Today we’d like to introduce you to Howard Hoover.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Howard. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
In August of 2015 I purchased a 40 foot and began the quest to find a facility to store it since my neighborhood covenants would not allow me to store at my home. Given the large price tag on these vehicles, I did not want to risk exposing the RV to the elements and preferred to store my RV indoors. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate an indoor storage facility in close proximity to my home in Cherokee county. In fact, I was not able to able to locate a single indoor storage facility in the Atlanta metro area.
I decided to take the next step and began researching locations that offered covered storage. Several public storage facilities were contacted, but there were very few covered spots available due to the high demand for these coveted spots. I visited one facility in Woodstock only to find they had 58 names on a wait list for a covered parking spot and would not add any additional names to the list. I drove around north metro Atlanta and noticed most of the public storage facilities were full of RVs.
This exhaustive search is what lead to the development of a business plan. I determined there was a need for an indoor storage facility for parking an RV. However, I wanted it to be more than what you could get at a public storage facility, I wanted to offer a full-service facility where we park, inspect, wash and repair our customers RVs. In February of 2016 we signed a lease for a 54,000 square foot building located in Marietta and launched our business.
We opened the doors on May 26th 2016 and within 10 months of opening, we completely sold out our facility.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Our biggest struggle along the way was finding the right space. We had very specific requirements that needed to be met to meet our objectives. We needed drive in doors that could handle RVs that were up to 45 feet in length and upwards of 14 feet in height.
Once we opened for business the new struggle for us was positioning the RVs inside the warehouse. As we started to approach capacity it became like a puzzle, moving RVs inside the warehouse constantly to maximize space based on what units were checked in and checked out.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the The RV Loft story. Tell us more about the business.
The RV Loft is family owned and operated indoor RV storage facility. We are a full-service storage facility with concierge services that include parking the RV in the facility, washing it each time our customer takes their RV out for a trip, assisting our customers with inspecting the RV before a trip and when they return from a trip, and providing repair services right at our facility. This is what sets us apart from others, full service. Our customers love that they can drop off their RV, hand us the keys and the next time they show up it is clean and ready for the road.
We store more than RVs as well! Cars, boats, travel trailers, motorcycles and trucks are welcome also.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck and timing play a big role in business, and are often less visible to the public. However, in order to be lucky, you must work hard and have perseverance to put yourself into a position so when the opportunity strikes you can act on it.
We looked at over 20 facilities and most would not give us the time of day. We were not manufacturing or warehousing like most commercial properties were used to having occupying their facilities. Couple that with being a start-up, we needed a little luck on our side. We stumbled upon our current facility which met all of our requirements just before the listing was to hit the public, As it turns out, the building owner was an RV owner and upon reading our business plan he got it and we struck a deal. A little luck to find the perfect location and right place at the right time!
Pricing:
- We bill our customers at a rate of $9 per linear foot and that includes the full concierge services.
- Car storage is available for $120 per month.
Contact Info:
- Address: 980 Marietta Industrial Dr, Marietta, GA 30062
- Website: www.RVLoft.com
- Phone: 855-751-6444
- Email: Howard@RVLoft.com
- Instagram: thervloft
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRVLoft/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-rv-loft-marietta
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