Grow Healthy, Not Just Big: Lessons From Scaling a Storage Management Company with Brett Copper of Copper Storage Management

Brett Copper, partner and president of Copper Storage Management, joins Matt Engfer to share how he helped build one of the industry's first third-party remote management companies and what scaling it taught him about growing a business the right way.Brett grew up in self storage. He spent childhood summers auditing facilities with his father, worked at CubeSmart out of college, and ran feasibility studies and due diligence projects for years before launching Copper Storage Management in 2019. He saw that remote management was possible long before the software or the industry was ready for it.Then COVID hit, and Copper was one of the only management companies that could operate with no one in the office. The portfolio exploded to nearly 200 stores in a matter of months. In this episode, Brett is candid about what that breakneck growth cost him, why he deliberately shrank the business to around 120 stores, and how learning his true cost to operate turned Copper into a healthier, more profitable, and more resilient company.He also breaks down the trends that reshaped self-storage technology, the five things he looks for when evaluating a facility to add value, and why a diversified base of small owners protects the business better than a few large clients ever could.This is a practical conversation about disciplined growth, operations, and what it really takes to build a storage business that lasts.Key Takeaways:(0:00) Intro(3:06) Who Brett is and what Copper Storage Management does(5:10) Growing up in a self-storage family(9:01) The origin story of Copper Storage Management(15:22) COVID and the explosion to nearly 200 stores(17:50) Copper's remote and hybrid management model(19:40) What's next, and the cost of scaling too fast(24:08) How technology transformed self storage(30:49) Five things that make or break a storage deal(38:03) Why a diversified client base lowers riskResources Mentioned:Copper Storage Management | Websitehttps://copperstoragemanagement.comBrett Copper | LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-copper-750672171/Cubby | Websitehttps://www.cubbystorage.comThank you for listening to "Students of Storage." Be sure to leave us a 5-star review and subscribe so you don't miss an episode.#SelfStorage #StorageInvesting #Entrepreneurship #CubbyStorage #BusinessGrowth