Sarah Beth Johnson

By Alejandra Zilak

t is a universally acknowledged truth that societal pressures tend to follow a timeline: we’re born, raised, go to college, get married, have kids, retire. But Jane Austen axiom aside, the reality is that life experiences aren’t linear. Sarah Beth Johnson’s experience is a shining example of a non-linear life.

In this installment of “Women in Self-Storage,” we’re showcasing how you decide what’s the best course of action. Sometimes that means delaying formal education or a career to focus on raising children; or maybe it means developing confidence later in life because of previous personal experiences. The hope is that by sharing her story, you’re inspired to create your own path.

Johnson was born in Indiana and raised in a town outside of Chicago. From ages 3 to 7, she lived in a row house that her great grandmother bought when she first immigrated to the United States from Poland. The phrase “It takes a village” was a reality in that home, as Johnson lived with her great aunts, great uncle, and great grandma.

“We used to call her Busia,” Johnson says, while talking about the family matriarch. “We used to watch WWE wrestling, and she’d yell at the TV in Polish, the only language she spoke.” After the matches, Busia would go to the back window and pray the rosary.

It was back then that Johnson started developing her work ethic. Her grandmother, who was employed at Toys “R” Us, would sometimes take her to work with her. “This was when Atari and Cabbage Patch Kids first came out,” she remembers fondly. “Grammy would give me a Junior Geoffrey vest, and I’d go out and clean the Atari cases with Windex.”

When she was 11, she moved to Georgia with her mom and stepdad. Then, at 12, her mom became disabled after a surgery went wrong. This seemed to be the catalyst that awakened Johnson’s independent spirit.

When she turned 17 during her senior year, she got her own apartment and lived on her own. “My mom had to move to Florida while I was still a junior in high school, and I stayed in town with friends,” she says. “I’d go to school during the day, then wait tables at night.”

Despite this busy schedule, she graduated. Johnson was even voted “most likely to succeed.”

After high school, she started working at Hooters. “It was a really cool job,” says Johnson, “and I believe that everyone should work as a server at some point, so that they can learn how to treat people.”

She was so good at her job that she became a corporate trainer, and she was later promoted to marketing manager. In this role, she’d create store events and promotions. Johnson was also in charge of training other marketing managers from Hooters locations throughout the country.

This grit was still very present when she got married to her then-husband. “I had two kids: Peyton and Spencer. And I decided to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of them.”

As if parenting two children wasn’t enough, she also became a PTA president, Cub Scout leader, homeroom mom, and yearbook staff member, as well as a volunteer at charitable organizations. It was enough work to make a C-Suite executive’s head spin.

Everything Johnson did as a stay-at-home mom was certainly plenty of work, but it was unpaid. So, when her first marriage ended in divorce, she needed to find a paying gig. In 2010, she obtained her real estate license. “I loved it—talking to so many people and trying to find the home of their dreams.” However, it was hard to balance raising younger kids with clients who wanted to tour homes at night, so she eventually switched jobs and became an office manager at a brokerage company. “It let me have the hours I wanted and needed, as well as being able to take care of the kids,” says Johnson.

While this new role fit her schedule better, she wasn’t enamored with the typical 9-to-5 office job, so she put her feelers out. Serendipity came to the rescue. Universal Storage Group (USG) managed a site that needed a manager, and her friend Stacie Maxwell was working at the corporate office.

“I’ve known Stacie for 30 years,” she says. “She called me and said that there was a new facility opening in the town where we grew up, and she thought I’d be perfect for it.” She worked there for a while, and eight months in, M. Anne Ballard, the president of marketing, training, and development, created a position for Johnson within the corporate office. The rest is history. She has been there for 11 years, and now holds the title of vice president of sales and development. She also loves speaking at conferences and writing articles about self-storage.

If you thought her position at USG was her happy ending, think again. “When my kids got older, I decided to go to school,” she states. Her oldest son, Peyton, got his degree in cybersecurity and works at TikTok. Her youngest, Spencer, is finishing his business degree.

“When I was younger, no one encouraged me to go to college,” says Johnson, “but seeing my kids do it made me want to do the same thing for myself.” She is now taking classes to earn a business degree, with a minor in sales. When she graduates, she plans on getting her master’s.

Saying that her schedule is busy is an understatement. And although she’s working full time, traveling, and going to school, her GPA is 3.62. “I believe in education,” she says. “If you want something bad enough, you make it work.”

While her tenacity has been instrumental in her accomplishments, she also credits her boyfriend Joe, her kids, and her team at Universal Storage Group as part of her success. “They’re so supportive,” she says, with the gratitude evident in her voice. “Anne gives me time to balance work and my studies, and I can’t wait for Joe and my kids to come to my graduation.”

While education learned in a classroom has great value, the best lessons come from personal experiences. “I’ve learned a lot from Anne, who taught me that you don’t get what you don’t ask for,” Johnson says. “She’s such a good mentor and friend, and she will be forever unmatched in my life. I’ve also learned that ‘no’ is a complete sentence and an acceptable answer.”

She’s always striving to learn new things as well. “I listen to podcasts on my way to and from work every single day. I also try to be around people who are smarter than me. If you’re always the smartest person in the room, you’ll never grow.”

And most importantly, she advocates to be your own cheerleader. “Go after what you want, and don’t ever apologize to anyone for the opportunities that are presented to you,” Johnson says. “If it comes your way, you’ve earned it.”

She also advises to always introduce yourself to people wherever you go. “Never think someone is unreachable because of their title. You go up and make sure they know who you are.”

Johnson is in a really good place at this point in her life. In addition to everything she’s accomplished in her career, her family is her biggest joy. “I was known for many years as the world’s worst cook,” she laughs. “There’s a famous story with my kids that I blew up eggs and they hit the ceiling, but I’ve learned new recipes and I love to cook now.”

During football season, she roots for the Chicago Bears. She enjoys watching the wildlife that comes to her backyard too. Her home backs into a farm, and every day she feeds birds, squirrels, deer, racoons, and opossums that come over. “Joe thinks it’s funny that I buy them salmon cat food from Costco, but it makes me so happy!”

She also loves movies and traveling, and Joe supports her and brings up her confidence in whatever she does. “Having him around the past four years has really helped me blossom,” she says.

All in all, Johnson is proud of herself, her family, and her team at USG. “They’re there for me 100 percent of the time. When you have that support system, it makes everything seem possible.”