Up Her Hat
he Unsinkable Molly Brown made it to the history books by being a light in every room she entered—always friendly, remarkably helpful, and honest. For anyone in the self-storage industry, it comes as no surprise that M. Anne “The Hat Lady” Ballard is also celebrated as a force of the same caliber.
Her larger-than-life personality has been inherent in her since she was a child; and it has not only served her well as a stalwart in the self-storage industry, but it has also won many hearts along the way.
The stories told by those who know her highlight the profound effect she’s had on them and how she’s made the self-storage space infinitely better. This applies to influencing industry regulations, guiding colleagues to improve their own business practices, and showing that she deeply cares about the people around her.
Now, as she approaches retirement, we take a look back at this extraordinary woman and what she has accomplished. So go get yourself a good cup of coffee and get comfortable, because this is a good one.
In 1970, she graduated from Easley High School. For her, it feels like just yesterday, as it tends to happen to those of us who are past a certain age. “The older you get, the faster time goes,” Ballard says while laughing.
In high school, she was the only girl in the mechanical drawing class. Unbeknownst to her at the time, those skills would come in handy throughout her career. When she was still a teenager, she had a summer job at an architect’s studio. “I thought I’d do something different than waiting tables, and it turned out to be a great decision,” she says. “My role at that office was being a gofer, but he also let me do a couple of drawings. They were messy, and I don’t know if he used them or not, but they kept me busy.”
After high school, Ballard enrolled in the University of South Carolina, Columbia, but she soon realized she wasn’t going to stay. “I’ve never been so bored in my entire life,” she recalls. She was a great student for as long as she could stay, but after freshman year, she decided to move along to something else. “My father was a mechanical engineer, and I’ve been told I have a high IQ, but sitting in a classroom wasn’t going to do it for me.”
She also didn’t want to live her entire life in South Carolina. “I had to get out and see the world.”
At the time, her sister was living in American Falls, Idaho. The sister was also pregnant, so Ballard decided to move there to help her, but it wasn’t long before she was bored there as well. “It was a very small town, with just a few people and millions of sugar beets and potatoes,” she says. “I read all of the paperbacks at their library, dated all the men who said they were single, but after a while, I also had to get out of there.”
Her plan to leave consisted of getting a job that required a lot of traveling. After reading the help-wanted ads in a local newspaper, she asked her sister to drive her to a job interview. Her unique personality was already in full force by the time she walked through that door. “I told the interviewers that I didn’t care what the job required. As long as it wasn’t illegal or immoral, I’d do it.” Her honesty went even further, as she implored, “Just get me out of American Falls.”
During that decade, she did product demos and sold technical magazines and cleaners. She also trained approximately 500 agents on how to do direct sales. “I proved to myself that it’s all about the attitude. People give you what you give them. If you have a bad day and you want to eat worms, you’re not gonna sell anything, because that’s what you’re giving people.”
Like attracts like. Ballard has always been clear on that. And what was the name of the company, you ask? “I think it was E.C.I.,” she replies. “Don’t ask me what it stands for. I have no idea.”
In true Ballard fashion, she was successful at her next place. “I went to work for an apartment company. How easy could a job be? The people come to you, so I was closing pretty much 100 percent of the traffic that I got, even with no training.”
Because that was too easy, it was time to move on. Next, she worked at another properties company, where she worked her way up to the position of marketing director. “I’m really enthusiastic about everything. My first business cards said M. Anne Ballard, and I’d tell people that the M was for marketing.”
In 1987, a change in laws regarding tax credits for apartment developments collapsed the industry, so she needed to look for greener pastures. That’s when she decided to start The Marketing Solution with a friend. “I did print brokering, manager training, and we even opened shopping centers. Whatever the real estate clients wanted, we’d do.”
As luck would have it, one of those clients owned a business of what were then called mini warehouses. “They weren’t called self-storage yet,” Ballard says. “The client hired us to do ads for the Yellow Pages and manager training.”
During an inspection of the mini warehouses, she met the owner, Harty Kilgore. He told Ballard that he wanted her to start a group of business owners within the industry. That’s how she started the Georgia Storage Owners Society, which was the precursor to what is now the Georgia Self Storage Association. Kilgore ultimately helped sort out Universal Management Company to manage his stores. Soon enough, she was unofficially lobbying for legislation with self-storage expert, attorney, and friend, Scott Zucker.
“I started practicing law in the 1980s,” says Zucker. “And one of my first clients was a self-storage developer. That’s how I met Anne. I would speak about the law to the owners at these association meetings, and we teamed up to change the law in Georgia in ‘93 and ‘94.”
