Featuring Lindsay Steiner, Owner at Bradyl Storage Solutions Co

Hosts: Ronn Ruiz and Martin Canchola, Co-Founders of ApartmentSEO.com

Martin: Welcome to The Multifamily Podcast with Ronn and Martin, powered by ApartmentSEO.com. Now today, we’re talking about something that every apartment community deals with, but doesn’t always solve well, and that is storage. Today, our guest is Lindsay Steiner, co-owner of Bradyl Storage Solutions, a locally owned, family run business that’s been a leader in the Multifamily storage industry since 2009 along with her husband Mike, Lindsay has worked with some of the biggest names in Multifamily real estate, companies like UDR, Trammell Crow Residential, and Bozzuto. Bradyl is behind innovative solutions like Bradyl bin and the Bradyl box, helping properties maximize unused space while giving residents safe, secure storage. We’re very excited to dive into how they’re solving one of Multifamily’s biggest challenges. Lindsay, welcome to the Multifamily podcast. 

Lindsay: Thank you so much for having me.

Ronn: Yes. Good morning. Lindsay, thank you for joining us. So excited to have our audience here for this kind of episode, because I think it is something we all need. I personally am about to hire my professional organizers because my storage is crazy. So Lindsay is here to help and save the day. So thank you for joining us. I want to go ahead and just jump right in and just start with your story. What inspired you and Mike to start Bradyl back in 2009? It’s a long time ago. 

Lindsay: So, Mike and I have been married since 2006 and knew each other for long before then, and he has always been full of ideas for inventions and businesses. And so, I just kind of figured at some point it was only a matter of time; we both had other jobs, and we had twins. And twins were expensive, so we were like, what? We need a side hustle. We need to up this game a little bit. And of all of the things he came up with, some of which were, I entertained for a half a second. Which one was matching Tommy Bahama style outfits for dads and their kids. We actually had some demos made before we dropped that idea and a container to keep tissue boxes from getting crushed in people’s cars. Those are the two that I actually entertained and found sources for before I said this isn’t going to work. But then he came up with this idea for this business. I was like, that actually has some teeth to it that I’ll put some energy into. So, that’s how it started. My background is as an occupational therapist. I graduated from Boston University, and I still work part time with early intervention. I’d like to still, you know, be a part of that community. But really what’s helped me with my training as an occupational therapist is that OT is all about problem solving and analyzing situations and coming up with the best fit. So that really kind of fits into taking it to an entrepreneurial mindset. One of the reasons this was the one that actually stuck was I actually saw a gap in multifamily for storage, and it started because Mike had a closet business, still has a closet business, and he was cutting closet material in a parking garage of a building at one point, and noticed all this dead space, and thought, these people have so many things in their closets. It doesn’t matter how good of a job I do; they still have too much stuff. So that’s when he kind of came home with the idea. And we started in 2009 we used 10,000 in startup capital, which interestingly, I came by because my grandfather was an entrepreneur. And there was some leftover money for the grandchildren at some point when that business closed. So I felt really great that my grandfather was really what gave us our first start at this business. And then, you know, the early days, it was a side hustle at the beginning; we both had other jobs. I was making cold calls from red lights. I was walking up and down sidewalks trying to get property managers to talk to me. It was just us, and in a team of installers, and we had to spend a lot of time learning. Mike was kind of in charge of operations and finding suppliers, and I was working on marketing and sales, neither of which I had any background in. So it was a steep learning curve for us. 

Martin: And you were really boots on the ground. I mean, you were just getting to know multifamily, right? 

Lindsay: Yep. 

Martin: And, you know, so it can be hard to kind of break your way in if you’re kind of like a newbie, just kind of coming in the game. So kudos.

Ronn: Boots on the ground with a stroller pushing twins; I could see it.

Lindsay: Yeah. And high heels, high heels. And property managers just don’t want to talk to people walking in their front door. They’re busy. 

Ronn: Yeah, they’re busy. 

Martin: Actually, my wife is a twin. So, yep, we know about twins. And oh my God, twins, they are so connected. And now, were they double boys, double girls?

Lindsay: Two boys, fraternal twins. One looks like Mike, one looks like me, and they are both applying to colleges right now, and are fabulous human beings. And I have been very excited. They’ve actually been a part of our business conversations for years, and you know, we can’t avoid it coming up at the dinner table sometimes. So I think they’ve learned a lot by osmosis that hopefully will serve them in other lessons in life.

Martin: Definitely, that’s amazing. And looking back, what were some of those first aha moments where you knew storage was going to be a massive opportunity in the Multifamily industry? 

