Is the Future of Self Storage AI + Franchise Systems?

Want to future-proof your storage business? It starts with systems, scale—and a bit of AI.

Scott Meyers welcomes Steve Raposa from Mini Mall Storage Properties, who shares his unique journey from military service to hospitality and finally to becoming a key player in the self-storage world.  

They explore how franchise systems and hospitality efficiency directly translate into scalable, streamlined self-storage operations. 

From the impact of AI on underwriting and marketing to the importance of charitable giving and personal growth, this episode dives deep into what it means to run and scale a modern storage business in a data-driven world 

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

4:12 Franchise Thinking in Self Storage

7:08 Can AI Make Storage Smarter?

12:16 Zoning, Data, and the AI Revolution

14:40 AI's Impact on Labor and Marketing

18:32 Giving Back: Veterans & St. Jude

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Chapters

• 4:12 Franchise Thinking in Self Storage
• 7:08 Can AI Make Storage Smarter?
• 12:16 Zoning, Data, and the AI Revolution
• 14:40 AI's Impact on Labor and Marketing
• 18:32 Giving Back: Veterans & St. Jude

Transcript

Announcer (00:03):

This is the Self Storage Podcast with the original Self storage expert, Scott Meyers.

Scott Meyers (00:11):

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Self Storage Podcast. I'm your hostess, Scott Meyers, and today's episode that we have at Steve Raposa with Mini Mall Storage properties. Steve, welcome to the show.

Steve Raposa (00:22):

Thank you, Scott. Thank you for having me.

Scott Meyers (00:23):

Glad to have you here. I'm glad that we are finally able to connect. We've been watching from afar looking at the growth that you've had and some of the cool things that you're doing, and so if you would tell Storage Nation a little bit about yourself and how you got to the place where you are in self storage with many mall storage properties.

Steve Raposa (00:38):

Wonderful. Well, thank you Scott, and I really appreciate it again, having the chance to be on with you, a longtime listener to your show, so really appreciate all the work. You guys do a great podcast. Just to tell you a little bit about me and myself, I got out of the military in early 2000 and won, so I did a little short military career after my school and college experience and fell into the hotel business. It was kind of a unique time for me and my transition from military life to civilian life, got into the hotel industry, really fell in love with it, did just about everything you can do in hotels. From working my way in through hotel operations and sales and business development. Went to work for a national franchise, so ended up going to work for a company called Choice Hotels now with I think 24 brands.

(01:30):

At the time, I think they only had 12 brands in their brand family, but saw a lot of different sides of the business from that perspective, from training and personnel development all the way into franchise consulting and business consulting into franchise development, and did that for a number of years. I got poached away by a competitor in late 2019 and ended up going to work for one of Choice's competitors, Wyndham. I did franchise development for them for a little while. Then COVID happened and certainly changed everyone's experience in the hotel business, unlike storage, the hotel business went through a pretty rough patch in the first couple years following COVID, so went into an operations leadership role, supervised a third of North America for franchise operations for them, and then made the switch in July of 2022 into storage. I had just really wanted to get back into the business development side.

(02:31):

I dabbled in real estate on the personal side, ended up getting my broker's license was all set to go into commercial brokerage when a recruiter from public storage reached out to me about an opportunity to help grow their third party management platform. So made that change in July, 2022 and had a great time with them. Great company, learned everything I could from storage, and then April of this year, many mall storage properties asked me to come be a part of their acquisitions team and really help flesh out some more of the direct owner relationships that I already had and really try to help round out their acquisition side.

Scott Meyers (03:15):

Well, as we were talking before, and we got on the podcast here, and you had mentioned that not only in a hospitality, but you'd worked in a franchise type model and subs storage is a very low labor intensive, and it is a simple predictable business model that once you have your standard operating procedures in place, you can replicate those over and over and over again and then tweak the model. And so we're big on Michael Gerber around here and the E myth and the E myth revisited and early on in the storage business, we set those processes up, we set up our businesses like a franchise, each facility like a franchise, and of course each facility, each store had its own little nuances, but ultimately we had a repository for all of those best business practices and operating procedures. And now what we've done is we've created this, almost replicated every single thing that we've done in terms of all of those practices by way of video, just shooting loom videos.

(04:12):

And then we continue to update those and then those sit on the back end of our education company so that anybody that comes in to learn from us or is in our mastermind, they get access to all those. They can see 20 years worth of history and what we've done and what we've learned and how we've modified along the way. And so from somebody coming outside of the franchise model and just Michael Garber, obviously he is the godfather of all things taking small business into franchise, and this is, again, it was just a huge eyeopener for me, but then also to, well, of course that makes sense, but for you, somebody on the inside and hospitality, I mean it's all about that. I mean, all the efficiencies are there. So taking that parlay, what you've learned from the hospitality side into self storage, was that just also a natural transition and when you came into the industry, and again, you don't have to talk about who you were working for at the time or any bosses or anything, but were you bringing a whole bunch to them or were you already tweaking what they brought or tell us about what that looked like when you brought your skillset into the industry, what was that like?

