Last fall, Kevin Neher and Scott Wilson decided it was not a good idea to leave all their furniture in their off-Grounds apartment over the summer.
The two third-year College students decided to take matters into their own hands. Together, Neher and Wilson created Student Storage Solutions LLC, a moving and storage business that promises to pick up, store and deliver apartment items safely and securely over the summer. Such a service alleviates students of the hassle of moving and storing things their belongings on their own.
"We pick up and deliver so that next year you don't have to deal with it," Neher said.
What makes Student Storage Solutions unique is that they offer services that other businesses do not. The movers will come in and pick up your items, store them in a properly secured warehouse with insurance and deliver your items next fall, all for a one-time payment.
The payment plan for Student Storage Solutions is simple: $20 for every item and $30 if it needs to be carried by two people. For every customer who is referred to Student Storage Solutions through Madison House, the University's largest volunteer service organization, Student Storage Solutions promises to donate 10 percent of its profits.
Popular storage companies like U-Store-It charge $66 on a monthly basis for a 5-by-10 foot space. Customers are responsible for transporting the items to the storage site and they usually resort to moving companies such as Student Service, which charges $72 per hour. This means that students are paying for two different services; this can add unecessary stress to the already huge task of dealing with storing furniture. Because of this, Wilson says, their business does not have any direct competition.
After extensive research to determine whether there was a market for such a business, the two decided to go through with their idea over the Winter Break.
We had to "pull out of our savings and seed money," Wilson said. "We're students too."
Business starts May 8th, which is the first day for pick up. The pick-up period lasts until May 13th. Deliveries will take place between August 21st through the 28th. In between the two dates, Neher and Wilson expect to visit the warehouse every two weeks to make sure things are properly secure. The two do not expect to run their business during the school year.
"We're geared towards students only during the summer months," Wilson said.
Advertising, which already has started , largely depends on word of mouth, flyers and an agreement with Madison House. The business also is soon expecting to have its information linked with Hoohock.com, the University's Student Council textbook-exchange Web site.
The big push, however, will be within the next two weeks where both will hit more off-Grounds territory, mostly by flyering in residential areas around grounds.
So far, both Neher and Wilson have taken big risks with the amount of time and money that both have invested. And although no one can tell what the financial future may hold, both are very optimistic.
"It's exciting - things are always coming up," Neher said. "We are making decisions with real consequences"
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