Lindsay: So like I mentioned, the idea came from while Mike was working on closets in a Multifamily property. So that’s what led to the idea, and it took a lot of time to get going, because, like I said, it’s hard to get anyone to talk to you. Multifamily, I don’t know about other industries in real estate, but Multifamily was very hard to get a hold of and kind of get our foot in the door. Our first really big opportunity came at a property in Silver Spring, Maryland, where UDR took interest in our product and then Davis construction, who’s really well known in our area, hired us to do the job, and that gave us our first foot in the door with new construction. Before that, we had been pursuing existing buildings, and trying to pitch the idea of using unused space and corners and under parking ramps, because existing properties really had no space left for us, which was great, but it was a higher hill to climb with a lot more decision makers and the sales cycles incredibly long, which it also is for new construction, but at least you know what you’re getting into with that. So that was our first kind of, okay, we’ve sort of, we’re breaking in here. And then the really, the biggest accomplishment moment, the first time we were specified in architectural plans for new construction, and that was when we’re like, okay, we’re we did this. We’ve made our mark. We’re recognizable in the industry. And that was really a huge positive aha moment for us, where we were seeing more and more that all new construction was really putting some space for storage in. And then the question became, were they going to pick, you know, the old-fashioned wire mesh that no one wants to use, or were they going to pick a premium product for their premium properties? So that was like really, just a big breaking point for us. We were actually featured in The Washington Post for how our storage business flourished as a local couple and a small family business. We had a big old article in the Washington Post, which was great and really fun to actually see our picture in the newspaper, I have to say. We’ve also had some aha moments that were less positive. One that was with trade show displays. Specifically, we had a really hard time communicating what our message was at trade shows without actually bringing our products and even bringing them sometimes didn’t do the trick, because people thought that we were just, you know, an off-site storage facility, and didn’t realize we were providing for inside properties, even though the trade shows we were at were specifically for Multifamily properties. So what we finally came up with for the Bradyl box, which I’ll share about later, is that we needed an actual car to demonstrate the use of the box. And trade show booths are not really big enough for cars unless you get, you know, the giant one in the middle, which was not in a small family budget. So my husband, who I like I said, is an inventor and an idea guy, and has a brother who is an auto body shop, and he’s good at finding a deal. We bought a flooded-out VW Beetle and chopped it in half, so that it would fit under the Bradyl box and in our space at the trade show. And then finally, people could actually see what it was that we were trying to sell. So it was, was a little kind of crazy, but definitely a good attention getter, and helped us actually get our message across. 

Ronn: That’s great for branding too, right? Like that’s so unique.

Lindsay: Yeah.

Ronn: Now is the beetle still, Is it draggable into the trade show?

Lindsay: It’s again, like I, before we came on air, I mentioned that we put all of our display on casters, so it’s easy to push onto the trade show floor, but we found that a lot of the trade shows require union labor, so we still have to pay someone to move it, even though we put it on wheels. 

Ronn: That makes sense. Yeah, now we know that. Like we try to minimize trade show blue for, you know, footprint for that reason.

Lindsay: Yes, yeah. 

Ronn: Well, obviously, I mean, storage is a long-overused term, right? I’m throwing it in storage. It seems simple, but in Multifamily, it’s really a huge pain point. Obviously, when your space is limited, you don’t really have your own customizable space. So, from your perspective, why is storage such a challenge for both residents and operators alike? 

Linday: Well, it seems straight, straightforward, but you’ve got to figure out where you’re going to put storage in a Multifamily building, and that the architects and developers are focused mostly on, you know, the more public spaces, the actual apartments, the lobby looking beautiful. Storage has kind of been an afterthought, but what we found is that the units are all getting smaller, and there hasn’t been a compensation we’re thinking about. Well, people still have more stuff that they have as much as they did before, but now the apartments are getting smaller. So, they need to be thinking about how to make residents comfortable in their homes. There have been studies that say some things like clutter increases depression and having a clean and tidy environment is good for mental health overall. So, thinking about how to keep people’s apartments livable versus cramped is something that developers and architects not only need to be thinking of but seem like they are thinking of in the newer design plans that we’ve been seeing. There’s some turnover challenges, obviously, with apartments having turnovers and the storage needs to be easy to reassign and secure enough to prevent misuse and then flexible to accommodate different residents, which isn’t always the case with older properties. The one of the ways we do our layouts now is in collaboration with the property, whether or not they’d like all the units to be the same size, so everybody has, you know, what’s quote, unquote fair, or if they want to offer a variety of sizes, so that they can accommodate what different people have to store, you know. Whether it’s an extra mattress or a kayak or sporting equipment, people have different needs for different sizes of storage units. And we’ve done surveys to show what sizes are the most popular, and we share that with our potential clients as well. 

Ronn: Yeah, you’ve probably seen it all, right? When it comes to our people’s store.

Lindsay: Yes, yes, and it’s actually a great thing for property managers. People store things that they really shouldn’t be holding on to, and it’s just sort of a set it and forget it. They rent the storage unit, and it’s just money in the pocket of the operator and obviously pleases the resident that they don’t have to go somewhere else to store the things that they actually never need.

Martin: Now it sounds like, it sounds like you may have had some opportunities like say you’re dealing with a brand-new construction for an apartment. Do you ever get a chance at the ground floor to kind of design something even crazier from the ground up?

