Products take over. You have a couple of boxes here, a couple of boxes there, and before you know it, your living room is full. If you’re an online vendor in Hong Kong then you will, by necessity, eventually turn your living room into a mini-storage unit. Read here to see recent information!
It’s not dramatic. But it happens inevitably.
You need a mini-storage unit, not want one. Not because you need more storage, but because you need more imaginative ways to use the storage you have.
Home storage is so easy. Everything is within reach. Orders are quick to fulfil. But as orders grow things get messy. You lose things, you get orders mixed up and you rummage around looking for an item.
When you store things the game changes.
You have to organise. Bins, boxes, some degree of organisation – even if it’s only basic. You have to be more aware of what you own and where you own it. And then, strangely enough, it legitimates your business.
It also distances you from your products. You are not distracted by the stuff in your bedroom or dining room. You have no “to-do” lists.
Location, location, location and storage. Many have storage near MTR or parcel delivery sites. This saves time each day. It’s also convenient to collect and deposit parcels and items.
And another, more subtle, benefit: it’s easier to scale up. You can’t put another box in an overflowing closet. You hesitate. In a storage unit you can grow.
It’s not 100% fool-proof. You’ll leave some things out, and overstock. But it’s all manageable. For the most part, sellers get a good idea of what to leave in storage, what to take home and how often.
Some will even work from their storage. Not literally, but figuratively. In, sort, pack orders, out. It’s not high-tech but it works.
In a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong, it’s difficult to run an online business without a storage unit. You either feel like you’re being wrung dry, having your personal and work life intertwine.
A mini storage unit is not a storage unit. It allows you to run a business without it interfering with your life.