By Alejandra Zilak

he storage industry has long been a sound investment for the simple reason that people have a lot of stuff. You can offer different varieties of extra space, and there will always be people who are moving, downsizing, divorcing, and dying.

Innovation is just as constant as the need for storage. When times get tough, people get creative. They come up with new ideas to make money: starting a business, pursuing their side hustle full-time, or giving up their fancy offices in high rises for more cost-effective workspaces. Enter self-storage flex space.

As the name implies, flex storage means thinking outside the box. You have the individual units, but they don’t necessarily have to be exclusively to store items.

“Our model redefines what flexible space can be,” says Allira Cooper, head of design and development at FlexEtc. “We do so by blending co-warehousing and coworking into one community-first environment. For us, it’s an evolution beyond storing personal property by creating a workspace ecosystem for brands, entrepreneurs, ecommerce, and small businesses who want to create and scale under one roof.”

Carl Smith, business development manager at self-storage development company BETCO, agrees. “Flex space refers to versatile, multiuse areas that can be adapted to various purposes beyond self-storage units. It offers much more of a purpose for people who can work and play. Think warehouses, conference rooms, office workspace, as well as recreational areas.”

While coworking spaces and offering ecommerce and warehouse capabilities to startups has been a trend with longevity, both experts caution about the importance of studying the local market. “In that sense you have to treat it like traditional self-storage, in terms of conducting a thorough feasibility,” says Smith. However, he shares that you must up the ante. “Typical storage has to be close to a highway or interstate, and you have to look for local demand drivers, such as population growth. With flex spaces, you should also look at local job trends. Are there enough startups? How many of them involve ecommerce? If you’re in a coastal state and there is such demand, is the location close to airports or shipping docks? FlexEtc and other companies have been experiencing great success in higher leasing because of that.”

That great success is the result of homing in on what consumers want. “There was very much a gap in the market,” Cooper says when asked about the catalyst for FlexEtc to create the spaces they do. “There were plenty of people who needed space, not just to store but to scale their businesses. and traditional warehouse leases simply didn’t fit their reality. FlexEtc was created to give them that middle ground: professional space designed for growth, without the barriers.”

And it’s not just about providing coworking spaces. Cooper is clear that to entice tenants (whom FlexEtc calls members) long term, you should make a concerted effort to provide them exactly what they need. While this may vary from person to person, there are always common denominators. Many will need conference rooms, kitchen space, lounges, and networking with the local community. Personalizations can be addressed in the leasing contracts. “Our memberships start month to month for suites or coworking access, and everyone has access to the shared amenities,” says Cooper. “But because everyone’s situation is different, we offer a lot of flexibility for their small businesses. For example, since some businesses experience ebbs and flows depending on the season, FlexEtc makes it possible to scale up or down as they need. That agility is one of the greatest advantages we offer.”

Smith adds that developers should also be mindful about the different infrastructure tenants will need. “You want flexible floor plans and open layouts that allow for tenant reconfiguration, whether it’s for warehouse space or to put a mezzanine in,” he says. “There have been so many examples of startups initially renting a small unit, then outgrowing it exponentially and needing significantly more space. Enable that to happen. It goes a long way in increasing tenant retention.”

Smith specifically advises to install 14-foot to 24-foot ceilings and durable floors with 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per square inch (PSI) to support heavy loads and machinery. He also cautions that tenants don’t want to be walking in tight spaces and narrow hallways. In addition, he recommends having additional space where tenants can package and ship their products. “I’ve seen companies that have an entire shipping area, so that tenants have a place to drop off their goods, with a shipping manager on site. Everything is shipped accurately and on time.”

Smith recommends being mindful of having a well-designed welcoming area as well, so that prospects can have that warm, fuzzy feeling when they first visit your facilities.

Cooper stresses the importance of creating a sense of community, both within co-members and within the geographical location of the offices. “We curate events and workshops designed to help members grow and navigate the different hurdles that come with owning a business,” she says. These workshops can be led by the local chambers of commerce, entrepreneurial organizations, or even fellow members sharing expertise from marketing to logistics, for instance, a marketing professional sharing their knowledge about how to successfully market their businesses. “We also host wellness and lifestyle events, invite local markets into the space to run community drives, and fundraisers. It’s about creating connections, and that extends well beyond our walls.

While coworking spaces and ecommerce startups have been popular trends, the nature of these facilities enables creatives to focus on their arts. Cooper shares some of the use cases she’s found fascinating. “We’ve seen designers build micro-factories for fashion, artists transform studios into galleries, realtors stage space to showcase homes, podcasters or photographers create and run their production. It’s inspiring to watch how entrepreneurs adapt the space to their craft,” she says, “and we make sure the amenities support that creativity. Each facility offers a photo studio podcast room, stocked kitchen, Wi-Fi, keyless access, and conference rooms. The versatility is what makes FlexEtc so powerful. It’s everything you need, plus a blank canvas to shape into whatever your business desires.”

For his part, Smith shares that he’s seen people bring in furniture, even a bed on mezzanines above the office space. “It’s not for full-time living,” he says, “but more like a man cave space. Ultimately, the tenant has the freedom to do what they want with that unit, and when they move, they can take down the mezzanines, or if the owner wants to keep it, they can work out a deal.”

Since flexibility is the name of the game, having so many versatile uses can bring operators an extra source of revenue, such as providing a mail room with packing supplies or offering ancillary services for people who rent office space. “One company we developed had a photo studio that was used to take professional headshots,” Smith says. “Extra revenue generated out of nowhere.”

Offering so much flexibility and versatility is beneficial for all sorts of businesses, but a big challenge is to let entrepreneurs know that these places exist in the first place. “It’s very much a new asset class,” says Cooper. “Many entrepreneurs and small businesses don’t yet know it exists, or they’re just beginning to understand it, so one of the biggest challenges, as well as opportunities, is creating awareness and educating the market, showing them how to co-warehousing and coworking can unlock growth.”

Once they learn about the benefits, they tend to be attracted to the concept—and stay long term. “Traditional storage can offer higher rental rates at the beginning, but flex spaces can offer other advantages,” adds Smith. “Faster build times, quicker leasing, and more appealing in certain markets if you strategize well; and since, on average, leases tend to be for several years, you have the security and peace of mind of that durability.”

Indeed, flex storage is more than just renting out facilities. “It’s a launch pad for small businesses and entrepreneurs,” says Cooper. “We exist for those people that don’t fit the traditional office or warehouse mold. We provide infrastructure, the design, and most importantly, the community. We’re building a village.”