Lindsay: We do. So usually when we get plans for a new construction building, it has the storage space drawn out. And the companies that know us now will usually ask us for advice on their layout and ask if we can see any improvements, which is great. I mean, that’s how I know we’ve established a relationship with the company when they ask us that. And then we can often find improvements just because the architect isn’t aware that we’re not stuck with any standard sizes. So, if there’s, you know, six inches left over on the end, we might as well take over that square footage. If you know, square footage equals dollars. Everything we can capture makes sense. Angular corners that they would never be able to put in a square wire mesh locker. We have a solution for that. So yes, we are asked now for our input on designs, and then sometimes we get an empty room, and we’re asked to design it, which we can do as well. Yeah.

Martin: Oh, man, so much opportunity there. I mean, we’ve been; we’ve been seeing how residents, you know, sometimes will actually choose a community over one, just because they have that extra space and storage. So how has resident demand for storage changed over the years since you’ve been in business? 

Lindsay: Well, I think it’s definitely increased consistently, which is what we’re seeing in all the new construction designs. Almost every design we see has some sort of storage space allotted. Might not be enough for everybody, but again, when we make recommendations for existing properties who have ample space, we suggest that they try and keep the demand high and not build a storage unit for everybody. Now there’s different requirements, different places, I believe it’s San Francisco or somewhere in California, that require one storage unit per apartment building. So of course, we comply with that, and that works out well for us. If they don’t get rented, that one’s not on us. We did our job, and we built what was in the drawings. But I am seeing that the storage spaces that we’ve built in previous Properties are fully occupied. We’ve gone back repeatedly to a couple of jobs to find more nooks and crannies, to add more storage units. And people will definitely pay for privacy. Like I mentioned, we did a private survey, an independent survey, a few years ago, and one of the questions we asked was, how much would having a Bradyl bin, specifically not a wire mesh storage unit, how much would Bradyl bin increase or decrease your likelihood of picking a property and everybody that responded pretty much said it would positively influence them choosing a property. And I also added a question about whether or not they would choose, when they were choosing to leave their current property, if having Bradyl bins available would be an influencing factor in their decision? And they said yes. Kind of a repeat of what I just said. I think there’s another nugget of fact in there somewhere I can come up with to share with you, but it’s important, and people want storage. When we did a survey about what’s important to people in the storage room. They all wanted privacy. Nobody likes a dingy, dark storage room that feels creepy. And they not only wanted privacy, so that nobody could see what was in their storage unit; they just wanted the room to feel safer, and being in a room that has bright white walls and looks inviting, just feels safer from a resident perspective. And I know that’s a priority for all Multifamily properties, is for the residents to feel safe and welcome in all the spaces.

Martin: And it’s probably a mix of, you know; they might need it for personal space, but even for business too, right? Some of them might run little home-based businesses, and that little extra storage probably comes in handy.

Lindsay: Yes, definitely. I mean, pretty much anything that you can’t find in your little apartment. And if you do run a home business where you probably have old files, not as many new paper files, but you probably have things, or, you know, people that work out of their home and have a small business like let’s say, a drop dog grooming business or manicure business, they probably have supplies that they would rather tuck away when they’re not working, and not have them clutter their apartment. So, for sure.

Ronn: This makes me think of our office space and our storage, I mean, we have a beautiful class A building. We’ve obviously occupied smaller space since post-pandemic, but we have a nice-sized storage unit. And to your point, Lindsay, it is so dingy and dirty and dark, and it’s this, you know, outside the building, it’s a Class A high, right? It’s gorgeous. You’d never know.

Martin: And you can, and you can see inside, right? You can see everything we got. And, yeah, we gotta get in there and then do a little organizing ourselves soon. 

Ronn: And even our office manager is like, I want you guys to come down with me. So it is true. Okay, so let’s talk about the solutions. I’m so excited to hear more about Bradyl bin and Bradyl box. Can you break down for our audience what makes each of these products so unique? And I personally am curious as well. 

Lindsay: So, the Bradyl bin was what we started with. That was our solution to finding dead spaces in corners of parking garages, because it’s completely customizable. The box is assembled with 18-inch panels that can overlap. So literally, we can make the storage unit down to the inch and make it fit any dead space that we could find in existing properties. And we started with existing properties, because, like I said, breaking through to new construction and architecture is extremely challenging. And once you get in with new construction, from the time you get the plans to the time we install, which is at the end of a project, is probably three years. So that wouldn’t have been sustainable on its own. We really needed the existing properties as well. So the Bradyl bin, they look like just what you would see when you walk into public storage. We took a commercial product and applied it to the Multifamily market and went after Multifamily hard with our marketing. We don’t build out multi-store; we don’t build-out self-storage facilities. We’re solely focused on multifamily. We’ve done a little bit of commercial work as well. It’s not what we target. Anywhere that’s weather-protected, typically in a parking garage, a basement or a storage room is where you would see the Bradyl bins. And they’re just; they’re made of steel panels. The door is made of steel. The hallways are always white. They’re crisp. They look very, someone described it once as sterile in a very positive way, like crisp and clean and just felt like kind of fresh, I’m sorry.