(05:17):

Did you find yourself being utilized right away or was it still a learning curve?

Steve Raposa (05:20):

Yeah, great question. And I would say I think for any business that gets to scale, so if you look at some of the big REITs out there or companies that have amassed a good size portfolio, you do have to run it kind of like that franchise business model like Michael Gerber's business book talks about, and you mentioned it before we got on, and I'm a firm believer in that you have to work in your business, not just on your business, and you have to know both sides and develop those processes and procedures so that you can replicate 'em, right? And you have a set standard. So the great thing is coming to work for a large operator, when I came into storage of that from an operations perspective, all that's done right? They've been doing this for 50 plus years, so they've really had the systems and processes down where I think what I thought and what I still feel like I brought to the table and still try to do even from my new employer, is just taking some of those best practices that we learned from the business development side, the client relationship side, more on the business growth side.

(06:20):

So whereas that business unit for the operator that I ended up working for was a little bit newer, third party was kind of a newer business venture for them, there was certainly some opportunities to bring some of those best practices, whether it was on the client relations side, client operations, how we attracted new management partners, how we onboarded them, things like that. So there's certainly some best practices that we shared and myself and the other colleagues that came from the hospitality business we shared with the team there. And then now with this company, it's kind of a similar process. It's just where are some of those efficiencies that we can bring and how we go about reaching out or systematizing our processes internally on everything that we do. And that's certainly a big focus for the company.

Scott Meyers (07:08):

So you can't use the word efficiency without following that up with how do we implement AI with this process? That's right, and with this department and with this procedure, standard operating procedure, whatever that looks like. So what we found ourselves doing is in some instances we're taking say a whole chunk of our processes and taking a look at those to say, okay, which ones of these can we gain some efficiencies by utilizing AI and the GPTs that we've set up? And just about everything is set up with A GPT that handles this now. So is that something that you've been going through as well as Steve, is it fits and starts or is it a concentrated effort where you're at? What's your prescription right now?

Steve Raposa (07:53):

Yeah, it's a great question. And I would say I think it really just depends on the business unit and operations. I think this technology is evolving so fast. What we're really trying to make sure is that we're using it effectively, but also doing it with an ion security and ensuring we have the right information. I think there's a lot of low hanging fruit from summarizing procedures, writing these, taking your videos, transcribing it into an operating manual or standard operating procedure or things like that. So those things are real easy, low hanging fruit, but at still a good efficiency add, it certainly helps reduce a lot of labor hours on that side. I think where the future's going to be is it's really more how can we automate certain tasks, whether it's from an operation standpoint or from my side of the business, how that first pass on the underwriting works, how we build out our models, how we simplify some of those models. I think sometimes we can get a little too complex, so we want to sift through the noise, if you will, to get to the real important information. But I think that's where AI could go. And I think we're on the start of that, but it is, as you said, kind of a fits and starts. We're still trying to see where does it make sense and how do we implement it into our overall ecosystem.

Scott Meyers (09:10):

Would you say that your focus right now in implementing AI is on the front end in terms of streamlining acquisition and maybe market analysis and underwriting as you mentioned? Or is it on the operation side or is there one area?

Steve Raposa (09:20):

Yeah, I think it's more on the operation side at this point. And again, just some of those things that we talked about, whether it's automated call centers, answering that basic customer questions, the website integrations, and again, from a training and operations perspective, getting those manuals, getting all that stuff summarized and put in, I think that's where we'll see it. Those easy wins first and then it'll work its way into more on the business side, on the growth side.

Scott Meyers (09:48):

Sure. Yeah. Well, we're same here. I mean, every day brings a new question or challenge as it always does, and now instead of us trying to figure it out or several of us stepping into the office on a whiteboard or spitballing or whatever you want to call it, brainstorming, I mean, everything starts with a chat prompt and to at least get us started, maybe not to provide us the answer, but we're looking at it on all fronts. And this morning I had a call with a gentleman who is on the platform that considered the leading underwriting platform for utilizing AI for self storage. You probably know who I'm talking about. But then also that led into some other conversations with regards to I give him my wishlist every time we chat to say, okay, I want this and this. Now show me what this looks like.

