A lot of folks have been struggling with money, layoffs and more lately – really, no industry has been immune to what’s going on. One thing we’ve tried to do here on RSG is let you know where other opportunities outside of rideshare are, including grocery delivery and more. Today, I’m talking to a CEO of a pretty cool company in the sharing economy. We’ll talk about how they help you earn extra money and more.
Intro
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Today I’m talking with Joseph Woodbury, CEO of Neighbor
- We’re going to talk about Neighbor, the ‘Airbnb of Storage’
- We’ll talk about trends in the sharing economy, competitors, and how Neighbor is different
- Have a special offer at the end, so make sure to listen!
Intro to Joseph Woodbury
- Founder and CEO of Neighbor, a marketplace disrupting the $400 billion self-storage industry
- Previously worked for Bain & Company and Sorenson Capital Partners
- Neighbor is a place to share space within your neighborhood – Airbnb of storage
- Don’t need to worry about renting out your space to people staying over – minimizes your chance of risk at this moment
What is Neighbor?
- Opportunity for people to rent out spaces in their home, garage, basement, etc.
- Empty nesters who don’t feel comfortable having people rent a room to stay – just for stuff
- People can drop their boats off at your house – you get paid to store it, etc.
- Work at the beginning, but pretty passive after that!
How Does Neighbor Work?
- You choose what you rent out (just part of your garage, for example)
- You choose when people can come and go to drop off and pick up their stuff
- Average user can make around $2,000 per year from renting out unused space around their home – but some users make $20,000 a year
- Those are typically more active hosts who have more room
What Kind of People Use Neighbor?
- Neighbor has places as small as a closet for rent
- Think about students who are going home for the summer, need a place to store their items
- People who are moving and need temporary storage
- People looking to store boats, RVs, etc.
Tips for Neighbor Success
- Most profitable rentals have at least 4 photos or more on the site
- Some of the items stored are high-dollar items, and people want to know they are safe and secure
- Responsiveness plays a big part as well – ability to answer people’s questions in a timely manner
How is Neighbor Different from Traditional Self-Storage?
- Cheaper, for one!
- Insures items up to $25,000, higher than traditional self storage
- Storage is in residential areas – not storage facilities, which have a higher break in rate according to the FBI
- Includes a million dollars for general liability, too
Trends and Challenges in Self-Storage
- Supply constrained – how to build awareness and get more supply, interest and demand
- Have to get out the word that Neighbor is cheaper – one challenge
- How to find hosts and have the supply
- Investing in mobile app – has been a big success for them
Pandemic Challenges
- Pandemic has destroyed a lot of marketplaces, but storage is pretty countercyclical
- It does better during recessions
- Recently had one of the best weeks of all time as far as revenue from renters
- Always need more hosts, but this could be a great opportunity especially for people looking for a way to bring in extra income
- Storage industry is building new spaces and they can’t keep up with demand
Outro
- Big thanks to Joseph for coming on – don’t forget, if you sign up with Neighbor as a host, you’ll get an Amazon gift card from Neighbor!
- Plus you’ll get a swag bag with a bunch of cool Neighbor stuff
Show Notes
- SimpliSafe
- Wyze.com
- Neighbor.com
- Connect on Twitter
- @NeighborStorage
- @WoodburyJoseph1
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
