How to Find Funding For Your Self-Storage Projects

Potential self-storage investors are everywhere. Before you start looking for them, your first task is to study the market, recognize investor expectations, and design offerings for investors around those expectations. Investors don’t want to lose money, and they don’t want to miss out on an opportunity. If you want to attract the right investors, you need to look in the right places. 

Look in the Right Places

Use MeetUp.com for real estate and investment connections. Attend conferences, including those for certified public accountants. Attendees at these events expect to be solicited, so you can approach them with your self storage investment opportunity.  Don’t look for people who are trying to create wealth; look for people who’ve already made their money and are trying to find alternative investment opportunities. Be sure to check with your attorney about disclosures

When you meet these people, add them to your database. When you get a deal, send an email blast. 

Keep Your Prospect Pipeline Full

When your prospect pipeline is full of potential investors, you’re ready to go when you have a deal. 

There are countless opportunities to maintain a high level of visibility to fill your pipeline. Present at investor and industry conferences. Create blogs, newsletters, and videos. Accept invitations to do podcasts. It’s not as difficult as you might think. If you’re not comfortable with this type of activity, partner with someone who is. If you can’t find a partner, you can hire people to raise money for a fee. You can create a website, post offerings and connect with prospects that you don’t know.  Again, talk to your attorney about disclosures.

Track and Communicate With Prospects

It’s important to consistently keep track of and communicate with prospects. It’s not complicated. Try the following options:

Database: Enter each new contact into a database, which automatically triggers a series of emails explaining self storage.

Social Media: Connect with prospective investors through LinkedIn and a company Facebook page.

Text and Email: Use these elements together so news, updates and first and last names don’t get lost in the clutter. When you’re raising money, compose a text message or email outlining the deal, and send it to everyone on your list. 

Referrals: Encourage your investors to share your opportunities with friends and family. You’ll have people that will invest in multiple deals and encourage their friends to start investing along with them. 

PowerPoint Presentation: Design a presentation providing an overview of self-storage, your current deal, and future deals. 

Be Persistent

Keep working at building your portfolio. Let your passion show, and always be in “capital raising mode.” If you’re in a position to have a conversation with someone at a sports event or a casual party, make a connection, and put that information into your database. Remember there is no “typical” self storage investor. People from all walks of life recognize the potential in the self storage model. Your tenacity will reward you with results.