Introduction
Many moving company owners view self-storage as the ultimate “pipe dream”—a source of passive, recurring revenue that perfectly complements their existing business. However, the reality of acquiring or building a storage facility is fraught with immense financial risk, complex commercial loan structures, and terrifying periods of zero occupancy.
In this episode of Movified Wednesdays, host Mark Hirschi and co-host Steven Reed sit down with Matt Carlson, founder of Boundless Moving and Storage in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Matt shares his unvarnished journey from purchasing a dilapidated 50-unit facility off the courthouse steps to building a massive, two-story, 40,000-square-foot climate-controlled fortress. He breaks down exactly what owners need to know about commercial financing, managing cash flow during the dreaded “occupancy phase,” and why storage will destroy a moving company if it is implemented too early.
Key Takeaways
What You'll Learn:
- Why treating storage as a supplementary side-project to your moving company will inevitably drain your cash flow and stunt your growth.
- The critical difference between the liability of traditional “warehouse vault storage” and modern “self-storage” facilities.
- Exactly what bankers require (pro formas and market studies) before approving a multi-million-dollar commercial storage loan.
- Why waiting for 75% occupancy is the minimum threshold for sleeping soundly at night.
Table of Contents
- The Origin Story: Buying Off the Courthouse Steps
- The Leap: Building a 40,000 Sq. Ft. Facility
- Managing Risk: The 0% Occupancy Phase
- Separation of Church and State: Moving vs. Storage
- Why Movified Preserves These Industry Stories
- Conclusion
The Origin Story: Buying Off the Courthouse Steps
Matt launched Boundless Moving with the intention of purely running a moving company. However, within his first three years, he recognized a massive local demand for storage from clients waiting for new homes to be built.
Rather than jumping straight into building a massive facility, Matt started small. He identified a foreclosed, 50-unit, non-climate-controlled facility and purchased it directly off the courthouse steps for $160,000. He inherited a chaotic operation: tenants paid in cash or paper checks, and nearly half the facility was severely behind on rent (with some tenants having not paid in three years). Matt used this facility as a low-risk testing ground to learn the eviction process, understand tenant management, and study the local market. Realizing his premium moving clients demanded climate-controlled storage, he flipped and sold the 50-unit property, using the capital to fund his next massive venture.
The Leap: Building a 40,000 Sq. Ft. Facility
Armed with experience and capital, Matt secured two acres of prime real estate to build a custom, 40,000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility.
He warns that building a facility requires significantly more preparation than buying an existing one. Because he had previous experience in residential and commercial real estate development, Matt knew he had to solidify three critical relationships before breaking ground: local bankers, private investors, and commercial contractors. To secure financing for the $2M+ build, Matt had to present the bank with a comprehensive market study and a detailed pro forma spreadsheet proving that the local market could sustain the new inventory. Furthermore, by utilizing the natural slope of his two-acre property, Matt brilliantly designed the facility with two ground-level entrances, allowing him to build two stories without incurring the massive expense of installing a commercial elevator.
Managing Risk: The 0% Occupancy Phase
The biggest mistake moving company owners make is assuming that “if you build it, they will come.”
Matt explicitly warns that the moment construction is finished, an owner is saddled with a massive commercial mortgage (e.g., $10,000 to $20,000 a month) while sitting at 0% occupancy. It can take anywhere from six months to two years to fill a facility to a profitable level. If an owner attempts to pull money out of their moving company’s cash flow to cover the storage mortgage during this vacancy period, it will financially paralyze the moving side of the business—preventing them from buying new trucks or expanding locations. Therefore, owners must secure enough cash reserves or investor backing to float the mortgage independently until the facility reaches 75% occupancy, which Matt considers the minimum threshold for profitability and peace of mind.
Separation of Church and State: Moving vs. Storage
While moving and storage are highly complementary, they are entirely different operational beasts. As Steven Reed noted during the episode, “Storage doesn’t fix chaos. It multiplies it.”
If a moving company is still scrambling to organize its dispatch schedule or fill trucks, adding a storage facility will guarantee a crash-and-burn scenario. Matt strongly advises that moving operations must be “rock solid” for at least six months to a year before an owner attempts to launch storage.
To maintain order, Matt completely separates the two businesses. His moving company utilizes its own CRM, handles all customer moving logistics, and tracks all initial inventory. His wife strictly manages the storage facility, utilizing separate software and managing the self-storage tenants. This division of labor also creates a massive liability shield: because Boundless offers traditional self-storage (where the customer holds the key and can access the unit), the moving company’s liability for the items ends the moment the unit door is shut.
Why Movified Preserves These Industry Stories
Movified exists to document the tactical knowledge that standard business resources overlook. Hosted by Mark Hirschi, the show highlights:
- Honest conversations about the terrifying financial realities of commercial development, including the massive stress of floating a mortgage at 0% occupancy.
- Proven, highly tactical strategies for scaling into storage safely, such as starting with small foreclosures to learn the ropes before risking millions on new construction.
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Lessons earned through real-world execution, emphasizing the absolute necessity of keeping moving operations and storage operations financially and legally separate.
Conclusion
If you want to build generational wealth, self-storage is an incredible vehicle—but it is a retirement strategy, not a get-rich-quick scheme. By mastering your core moving operations first, establishing deep relationships with local bankers, and realistically preparing for the financial drain of the initial lease-up phase, you can safely transform your moving profits into a multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio.
