s a young man in the early 90s, Chad Coker embarked on a series of Christian mission trips, not just to spread the good word but to help rebuild war-torn areas, assist with health care and construction efforts, and set up schools for children. His journeys took him from Southeast Asia to the Balkans, South America to the Caribbean. So, when he started in self-storage, he already had a world of experience under his belt.
“I helped repair huts that were the size of 10-by-15s,” says Coker, easily putting his past experience into self-storage terms. “I was ready for anything.”
After concluding his mission trips, Coker took on a series of jobs, from cashiering at a Christian bookstore to working as a data analyst at Experian. Each experience has lent itself to his self-storage career in one way or another, though his faith has always been a foundation.
“I don’t like to be overly preachy,” says Coker, “but I think my faith has always guided me in life and this business too.”
Coker quickly found success, and as the pandemic waned, he was offered an area operations manager position with the flagship NSA property. “I went from managing one facility to 10,” he says. “Then they bought three more properties, and suddenly it was 13 total. You could say I was sort of thrown into the deep end, but I was up for the challenge.”
To be successful, Coker says putting together a solid team was critical, and it was something he was tasked with almost immediately. Luckily for him, he had plenty of experience in that department, previously rounding up volunteer teams for his church. He also has his own philosophy on leadership, and it’s one that has served him well. “People often buy into a leader before a company’s vision. My job was to get them to buy into me, and then I could get them on board with the vision.”
To do that, Coker says it was a bit of a balancing act. “You can’t be everyone’s best friend, but you need to have a relationship with them,” he says. “Barking orders isn’t going to work, but going out for drinks with them every day isn’t a good look either.”
To avoid either scenario, his strategy was simply to bond over commonalities. “I’d learn things about them, and I’d share things about myself. That’s how we bonded and developed mutual respect for one another, which built a successful team.”
“They were looking for someone seasoned as a property manager, and I thought this was a great chance to bring my experience to a startup that needed support,” says Coker. Of course, he’d have to get used to the big city life.
“I’m originally from Portland, Tenn., where there’s less than 10,000 people. Now, I live in Gallatin, Tenn., with a population of about 50,000. But Clarksville, there’s almost 200,000 people there, so this is like New York City to me. I mean, there’s a Monkees song about it!”
Coker says that the two facilities serve a diverse clientele, from military members at Fort Campbell, which stradles the Tennesse/Kentucky state line, to college students from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. “We also have a lot of tenants that run small businesses, and non-profits too,” adds Coker.
This quickly becomes apparent when a customer walks in and Coker puts the interview on hold to give her his undivided attention. It turns out she has been struggling to make a payment, and she’s grateful that he’s allowed her to keep her unit, which enabled her to take care of bills that would keep the lights on at home first. She’s now able to pay, and while doing so, thanks him for his kindness.
“You have to be empathetic,” Coker says, returning his attention to the interview after she has left. “A lot of people using self-storage are going through one of the four Ds (death, divorce, dislocation, or downsizing), and they’re having a hard time. I want to make their experience as pleasant as possible. You can’t let people walk all over you, and I won’t stand for that, but if they just explain their situation, and they’re honest about it, I’ll work with them.”
“Our two children came from bad situations, and we are just blessed to have them and happy to be providing them with a better life now,” says Coker. “The children we’re fostering also come from broken homes. The goal is to reunify some with their parents if things work out; otherwise, we may be adopting again.”
Despite all the good he does at work and home, Coker remains modest, waving away any praise. “Honestly, my wife is the superstar. She’s doing the heavy lifting raising the kids. I’m just keeping the roof over our heads with my self-storage work.”
It’s an impressive body of work from one very impressive man.