(10:35):

And now we're beginning to, I mean, we're on the cusp of some at the time that this podcast drops, we'll be looking at a drop in interest rates. We don't know exactly what that is, but let's say regardless of what, it's a half point, three quarters of a point, it's very easily now we're sending these requests out for either chat or code or any of the others that anybody may be using to say, okay, now go analyze the portfolio. Is it time to refi? Or what is the new valuations that a new cap rate by way of the interest rates is a time to sell? And what are some of the things, first of all, what's the impact of the overall portfolio and by property and how should we approach this? And so we're asking these questions given the market conditions, and then getting some real time feedback as to decisions that we need to make right now. Are there other decisions similar to that from the business standpoint that you're seeing some either efficiencies or some of the things that you're standing up and saying, wow, there's another application we hadn't thought of that we are implementing right now?

Steve Raposa (11:33):

Yeah, I think, and you mentioned some folks in the industry that you worked with. I know there's, from on the front end as you start identifying markets, I think there's some great use of AI tools to kind reverse engineer. It used to be we had to pick a market, then we'd have to narrow it down, get an address, and then see what the demographics were. Now there's tools out there that were basically reverse engineering that process to say, feed up my buy box. Here's my criteria, here's what I want to see. And it'll scour and then identify, find that dirt or find those properties that meet that requirement and even understand the zoning rules and regulations and is it zoned for appropriately for self storage. So

Scott Meyers (12:16):

Isn't that amazing? Yeah, I have been so happy to go into, we've gone so far as to not only finding out the zoning piece, what is it zoned for, but we also went into one of the government websites and say that the city county council meetings or zoning meetings and said of the last development projects or self storage projects that have been brought forward, how many of them been approved so that we know that what the propensity is going into it. And then we've gotten answers, a detailed history of here's in the last two years, here's all the self storage projects that were brought forward to the city county council, and X number of percentage were approved and the others weren't. And then, okay, well why wasn't this one approved? They'll go back and they'll grab you the notes from it. I know who the city county council is before I even set foot in the city and know what I'm up against. So anyways, go on. I don't

Steve Raposa (13:00):

Want to interrupt. Yeah, that's exactly where I think really's the time saver on doing that initial analysis and helping you really identify opportunities so that you know where to focus your time and efforts on. And I think that's a great application for it. And to your point earlier too, I think it's just getting that more data. What do you think property taxes are going to be using the history of reassessments and the public records? Give me some of that information so I can estimate that or what's the impact on insurance costs based on the current conditions in the coastal markets and with the hurricanes or wildfires? How's that going to impact what my expense could be three years from now? So as we know we get better data, we can really tighten up our models and certainly be a little bit more competitive on the acquisition standpoint. So I think all of that's coming. Absolutely.

Scott Meyers (13:49):

Yeah. So on the op side, that's not really the fun side, but that's where the rubber meets the road. Tell me a little bit about what does that look like? What are some of the major changes that you say that you've made and be able to improve with the use of either just aggregated data or ai, however you look at it, some of the improvements that you've been forced to really dig in and implement in the portfolio recently?

Steve Raposa (14:13):

Yeah, I mean, I think as you look at the landscape, and obviously I'm not on the operations side, so I can't really speak well on all of the details, but what I can see kind of granularly and more at the macro level from my end is where are those efficiencies and operations, right? Labor is our biggest variable expense. It's still that, and I would say marketing expense. And I think on those two line items, I think AI can really help us. So from

(14:40):

The AI and generative AI and the use of online chat bots and things like that where you can essentially have a customer service 24 7 but not actually have a live person, that certainly improves our labor models and makes our people who are interacting with the customer that much more effective while they're using their time and getting those base level questions answered. And then I think from a marketing standpoint, I think that's really where AI and really this new technology AI will looks like it could replace the traditional search incident. So how does that work from a marketing perspective? How do we optimize our websites and all of our distribution channels to a new AI environment, but also how do we use that to help us understand what keywords are being searched for? Where do we need to be more competitive and how do we take advantage of some of our scale in certain markets to reduce our overall marketing costs? So I think those are the two line items. I see really AI can impact us, and I'm sure whether it comes to smart technology and all that stuff too, I think that only started to scratch the surface. I

Scott Meyers (15:50):

Think

Steve Raposa (15:50):

We're still a little ways away from the full remote operation, but I mean that certainly could happen at some point.

Scott Meyers (15:58):

Yeah. Well, gosh, the advances in security as well as access, absolutely. Those things that continues to evolve. And there's only so much, it's only so far you can go in that instance, but boy, in the past year, we've seen some pretty cool technology from that standpoint,

Steve Raposa (16:13):

No doubt.

Scott Meyers (16:14):

So moving away from an operations standpoint, one of the things that AI can't ai, we can go out there and take a look at the landscape to find out what transactions are occurring in the marketplace right now, who's buying, who's not, and who's active and who isn't. But again, AI doesn't care necessarily, and so they can't mentor coach folks. That's where we come in. But AI also doesn't know then the emotion behind it or the thought patterns behind it. So you're firm. Where were you at in the market right now? Have you been active, been busy? Have you been waiting for an interest rate drop before you're moving forward? Are you looking at developments existing or just steady issue goes? What's your overall activity level look like?