Ronn: Think like an Apple Store, right? Very….

Lindsay: Yeah, yes. And then the doors come in 40 colors, so you can still make it fun, and you can make it match the color scheme of your branding, and just kind of brighten up an otherwise really kind of dingy potential spot. The tops are wire mesh, though; the tops are not enclosed, and there’s a reason for that. Because in order to keep costs down, we need the storage units to not require any changes to the building’s fire suppression system. And in order to do that, we keep the walls 18 inches below the sprinkler heads, and then we have a wire mesh top, and that way there’s no problems with fire code and the overhead lighting that already exists can get in there. So, you can see your things and then the building operator doesn’t need to make any changes to them, any of their mechanical, electrical or plumbing. The idea for the Bradyl box came from the properties we went to, where there actually wasn’t any room to put any Bradyl bins in the property. It was rare that we found that. But for example, parking garage corners are typically really great for dead space, but some people had already had that alligator allocated to bike space or HVAC equipment or a maintenance space. So there were some properties we came across that simply there was no room to put any Bradyl bin. And Mike, as the inventor and researcher, he is just kind of racked his brain thinking there has to be something we can offer these people. We’ve got our foot in the door. They’ve called us. What can we do? So we did a bunch of research, and we found a version of what we now call the Bradyl box overseas, and they called it the over bonnet storage. I think it was Australian, and it’s very big in, I think, Europe and Australia, but there was nobody in the US selling anything like it, so we had one designed and tested at UL to make sure we were confident in its safety. We made some tweaks to design based on their feedback and there became the Bradyl box. So what it is, it is designed for use in a parking garage at the front of a parking space. It doesn’t use any usable square footage. It’s taking advantage of, literally, the air over the hood of the car. And it’s a giant 80 square foot box on legs, essentially. The legs are adjustable, so they fit over most cars, all cars, and most SUVs and most trucks. We’ve run into some trouble in Colorado with the people that have the giant trucks on the giant wheels. Yeah, with those, those aren’t going to fit underneath, but the legs are adjustable, and the Bradyl box comes with an integrated lock, Gastro assisted open. So all you have to do is kind of twist the lock and give a little tug, and so even someone like our senior residents can still use the braid of locks and love it. It is fantastic for getting all of the stuff out of your trunk that you only need once in a while, and having it still close to your car. So for example, moms that always keep a stroller in their trunk, well, it can stay in the storage unit. So if they go out grocery shopping, they actually have somewhere to put their groceries. Golfers often keep their golf clubs in their trunk. No reason to, you know, not just put that at the head of the parking space. It just provides a lot of convenience for the residents and just helps them stay more organized. And it’s a space that nobody has ever used before. They’re safe and engineered to be securely installed. We can either set you up with a third-party company that’s trained in assembly, or your building’s maintenance crew can put them together. It takes about two hours for two strong people to put together. The box itself weighs 500 pounds. It is not going to fall over, and we do have anti tip straps that come with the box to be affixed to the wall behind it as a secondary point of safety. 

Martin: Okay, so these are pretty much easy for the user, the end buyer, to set up themselves. Do you have an option in some cases, if they want you to set it up, you’ll come and do that as well?

Ronn: In the DC metro area, we’ll come set it up ourselves. But outside of that, it’s either a third-party company or I would imagine most residents couldn’t put it together, but a maintenance person or a handyman could probably do it. We actually have videos on our YouTube channel showing the assembly along with it coming with instructions, like Ikea style instructions, and it comes with hand tools, but most people would probably want to use their own power tools and get it together a little more quickly. But we made it as easy as possible. We have a full-length video on our YouTube and a one minute sped up video so you can see how it looks, really quick going together.

Ronn: That’s such a brilliant solution. Mike is definitely that innovator, so kudos to him.

Lindsay: He is, he is. I’ve shot down a whole lot more ideas than I’ve entertained.

Ronn: I’m proud of you, honey.

Lindsay: Good job. Write it down.

Ronn: Best thing.

Martin: You’re the innovator barometer. I love it.

Lindsay: Yes, yes. 

Martin: One thing I love is how customizable these, you know, these boxes are. And how people could use them, and how you can kind of adapt the apartment and the layout based on that. We know Multifamily properties often have tricky layouts. How flexible can you get with installation and design?

