The Hidden Fleet That’s Shaping Self-Storage

What if your self-storage facility could also be your most powerful marketing tool? 

Scott Meyers sits down with CJ Strattle and Sherry Miller of On the Move to explore how branded rental trucks are redefining marketing, operations, and revenue in the storage industry. 

From CJ’s roots in the business to the company’s family-driven innovation, the conversation dives deep into turnkey solutions, competitive advantages, and why even major REITs are revisiting this “old-school” concept. 

They also share insights from the recent ISS conference, discusses trends in tech, security, and market dynamics, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how On the Move quietly became the fourth-largest rental fleet in the U.S.—without anyone outside the industry even knowing.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

1:06 “Rent with me, use this truck for free” – the family legacy

4:17 Taking control: Why On the Move exists

6:19 A patented solution from CJ’s grandfather

10:54 Turnkey truck branding made simple

13:13 ISS 2025: New tech, new vendors, new energy

16:25 They sold the show truck at the show!

30:52 Think outside the truck: Monetizing ad space

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CONNECT WITH GUESTS:

CJ STRATTLE, President & CEO of On the Move

LinkedIn | Website | YouTube | Instagram

SHERRY MILLER, Director of Sales at On The Move

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Attend the Self Storage Academy in Seattle, WA August 21-23

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Chapters

• 1:06 “Rent with me, use this truck for free” – the family legacy
• 4:17 Taking control: Why On the Move exists
• 6:19 A patented solution from CJ’s grandfather
• 10:54 Turnkey truck branding made simple
• 13:13 ISS 2025: New tech, new vendors, new energy
• 16:25 They sold the show truck at the show!
• 31:55 Think outside the truck: Monetizing ad space

Transcript

Announcer (00:03):

This is the Self Storage Podcast with the original Self storage expert, Scott Meyers.

Scott Meyers (00:11):

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Self Storage Podcast. I am your host, Scott Meyers, and today we have our special guest, CJ Strattle and Sherry Miller from On the Move. Ladies, welcome to the show.

Sherry Miller (00:21):

Thank you for having us, Scott.

CJ Strattle (00:22):

We're excited to be here, Scott. Thank you.

Scott Meyers (00:24):

Well, I'm glad that we were able to do this outside of a trade show floor or anywhere else that we find ourselves in the same room with each other so that Storage Nation here can learn a little bit more about not only what you do, but you two both have a very interesting background and a way that you got into the industry, and so I wanted to share that as well. And in addition to give you more insight into what's going on in the industry right now, which seems to be whether we like it or not in this very static industry is changing pretty rapidly. So with that, CJ, why don't you start, give us a little bit of background on how you got into the business, how you landed it on the move, and then we'll hear from you as well, Sheri.

CJ Strattle (01:01):

Well, have you ever seen a truck that says, rent with me, use this truck for free?

Scott Meyers (01:05):

Yes.

CJ Strattle (01:06):

Well, that was my grandpa's idea at our storage facility in the seventies.

Scott Meyers (01:11):

No way.

CJ Strattle (01:11):

So my grandpa built his storage facility in 1978 and saw a need for a custom rental truck. So that's how I got here. I was in the storage business before I was born and I was still in it. So my first job was at a storage facility, managing it and being a relief manager while it was being built from the ground up. And then I started working out on the move and did the marketing since 2007, 2008.

Scott Meyers (01:41):

Well, that is my first entry into the storage business. It certainly doesn't go as far back into childhood like yours, but back in 2005 is when I got into the business and on the move is on the back of every single cover of every trade magazine out there. And so everybody is known about you and the brand as being more than the 800 pound gorilla because you were the only ones for the longest time. And even still, I think when anybody thinks of the services that you provide with billboards on the back of a moving truck, I mean it's on the move.

CJ Strattle (02:11):

Yes, definitely. We are lucky with, we have more indirect competitors than direct competitors. So it's either you do the one-way type moves or have a local moving company. So we like to fill that spot and definitely saw the need for it at when I was a manager at 16 years old. And definitely that was how I always sold everything is just like, okay, how are you moving in? And they always seem to be needing a truck of some sort.

