Another exciting year for the self storage industry draws to an end – close, but not yet. At the Self Storage Association of Australasia (SSAA), we held thirteen Regional Dinner meetings for members across Australia and New Zealand during 2012, which provided valuable networking opportunities for members who attended. Members networked over delicious dining and drinks (generously sponsored by Visy Boxes & More) and also heard from a variety of speakers relevant to the industry on topics such as banking, loans, marketing and sales force.
Non-members can also attend these meetings and bring along a friend or a partner and this is a great way to learn more about self storage if you are thinking of investing, buying or even if you have a business you think could supply services to the self storage industry at large. Don’t just think about attending – do it!
In September of 2012, I attended the USA’s Association Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. It was an eye-opener to the way self storage is conducted in the USA and communicating in person with the people behind the scenes of the American Association was extremely valuable and offered great insight. I also got to meet and converse with other professionals from international Self Storage Associations from places like South America and the U.K who, like myself, had traveled across the world to attend the conference.
People have asked me, “Las Vegas and Self Storage – what’s the connection?”… but my answer is always the same; Las Vegas was the perfect location for the industry to gather and learn and the conference was abuzz with people from all walks of life, immensely passionate about self storage.
The traditional Convention and Trade Show that we, at the SSAA, host annually is going to have a make-over in 2013 and has been re-named “The Summit”. We can’t say much at this point about The Summit, except to confirm the fantastic location of “Hayman Island” is locked away and will help to set the scene.
We also think the program will speak for itself. The program for The Summit will be released in early 2013, so make sure you look out for it.
As always, we offer several different advertising mediums that businesses can advertise to self storage operators through the SSAA, such as advertising in the Insider magazine, advertising on our regular email StoreFlash and the Almanac. The annual Almanac is currently undergoing production and is planned for release in January 2013. It is the only statistical abstract of the self storage industry in Australia and New Zealand and is an extremely valuable tool for both new and existing members, as well as other professionals involved in the industry.
The Almanac is delivered FREE to every member of the SSAA and is a reference document that is held by readers for at least 12 months, often longer as a benchmark tool. Advertising in the Almanac keeps your business in the minds of self storage owners, operators and developers whenever they look for industry information. If you are interested in advertising opportunities or becoming a member of the SSAA, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
And finally… I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!