Lindsay: So completely flexible with the Bradyl bins, we can get around any obstruction, either by planning ahead of time or cutting some things on site if we need to, and angled rooms are not a problem. Round rooms are not a problem. I’ll mention a story a little bit later about a property that had a curved room, that we were able to construct the storage units, and there’s pretty much nothing we can’t handle, even low overhead. We have a property that wanted storage units under a ramp and on top of a knee wall. So the storage units themselves are only five feet tall, maybe a little shorter with a roll-up door, and they fully rented out. This is a property in a really nice area in DC, and literally, every square inch matters there. Obviously, ideally, you could walk into a full-size store and stand up in your storage unit. But if there isn’t space for that, we’ll find somewhere, pretty much for anything.

Ronn: That’s amazing. Do you guys also like, do they ask you sometimes to make maintenance closets that never existed, or stuff about…

Lindsay: Yes, we’ve done a few maintenance rooms, and we can do either a swing door or a really wide roll-up door. So, for the maintenance rooms, properties that have things like snow blowers or lawn mowers or, I’m not sure where they were keeping them before, what we’ve built them a room for. 

Ronn: That’s amazing. Yeah, it’s totally adaptable. Okay, so one of my favorite questions is, do you have a favorite pass project or obviously, like a client success story that highlights the impact of what Bradyl has made for our industry. 

Lindsay: Yeah, absolutely. So one of the stories that I really like to talk about is the muse in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s a condo, and this is a great example of how we can help the financial outlook of a property. So they had condominiums for sale, and some that were already sold, and they were trying to increase their occupancy. And so the strategy they took was they installed storage units, and for the residents that already lived there, they sold the storage units and deeded them to the property, and they sold those for $360 a square foot. So, we’re talking about four by four, four by six square feet units at $360 a foot, that is actually so much more than what you get per square foot for living spaces. So that was a total win for them. And then to increase their sales for the condos that were remaining, they added the storage unit for free as an incentive for people to move in. And this was just really successful for them overall. They were very pleased with the turnout. So that is how we made a big impact on that one specific property and they were all taken. So I’m really glad to hear that they got a huge return on their investment with us on that one. 

Ronn: That’s a great story. Thanks for sharing. 

Lindsay: Yeah. Another one I briefly mentioned was the Hepburn. It’s a beautiful, award-winning Building in Washington, DC, developed by Bozzuto, and they were the ones they mentioned that had a room, there was a circle, essentially, or at least the wall where they wanted the storage units was round. So if they had used traditional square wire mesh units, they would have lost, I mean, inches feet. They all matter. They’re all money. So whatever was behind the straight wall they would have made, all that curved space would have been lost. So we were able to construct our storage units. We use the existing back wall, which is what we often do. And we just, you know, built them straight across with dividers going back. And they got to capture literally every square inch of that space instead of losing some square footage. And then they also had the privacy of the storage units, which is this class A building. I mean, this is class A plus. They could get a great return. They ended up renting the storage units for about $100 a month. They are making 2800 annually, I think, is what we calculated based on the number of storage units they had and it makes the building have another amenity to offer that everybody’s expecting these days. The Hepburn was built, I feel like it was probably like 10 years ago, but new buildings these days absolutely have storage, and this is going to help them keep up and stay relevant. 

Martin: And it looks like almost 28,000, yeah.

Lindsay: It’s 2800.

Martin: I don’t want to make sure you have, yeah.

Lindsay: 28,000 Yeah.

Martin: Major cash flow for them. That’s huge. 

Lindsay: Yes.

Martin: That’s a ton of money for, you know, storage as an extra form of diversification for the income for them. I mean..

Lindsay: Absolutely.

Martin: So there are a lot of ways a property can add storage, cages, sheds, lockers, and I’ve seen them all. I used to live in Downtown Long Beach, and we had a cage one. Everyone can see what you have, but Bradyl has a strong reputation. What’s your unique selling proposition and what makes Bradyl stand out among the rest?

Lindsay: The Bradyl bins privacy is like bar none, that’s, what we’re selling, privacy resident experience and value for bringing in ancillary income; we actually have done a bunch of work in Long Beach. So glad to hear you were there. You must not have been at one of our buildings. So really, the privacy just really brings people to consider our product when they didn’t know there was any other option besides the wire mesh. Like our biggest barrier has been educating the industry of what else is out there. So, I mean, obviously, quality and durability, the units are going to last. That’s not a question at all. But really, it’s the resident satisfaction, which they, if they didn’t read our materials, they’ll figure it out for themselves. That people like privacy and from another security perspective, having, some people say, for example, the box to their flat screen TV in case they have to return it. And if everybody can see that you have a box for a giant flat screen TV in your storage unit, they know what you have in your apartment. So besides worrying about theft from the storage unit themselves with wire mesh, you’re worried about what people can learn about you by looking into your storage unit. And nobody likes that. So privacy is really, really key, and privacy leads to security and increased revenue for what you can offer. One of our surveys, when we asked about people who used resident storage at their property that was not private, people were all worried about people stealing because they could see what was inside of their storage unit. 61% of our respondents said that they, that was a concern of theirs. We actually consulted with a police officer for some messaging when we first started, and he called wire mesh storage, what I didn’t know was a; soft target. You’re making it easy for criminals to see what they can pick and choose from. So being a soft target is something that’s easily avoidable with the privacy that we can offer people. And really see that there’s a lot of value in what we offer, and they would be paying, willing to pay substantially more for a Bradyl bin versus a wire mesh unit. I think that our survey said, depending on the level of amenity in the building, people would pay between $5 and $30 more a month to have the privacy that we offer. And in our survey, we asked if people preferred the wire storage over Bradyl bins. 85% of the residents preferred Bradyl bins, but 12% of them didn’t care. So only 3% of our 1000-plus respondents actually preferred wire storage, and that’s a really strong message for operators to hear. They’re trying to cater to what everybody wants, and they need to listen to what people want about storage space as well.

