In recent years, businesses of all types have had to pivot in order to survive and find success.
This is perhaps most true of small businesses, which found the interruption of COVID-19 particularly damaging. Those businesses that were fortunate enough to make it through a series of lockdowns are now facing a cost of living crisis. But people still need the services and goods they have grown used to, it’s just that the world looks a bit different. So, too, do businesses.
Your small business may be looking for storage ideas for any number of reasons. Perhaps you’ve scaled back your office sizes due to hybrid working trends following the pandemic, or maybe you’re starting to outgrow your current premises. Each situation comes with its own set of challenges, for which we have plenty of ideas and solutions. Here we provide you with our top storage ideas for small businesses.
Expand
Logically, the best way to obtain more storage space is to find somewhere with more space in general. Moving into a larger business location, when the time is right, comes with all sorts of benefits. If your business has outgrown your offices, it’s important to see if expanding into a larger location is a practical solution. While an office move will incur higher rent and other associated costs, it could allow you to recruit more staff, which could in turn increase revenue. Just remember, whatever you decide, location is everything when it comes to moving offices. It will also mean that finding storage solutions will be less of a challenge, as with your bigger space, you can plan ahead and assess your storage needs, ensuring that the new location allows for this.
When viewing potential office properties, make sure to think about inventory, archives and files, office supplies, kitchen space and more to figure out how much storage you’re likely to need. If you think it’s time to undertake an office removal, our expert team can help you every step of the way.
If expanding isn’t an option, or now isn’t the right time, read on – we still have plenty of ideas for you.
Get creative
In some cases, a small business does not equate to small business premises. But so much of the time, this is the reality, so if you’re one of the many small businesses working with limited space you may need to get creative.
Leave no stone unturned: Assess every corner of the office to see if all spaces are being used to their maximum potential. You may find that an entire cabinet is being used to store outdated files, discontinued products, or incompatible technology. Clearing out these spaces will present new opportunities for maximising your storage space. Could bookcases or shelving units be put on rails so that they slide, allowing for more to be installed and walkways to be shifted as they slide? This is a common approach for stock storage but could work for storing just about anything your business might need more space for.
Take advantage of wall space: If you feel you’ve truly made the most of all available cabinet, desk, drawer and floorspace, it’s time to look up. Mounted shelving units, cubbies and hooks are all fantastic storage solutions that don’t take up valuable floor space. If you really want to think outside of the box, keep looking higher – how could you use your ceiling to maximise storage space? Think about systems that could be lifted and lowered to bring stock within your reach.
Open plan workspaces: Out with the old and in with the new. It’s understandable that executives and your most senior members of the management team will need a private office due to potentially sensitive and confidential conversations. But is this definitely the case for middle management who may currently be in a private office? Consider embracing an open plan office where possible to free up space, therefore leaving you with empty offices that could be used for storage
Digitalise
Is your business behind the digital curve? By eliminating outdated paper filing systems, you could find that you’re able to free up a lot of office space that is currently overrun with filing cabinets and archives. It’s a big project up front, but with a good strategy, or even outsourcing the process, you can leave the paper trail behind and ensure that all your paperwork is digitally scanned onto your network – this makes things a lot easier to access too, especially for those people working from home, or if you’re off-site at an important meeting.
Freeing up filing space gives you tons of options. You could have space for more desks or more product storage or even just a nice breakout area for your team to bounce ideas around.
Get storage space
If you’ve truly maxed out every spare centimetre in your office, and obtaining a larger space isn’t an option, then you may want to consider renting a business storage unit. The beauty of a storage unit for your business is that you can choose the size, type and location that suits your needs best. Don’t be put off – storage units are no longer dank, dark and unsecure. All of our business storage units are safe, clean, climate controlled and easily accessible. Find out how we can help your business with your storage needs today.
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