Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Thompson.
Kathy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I got started back at the time when I was co owner our family construction business and purchased a couple of small storage unit buildings back in 1998, calling the business “Brainerd Garages” for a part time gig for myself to run on my free time. I reorganized what the previous owner had and found this was fun and successful. I soon found out I needed more of these rentals and purchased another lot in the Industrial Park and built 12 more buildings in stages doing two to four buildings a year. Those began to fill up and so I purchased another lot across the street and over the next few years built more buildings along with an office as now I needed some help. I cannot begin to tell of all the people I have met and there stories of why they need storage over the years. This has been a great adventure and learning experience. My daughter was on board working with the business before she got married and moved and now my son will soon be taking the reins as almost 28 years it is now time to slow down.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Overall it has been very good, we have had some struggles back in the day when building with shipping of building materials and getting the units available when needed. With so many units there are always challenges with everyday small things to keep everything going such as maintenance, snow removal, making sure all tenants are taken care of if any problems arise. We had a fire in one building a couple of years ago which was not fun, it caused a lot of damage, if not burned it was smoke and water damage . We had to scramble to relocate our tenants but we got it done and rebuilt and our tenants in that building were so great and understanding. We have all walks of people come through our door each day so we just never know what each day will bring.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Brainerd Garages is a mini storage rental facility, we rent different sizes of garages month to month or long term. We offer 24 hour security gate entrance along with security cameras. I am the owner /operator on a day to day basis with the help of my office manager. I over see day to day decisions and we are known for the “storage lady’s”. We feel what sets us apart from others is we have staff on site every weekday to greet people and take care of any problems or questions that may arise. Our tenants love to come to the office and see a real person and we love to see and meet them. We are most proud for our clean and friendly facility and keeping up with the needs of our tenants. We feel we have a great location on the edge of town for the convenience of our tenants.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I certainly had some luck, good and bad, like meeting the right people at the right time and getting an opportunity I did not expect. I have also had setbacks that were simply bad timing. What I’ve learned is that some luck matters, but preparation matters more. Good luck only happens if you are ready for it, and bad luck only hurts if you don’t learn from it. What’s made the biggest difference is how you respond using good luck as momentum and bad luck as a lesson or as we call it “school of hard knocks”.
Pricing:
- 10×10 units $80.00 per month
- 10×20 units $95.00 per month
- 10×25 units $100.00 per month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brainerdgarages.net/