Ronn: Yeah, that’s huge. I think that I love that you can get some of that survey feedback. Do you solicit it yourself, or do the property share it with you?

Lindsay: No, we had someone do an independent survey several years ago. We hired a contractor to do it, and it was really interesting. It was actually an interesting learning exercise in how to ask questions properly. So you’re actually getting an answer to the question you wanted, and then to see the results roll in was really cool. 

Ronn: Yeah, and that had to be priceless. I’m sure, you know, there was a premium to pay for consultants like that. But, I mean, look at the statistics you got out of it. I’m just thinking about pure branding and marketing. You know, if your sales are low, you’re like, okay, let me pull these stats out of you. Guys, why do you need us, okay.

Lindsay: Yes.

Ronn: Enough said…

Lindsay: It’s why we’re worth it. And we’re also really competitively priced with wire mesh, which I guess I really should mention is, it’s kind of, right? Like why not? But right? Like give us a chance, let us quote it out for you. We’re competitive with the better wire mesh. We’re not going to compete with the chain link fence, but a class A property doesn’t want a chain link fence, or at least the residents don’t.

Ronn: Yeah, sure. What about, have you ever been asked for, like, custom closet stuff? Since your husband has that business, and you guys have storage solutions like in the unit.

Lindsay: We actually, we’ve been asked for shelving in the unit, which it’s not really made for. But we have actually partnered with some of these companies to do custom closets in the apartments, in our partnership with them over the storage, but in the storage units themselves, building out a closet in there wouldn’t be possible.

Ronn: Yeah, and I asked that because of your competitive price with wire mesh. Obviously, the more luxurious the property is, the more premium they pay, the more expectation they may have for some home features. And you know, custom storage is definitely, probably one of them. 

Lindsay: Yes, we’re actually finding senior living places that are all putting custom not all. Some of the senior living places that are trying to be really competitive are putting high-end closets in their units, like from the get go, that’s part of what the options are for the people to pick. So for sure, storage, storage and neatness in your unit is really a priority across the board.

Ronn: It’s amazing.

Martin: So, let’s zoom out a bit. How do you see storage evolving in Multifamily over the next, say, five to ten years? 

Lindsay: So the storage units that are going into new properties are more and more being treated as premium. We’re getting specified by architects, left and right. People have seen the light that wire mesh storage just isn’t the way to go. But it’s also going to become expected that there’s a store, at least some storage everywhere. It’s online with gyms, rooftop lounges, and co-working spaces. People want to have their things on site. They don’t want to have to go off-site for storage. Many people don’t have cars these days, and people who are living in higher-income urban areas like Northwest Washington, DC or New York City, there’s not even anywhere close to storing your stuff off site. You have to go miles away. So when you’re in this urban environment, you might not have a car, and you can’t keep anything close to your home. That really has an impact on your life. Imagine, you know outdoorsmen who want to go kayaking, or, you know hobbies that have larger equipment, where you have nowhere to keep it. Bicycles are always a problem. A lot of people have really nice bikes. They don’t want to store their bike in a common bike room, and they don’t want their bike sitting in their apartment, and the operators don’t want you driving your bike through the beautiful lobby and banging up the walls in the elevator. So we found that some people really like to use their storage unit to store their bike, and it really helps impact their enjoyment of being able to get to do their hobbies and extracurriculars, and athletics without it being a whole another step to go somewhere else to get your equipment. So I think it’ll be expected in all new buildings, and more and more of them are seeing the value of privacy to improve resident satisfaction. And I think more and more properties are seeing that this is a strategic revenue-generating option for them. Everybody wants to increase their bottom line. And back in the old days, there was, the storage was free, or there was a big storage room that everybody used, and it ended up being discussed because people didn’t value it, because it was kind of given at a no value sort of level. So when people see that the space is nicer, they’re happy to rent it. And we do find there are plenty of old properties that are ripping out their wire storage and putting in our storage units and then charging for them, so that they get to increase their bottom line, the residents are actually able to use the storage spaces that were intended. And it’s a win-win for everybody.

 

Ronn: Yeah, that’s what I was going to ask you. As storage becomes a standard, are there properties that, like, you’ll walk and they’re like, or you call on, and they say, oh, we have a solution. And then they see yours and like, okay, this could be worthy of a premium, right?