Steve Raposa (16:55):

Yeah, well, we're certainly very active. We've recently closed on a couple acquisitions in July, so we've got a couple of deals behind us. We're still currently making offers on a few properties. I will say it's certainly a tough environment, as you can imagine. There's still a bit of a bid ask spread there. And to your point earlier, if we had to put our crystal balls, which I think you've famously said, yours is broken, I think mine is too, what that impact is going to be on valuations. I think some sellers are expecting that that's going to have some impact on valuations and are trying to hold tight to see what that looks like. But transactions are happening. I would just say it is certainly a more tougher environment. So when the right opportunities present themselves, we're certainly active buyers, but we're very disciplined and prudent, like else, we want to make sure we get the right opportunities.

Scott Meyers (17:52):

Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Steve, I appreciate so much the time that you were able to spend with us, albeit short, but for the folks that want to find out a little bit more about connect with you and find out a little bit more about what you're doing, what's the best way for them to be able to reach you?

Steve Raposa (18:06):

Sure. You can look me up on LinkedIn. I am fairly active on LinkedIn, and obviously if you want to know a little bit more about our company, you can go to mini mall storage properties.com and look us up there as well.

Scott Meyers (18:19):

Well, Steve, I know that also as I looked around at not only your website but also on LinkedIn, that charity and charitable efforts are a big part of what you do. So tell me how that started and what it is that you're doing right now to give back.

Steve Raposa (18:32):

Absolutely. Thank you for bringing that up. For me as a medically retired veteran, veterans causes are certainly one that's near and dear to my heart. And then obviously really big with St. Jude. It's a charity that also reaches to my heart. Obviously any kids that are going through cancer, it's just devastating and the work they do is amazing. So I try to find opportunities to give back, whether it's volunteering locally or every chance I can providing whether it's resources, money, donations, time, whatever I can to try to find ways to give back. And so that's really been the two causes that have really been speaking out to my heart. But yeah, absolutely giving back to those that give so much to us.

Scott Meyers (19:20):

Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, I appreciate that so much, Steve. You're right. St. Jude is doing, I've been able to witness what they've done, and it's just an absolutely amazing, not only a cause but organization and what they do and how they're able to assist. And thank you as well as everyone out there listening that has been in the service for your service that is not lost on me. I 100% am thankful and grateful for the freedom that I have in this country to do what I do and to be afforded the opportunity to be able to do what I do and the freedom to be able to do so I appreciate that and I know the rest of the Storage Nation does as well.

Steve Raposa (19:55):

Absolutely. Thank you.

Scott Meyers (19:57):

And lastly, before we end for the day, Steve, tell me what is the book that you are reading right now that is or recently read that has had the most impact on you, whether it be personally or professionally? Sure.

Steve Raposa (20:09):

Well, I am a pretty avid reader, and one of the things, and we kind of talked a little bit about before we started the show, it was a book on conversations. And so I'm a big student of just how we interact with people, the psychology of what makes people tick, and obviously from a decision standpoint, but also just how we relate to one another. So this book on conversations has really been a motivator to me.

(20:36):

I would also say my personal experience, I did love the E-Myth. You mentioned that book a lot. So that's one of my favorites in how to run a small business. And then I just recently, it's been a little while ago, I read the Let Them Theory by Mel Robinson. That one's still a very cool book, and it's more on a personal level, but it is a very interesting one about how we can't really change others, we can only change ourselves. And what's great about basically setting your own expectations that you set the example and then you just have to let people, let them do what they're going to do and just try to adjust in how you react to it, which was really important,

Scott Meyers (21:19):

Particularly on personal relationships. Love it. Once again, an easy concept, but a tough one for all of us to adopt. That's why somebody wrote a book to give us the roadmap. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. That, and it works for staff and it works for children as well if you get it right.

Steve Raposa (21:34):

A hundred percent. In fact, that's where she learned it from, was with her children. That was how she came about this theory.

Scott Meyers (21:42):

Yeah, that's the greatest proving ground, isn't it, or Petri Dish. That's right. That's right. Well, Steve, once again, thanks so much. I appreciate your time today, and we would love to have you back for round two, get a couple of interest rate decreases in place. And then I know that you've been very active, a company's has been very active in the marketplace in the past, so I'd like to see what happens once things begin to open up a little bit again. So once again, thanks for your time.

Steve Raposa (22:07):

Thank you very much. Really appreciate you having me on the show today.

Scott Meyers (22:09):

All right, thanks Steve. Take care.

Steve Raposa (22:10):

Thank you. Take care.

Announcer (22:14):

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