and Games

There's nothing like playing your favorite game. It's even better when you compete in the comfort of your very own game cave carved out of the basement, den, or spare bedroom. The most important rule of game room conversion applies to space. You need plenty of it, and that means moving extra furniture into a nearby self storage facility. These guidelines can help you stake out gaming ground for your personal playing field.

1. Traditional Table Setups

Tables take up space, and you do too. As you measure a room for one of these traditional table setups, give yourself generous clearance for competition.

  • Air Hockey: Standard air hockey tables need a minimum 7 feet by 8 feet of open space.
  • Pool Tables: These classics work best in rooms measuring at least 18 feet by 14 feet.
  • Foosball: Shoot for a playing space of 7 feet by 8 feet to accommodate the table, as well as the rods.

2. Classic Arcade Games

Too many pinball machines and arcade cabinets wind up in storage units because they're so heavy. Save yourself the heartbreak of parking a vintage game. Be sure you're setting up Tron Legacy and Pac-Man on solid flooring that can support 250 to 300 pounds of arcade fun.

3. Big Screen Video Gaming

Indulge in your love for this type of action with at least 32 inches of quality flat screen. Beyond finding an affordable TV, this game room setup is one of the easiest. Get comfortable with an old couch, upgrade the sound system, put in a mini-fridge, and you're ready for massively multiplayer first-person anything.

Glad to Do Our Part

We admire your drive to play hard and have fun. It's that kind of spirit that turns plain rooms into dream game rooms, and we're glad to do our part. With more than a dozen Safeguard locations across Chicago, IL, our self storage facilities always score high. When you need easy access, climate-control, and high-tech security, our modern units make sure you're a winner. Find your nearest Chicagoland facility:

Use Your Space Wisely: Tips for Finishing Your Attic

An attic repurposed as a home office

While you may daydream about adding a room to the house, it’s not always easy to picture this dream becoming a reality. It may be even harder when it’s your attic. From Frankford and Germantown down to Grays Ferry, homes here in Philly have space to spare up in the attic. It's the perfect place for Philadelphia, PA homeowners to make over, and it's just overhead.

Plan It From Floor to Ceiling

Start pre-planning your upstairs transformation by looking at storage units near the house. Lease space for stashing attic stuff, move everything out, and break out the tape measure. If you have at least 70 square feet, seven feet from floor to ceiling and seven feet to move in any direction, you have room for an attic conversion. A construction contractor can advise you on reinforcing the floor with extra joists and subflooring.

Plan on adding windows for light and ventilation. They also double down as secondary fire exits. Help windows with air circulation by installing ceiling fans, and brighten up the attic with recessed LED fixtures. This is the best new room in the house for a skylight too.

Have Fun with Finishing Touches

Once you've done the heavy work, turn your attention to decorating details. Keep things simple by using the same paneling on walls and the attic ceiling. Keep things bright by painting with soft shades of white. Try these tricks to customize the space:

  • Give the kids a spacious bedroom by placing their twin beds head to head along one wall.
  • Reserve the attic as a private home office with desks tucked into dormer spaces.
  • Expand the new area as a fashionista's personal studio with banks of wall mirrors.

Know Your Codes

Attic conversions are an exciting way to upgrade square footage, but always consult with a construction professional. They can explain applicable city building codes and neighborhood restrictions before you begin the job. Knowing details in advance saves time, money, and remodeling headaches. Recommended inspections before you get started include the foundation, framing, electrical system, and plumbing.

We Have Room to Spare

When you're ready to make attic daydreams come true, we can help, and we're just around the corner. Our seven Safeguard Self Storage facilities in Philadelphia, PA include storage units in Germantown, Frankford, and all across the city. Whenever you need extra space, we always have room to spare.