Lindsay: Absolutely. Yeah, some of them are, I don’t need storage or, you know, I don’t have any space for storage. And if they give us enough of a chance to have a conversation with them, they will often let us take a peek and show them what we can offer. And they’re often surprised that we have a solution that will work for them, and that’s worked out, worked out great. And then if we didn’t have a solution for the Bradyl bins, there’s often the opportunity for the Bradyl box. So it’s a lot about educating the industry about what we can offer. 

Ronn: Yeah, I guess increased storage, right? So even if they have solutions already they don’t, maybe they need the one above a car that could be an additional value.

Lindsay: Absolutely, there have been multiple properties. One example is Delray towers in Alexandria, where we put bridal bins in the garage, in those unused spaces, and they were able to generate over $31,000 annually, and in additional income just from dead space in the parking garage, they rented for $75 a month. And then there was so much demand, they had us come back and find other little nooks and crannies and put in another 21 units, which has resulted in over $50,000 total annual income from storage fees alone, from dead spaces that weren’t getting used at all.

 Ronn: Wow. Talk about ROI, right.

Lindsay: Another huge benefit to the property owner is to figure out how much they can get per square foot for their storage spaces. And in the class A buildings in the metro areas, we’ve seen up to $5 a square foot, which is huge, a huge amount of income to make from unusable basement dead space and parking garages. And compared to what they can get for wire mesh storage, up to $5 a square foot is just pretty remarkable. We have a return on investment, typically within 18 to 24 months for our class A properties, which is a great turn-around for investment as well.

Martin: Do you know the average storage like, what a regular storage unit? What is their average? Is it around $5 too or is that more competitive doing it with you, like a story?

Lindsay: So it can be more competitive to go with the building, because the offsite storage units kind of get you with your first month free, and then they increase the monthly rental rate, and then you’re not going to move your stuff. And one of the ways we actually help guide companies on how much they might charge for the storage units. If asked, we’ll make a recommendation. We compare the storage facilities off-site that are nearby for how much they’re charging for a five by five. Typically, it’s five by five, five by ten, but kind of, we kind of calculate it out by square foot to compare, and we generally say whatever they’re charging off-site. You can mark it up by at least 10% for the convenience of 24/7 access and having it right on site. So we do offer some guidance with what they may be able to charge, but we’ve seen up to $5 a square foot, which is really, really good. 

Martin: This is a cash flow machine. I don’t think, yeah, it shouldn’t be too much of a hard sell when you can help them bring in more cash flow for the business. So…

Ronn: Help with their renewal pricing, or what the market rate now is in that area or do they ever ask you for that? Or do they just…

Lindsay: We haven’t, we haven’t been asked. We haven’t been asked. But there’s a tool on our website that takes you to, like, a self-storage aggregator, where you can see the prices of all the self-storage places based on your address. So, perhaps they’ve gone in there and used that, and we just don’t know that they’ve utilized our tool to help reset their rates.

Ronn: That’s a great tool. 

Lindsay: Yeah.

Ronn: Awesome…

Lindsay: We actually have a new BIM file for architects. I think it’s called BIM. It’s some sort of 3D model they can plop into their design. So we’re trying to make it easier for everybody to utilize, to utilize what we have available.

Martin: Now, Lindsay, do you think AI is coming to Multifamily storage? I mean, it’s going everywhere else. 

Lindsay: I mean, I don’t; it can’t replace someone with a screwdriver and a truck, you know, predictive models of how many storage units to put in and what they can charge. For sure, I see an impact there, but I don’t think I’m going to be out of an installer job. We are the very first trade show. Our display was so terrible. I had a big dollar sign laminated for the floor, and it said there’s money right underneath your feet. Just ask. And nobody asked.

Ronn: I like that idea.

Lindsay: But I thought it was clever.

Ronn: Like fake money on the floor or something, like a dollar bill.

Lindsay: Yes. There’s little retractable things that people used to chase the dollar with. We did think about that, by the way.

 

Ronn: C’mon Mike, gotta get going.

Lindsay: Yeah.

Martin: All right, so Lindsay, if you could wave a magic wand and fix one challenge in multifamily storage overnight, what would it be?

Lindsay: Definitely educating the industry about what we offer as an alternative to what’s always been around. That absolutely is our first pain point, is there something better. We built a better mousetrap. We just need people to find out about it. And there’s so much potential. I would help people see those corners in planning, which we’re now getting the opportunity to do a bit with the architects and we’re getting the opportunity to do when we get to have a conversation with a property manager who says, I don’t have any space, and we say, send me the plans, or let me, let me come off the garage and see. So it would definitely be wonderful to wave a magic wand and reduce some of those barriers and just make sure that operators know how important privacy is to the residents. If I could, you know, broadcast our survey results, I think it would have a really big impact on people understanding what their residents are looking for in a storage space, and then delivering it is not cost-prohibitive. So it just really needs to be front of mind instead of an afterthought to be including storage spaces for residents.

