As your small business grows, you’ll need to hire more staff to manage higher workloads, increase inventory so you can meet customers’ demands, etc.
However, space is limited. Every new team member will require furniture and paperwork, while there are only so many items your storage space could hold.
You wouldn’t want your office to look like a storage facility, but that doesn’t mean you should move to a larger space or rent a warehouse either. After all, that will cost you.
In most cases, the answer lies within making the most out of the space you already have. So how can you do that?
Let’s take a look at 5 Innovative Storage Space Ideas For Your Business.
1. Go Digital
Paperwork can take up a lot of space, and it can get quite messy as well. Searching through papers upon papers just to find the document you need is also time-consuming.
Not to mention that important or confidential documents are at risk of getting misplaced or even damaged.
So why not store all of your paperwork digitally? This will keep your documents safe, organized, away from prying eyes, improve productivity, and save up a bit of space.
But rather than buying countless hard drives, you should instead focus on cloud storage. It’s safer, cheaper and your employees can access the data they need remotely.
For example, besides storing your data, Box also offers features like file sharing, file sync, cross-platform support, etc. There’s a free plan with up to 10 GB of storage. If you’d like unlimited storage, you can opt for one of their business plans, which start at $15/month.
2. Work with Self-Storage Rentals
If you have a lot of stuff to deposit yet don’t have enough space to accommodate it, you should consider renting space from your local storage company.
This allows you to keep unnecessary items away, like extra furniture and equipment.
In contrast to leasing a warehouse for the long-term, self-storage rentals are more flexible and affordable, as most of them operate on a month-to-month basis.
Consequently, you pay for the storage unit only as long as you need it.
What’s more, you can find companies that don’t charge for utility bills or security bills, giving you more bang for your buck.
Not only that, but if you run a small eCommerce business in Morgantown, West Virginia, storage units Morgantown might be the perfect place for your inventory, as you can find storage units of different sizes. One leading provider, ReadySpaces warehouse space, provides configurable spaces and shared access to forklifts and conference rooms.
They can also be a handy option for construction businesses that work with heavy-duty vehicles or tools. Most storage facilities offer secure parking spots for trucks or other machinery.
That said, you’ll longer need to worry about parking your vehicles in insecure areas.
3. Use Vertical Spaces
Although most of your floor space might be occupied, you still have lots of space available.
Just look up!
You can use stacker boxes to neatly organize your documents and make your office feel less cluttered. Stacking the boxes on top of one another will occupy unused wall space, thus giving you more floor space.
The same thing goes for warehouses.
However, if you run a larger business and constantly have inventory coming in and out of the deposit, relying on forklifts to get your product off the shelves might not be the best option.
That’s because it can get time-consuming, expensive and accidents might happen from time to time.
Why not automate the process instead?
For example, modula ASRS systems can make using vertical storage easy, as they allow you to store and retrieve products with much less effort.
Consequently, you’ll get to improve the efficiency, performance, and safety of your warehouse employees while optimizing storage space as well.
4. Re-arrange Furniture
Although it may not seem like much, moving around the furniture in your office can make a big difference.
Maybe the walls have some awkward nooks and corners that might seem useless at first glance. But that nook may give you just enough room to fit in a few shelves or even a desk.
Furthermore, think practically and focus on function over aesthetics.
Sure, that large desk might look great in your office. But it doesn’t have any drawers, and it’s too big for a laptop.
Instead, you should swap it for a smaller desk with drawers to free up some space and add a little more storage.
Also, make sure that most of your furniture can double up as storage, like benches with drawers beneath it, for example.
5. Declutter
While figuring out a way to make the most out of the space you’ve got, make sure to take a look at the stuff you need and don’t need.
A lot of items might’ve accumulated over time, and most of them are probably not useful anymore, thus occupying space needlessly.
Thanks for that my dear fellas!