Ballard was never a lobbyist in the traditional sense, but together with Zucker, she’d go door to door to every Congressman in Georgia and ask them to please pass bills that supported the industry. “One of the proposed bills intended to force storage owners to hire a licensed auctioneer every single month when they did lien sales,” Zucker says. “We didn’t want that, and thanks to Anne, we managed to get a bill passed that prevented that. Together, we’ve changed the law in Georgia six times.”
Her power of persuasion was impressive even to the barrister. “I had the pleasure many times of being down at the state legislature with her,” says Zucker. “She would go into legislators’ offices and just somehow get in, even if she didn’t have an appointment. She’s so energetic and friendly that people can’t say no to her.”
That seems to be an integral part of what has made her so successful. “Her Southern, sweet personality is her power,” Zucker adds. “She just disarms people with her sweetness.”
Sarah Beth Johnson, vice president of sales and development at Universal Storage Group (USG), showcases what it’s like to work with her. “At our old office, I had a cubicle, and I hated sitting there. So, I moved my stuff to a big table inside her office so that I could see out the window.”
It was something she did when Ballard was working outside the office. But when Universal Storage moved to a new location, she excitedly approached Johnson. “‘Look!’ she told me,” recalls Johnson. “‘We can share a desk here, too!’” They’ve been working together at the same desk ever since. In a world where office hierarchies are commonplace, Ballard’s willingness to work together with her team highlights how down to earth and truly friendly she is.
“She’s also become like a second mother figure to me,” Johnson adds. “I had to move my mom into an assisted living facility, so I took time off work to clean her home. It was going to be a hefty chore. Anne took the day off too and helped me clean the entire apartment. She scrubbed the kitchen, floors, cabinets, and inside the oven—everything. She even brought cleaning supplies, and she brought lunch.” A prime example of the quintessential Ballard.
Stacie Maxwell, former vice president of marketing and training at USG, came to love Ballard as a family member as well. “I’m absolutely going to miss her Christmas parties,” she shares. “I’ve worked with her for 23 years, and it’s become a tradition to go to her home to celebrate the holidays.”
Lou Barnholdt, vice president of sales and development, chimes in, saying, “She has taught me things about myself and my personality that I didn’t even know existed, such as how to become a leader, how to become a marketer, how to become passionate about what I do.” She also shares a valuable lesson she’s acquired from The Hat Lady. “One of the most important things I’ve learned from Anne is that you will never get something that you don’t ask for, so always ask for what you want and need.”
Of course, her team also celebrates the funny moments they’ve shared with Ballard. David Dixon, COO at USG, retells one hilarious memory. “We were at a trade show, and we went to get lunch before she gave a presentation. We ordered burgers and fries, and apparently, the ketchup had fermented. So, when Anne shook and opened the bottle, ketchup splattered everywhere, completely covering her.” Dixon had to force himself not to laugh, because he didn’t want her to feel bad. The restaurant’s manager rushed over apologizing, telling her they’d take care of her dry cleaning. Ballard, who was less than thrilled, replied with “Obviously, you will.” Dixon had to start the presentation while she changed clothes, but all these years later, they all laugh about it.
When her father passed away in 1994, the sisters decided to dress up and wear a hat and pantyhose because they would be seen by a lot of people at his funeral, especially since he was so well known within their community.
“But you know what?” She adds, making you want to lean in and hear more. “I don’t like to fix my hair. It gets big and frizzy, and I realized that if I wear a hat, I don’t have to fix it. So now I have a lot of hats.”
It’s funny and practical, an explanation that reflects her well.
Poppy Behrens, publisher at MSM, reflects on solidifying The Hat Lady title in the industry. “Anne was one of my early mentors when I came into the self-storage industry 24 years ago. We had talked about her writing a book for quite some time. When we finally made the decision to move forward, she asked me, ‘Can we call it The Hat Lady Speaks?’” And the rest, as they say, is history.
She’s also proud of how active the Georgia Self Storage Association remains. And of course, she’s proud of her business, which has ranked on MSM’s annual Top Operators list countless times. “We’re a little tiny cog compared to other companies,” says Ballard, “but we’re pretty mighty. We’ve done an excellent job establishing our credibility within the industry and we get a lot of work by referrals.”
But above all, Ballard is proud of how much her team enjoys working at USG. “Our corporate office length of employment is over 16 years. We’re obviously doing something that keeps people happy and motivated to do their jobs.”
Dixon highlights how true this is. “One of Anne’s famous quotes is to ‘follow your bliss,’ and I’m doing that by being here for the past 30 years. Nobody thought they’d be in self-storage when they were a kid, but she’s been a great mentor to me, and I just love it.”
“Her success is due to who she is and how she treats people,” adds Zucker. “It’s why she has become such a celebrity within the industry—a true icon.”