Ronn: That’s huge, so kind of towards our closing already. This is running fast. One of my favorite things to do, and I love when Martin and I coordinate this, is rapid fire. So we’re gonna ask a few questions, and just first of mind. Number one is, what is your go to productivity hack, running a family business?

Lindsay: Getting a CRM. Prior to a CRM, we were using just emails and excel sheets and trying to track things and it got to the point where that was just too much, but we didn’t even know what a CRM was, not coming from sales or marketing. So then it was, you know, the research of the CRM. So the productivity hack is, for sure, a CRM, but a challenge is getting everyone to use it consistently. So if it’s a necessary evil, but it’s an ongoing training effort to make sure it’s utilized in the way that works best for us.

Martin: Ronn and I remember those early days for us when we first started, we had a giant spreadsheet. 

Lindsay: Yeah, yeah. 

Ronn: We thought we were advanced when we got a shared drive with Google. It’s like a live document. What!

Lindsay: What! We can work together.

 

Ronn: I can see you on the screen typing, yeah, that was advanced. 

Lindsay: That was advanced. I remember that.

Ronn: And now, we’re all in with Salesforce and not looking back. But yeah, to your point, it’s also what you put into it and what your people do. 

Lindsay: Yes.

Ronn: Okay, cool. This is one I think I need to hear myself. Favorite way to recharge outside of work.

Lindsay: I’m a really big napper, so a nap is always good for a recharge. But when I’m not napping, my go-to is gardening. I really love doing landscaping and growing tomatoes. I’m a little bit obsessed because I think I have eight plants and only three people that eat tomatoes in my house. And then I have two adorable, golden doodles that I love to take for walks, and I like to read a good book.

Ronn: And what is the last book that you read or reading now?

Lindsay: I just started the Rose Code, but I really loved Taylor Jenkins last book, Atmosphere was really good. 

Martin: Okay, I might check that one out. Thanks. 

Lindsay: It was really good.

Ronn: Yeah, those are good ones. And I too, have recently discovered in the last five years napping, oh my god, like even just a10 minutes nap, and I’m on my phone and I’m working on checking an email or whatever, and then finally, sometimes I get five to 10 minutes. And honestly, that is golden. 

Lindsay: Yeah.

Ronn: Yeah, love it.

Lindsay: It’s a skill to be able to fall asleep that quickly. By the way, you are one of us skilled people who actually fall that fast.

Ronn: Just closing your eyes. You know, when you’re looking at the screen, 24/7, it’s like that alone and, you know, resets.

Lindsay: Yeah.

Ronn: Thanks for sharing. Okay, one of my favorites, personal favorites is coffee or tea.

 

I like both, but if I had to choose, it would definitely be coffee, especially now that Starbucks has that cold foam. I’m a little bit obsessed with the cold foam. Yes. And as a bonus, I might be breaking big news here. I just got an alert from Starbucks that starting Monday, they’re gonna have high protein cold foam and high protein milk.

Martin: What!

Ronn: Okay. This is a trend-breaking podcast, let’s go.

Martin: Lindsay, this has been fantastic. Storage, you know, may not be the flashiest amenity that’s out there, but it’s one of the most impactful for both residents and operators. And I think you are bringing sexy back when it comes to storage, right? I think we can all agree on that. 

Lindsay: Thank you.

Martin: So Bradyl is clearly leading the charge. And for our listeners, where can they go and learn more about Bradyl Storage Solutions?

 Lindsay: We can definitely go check out our website @bradyl.com. I can spell it for you guys if you need me. 

Martin: Yeah, sure. I think that’d be good. 

Lindsay: It’s B, R, A, D, Y, L.com. Named for our two children, which, by the way, if you ever start a company, do not pick words that are hard to pronounce.

Martin: Pronounce again.

Lindsay: They are hard to pronounce. Our kids are Bradley and Dylan, and so that’s how the company came to be named.

Martin: That’s special, though, that’s special, so I can appreciate that, for sure. 

Lindsay: Yeah, well, it didn’t take long for Dylan to realize that Bradley has almost all the letters of his name in Bradyl and Dylan only few. So another word to the wise. When you name your company after your children, make sure it’s very fair. 

Martin: Bradyl, Bradyl, Bradyl.

Lindsay: Yeah. So yeah. And you can also go to our LinkedIn page. It’s under Bradyl Storage Solutions, or just find me on my account on LinkedIn and shoot us a message.

Martin: Perfect. And thanks again, Lindsay, for joining us today, and thanks to our listeners for tuning in to The Multifamily Podcast powered by ApartmentSEO.com. Don’t forget to subscribe, share this episode and join us next time, as we explore more ways to shape the future of Multifamily. Until next time, bye. Y’all. Bye, Lindsay, bye, Ronn.

Ronn: Cheers.