Scott Meyers (02:40):

It is. They go hand in hand. I mean, that was the first ancillary income I think, which came first to chicken or the egg or the moving truck or the locks and moving supplies. I mean, those are the first two ancillary income streams that we've added into storage. So glad to have you here to learn a little bit more about not only your lineage, but what you're seeing in the industry. But first, Sherry, my good old friend, Sherry, how are you my dear?

Sherry Miller (03:02):

Good. Thank you for having us today.

Scott Meyers (03:03):

Of course, of course. So

Sherry Miller (03:05):

I got my start as an assistant manager. I feel like everybody who gets into the industry just kind of slips in and then they stay. So started out as an assistant manager, got to do all of the things sitting behind the desk, loved the industry. No one understand it. Wound up working for a call center and started out as client relations, which is one of my favorite things. Building relationships. Worked for them for a while and CJ offered a position as a director on the move. And I know and love CJ, I know the other leadership members here, and it just seemed like the right fit. So thank you CJ for having me. But I mean, it's kind of no-brainer when it comes to trucks. You can either have a U-Haul parked out in front of your storage facility or a custom truck. So why advertise for U-Haul? You can advertise for

Scott Meyers (04:01):

Yourself. Yeah, a hundred percent. Well, in case there's anybody here in Storage Nation that may be new to the industry or hasn't gotten into the industry yet, CJ, let's talk about your business model and the benefit of your product and services and how they benefit self storage owners.

CJ Strattle (04:17):

Well, if you knew anything about my family, it's like we don't like to be told what to do. So that is pretty much the whole thing behind on the move is we don't want to be told when we can run our trucks, who we can run our trucks to. We want it to be

(04:31):

Just free to run our business the way we wanted. So we pretty much do the same thing. We give the tools to be able to run a truck out. We even throw a hand truck and furniture pads into the truck when we deliver it. Or we have customers that have a whole plan. They already have a design they want and we can help them put that on their truck as well. Or some people even already have a truck and they can just pick and choose what they want of on the move services. So that is pretty much how we started and just to keep making things. We saw that it was difficult. I saw as a manager, I would have to walk around every truck every time it comes in, and we're down here in Texas, so summertime's pretty dang hot

(05:13):

To come outside of the office and then have my cordless phone back when that shows my age. But then we created tools like we created a software, so that is easier for rentals just by using our own experience and feedback. So we're very open-minded to hear what people are seeing. I know another thing that I just found out, my grandfather passed in March and he was a founder of our company, and so I was able to find, my assistant, was able to find all his patents over the years. He was a new product engineer at Ford, and I knew that we had designed our truck to have a back door that extends over the ramp because we were getting complaining about, well, we insured the truck, so we knew that the ramps were being stolen or it was kind of difficult for some people. They would forget to shut the door, I guess, just so liability issues. So my grandpa actually extended the door and he had a patent on that. So I didn't know we actually had a patent on it, but so you learn,

Scott Meyers (06:19):

Well, our condolences. I'm sure that was a big loss for your family and it was anytime that we are all know, as long as I've been in the industry for 21 years now and we're seeing some of the pillars, some of the folks that have created legacy in the industry are passing on now, it's always sad to see that when you look back at your roots and your grandfather clearly being one of

CJ Strattle (06:38):

Them. Yes, it's definitely difficult, but we're so proud of him and it is inspired to see all the feedback I got from friends and family with how they inspired him and their lives. So handling it rough, but I can put a smile on my face for your podcast today.

Scott Meyers (06:55):

Yeah, well thanks Arian on his legacy. That's what we're doing. Exactly. Well, so let one brief, I guess clarification for folks, CJ is, I guess let's just talk about the difference between, you say you don't have direct competitors, but an agency relationship they may have with a U-Haul or with Penske or any of the others, tell what is the differentiating factor between working with your company versus working with another third party or an agency similar to that? Again, for the newbies, how do they differentiate? What are you looking at as the difference between the two?

CJ Strattle (07:33):

Well, the reason why most people have a big brand like U-Haul or Penske is because it is recognizable and they do bring recognition to your facility because you have to pick them up the truck at your storage facility. So they do help brand that way and it's a lot less expensive to get started with that kind of option. However, you do just get a commission for all the work that you do do. And sometimes, I know we had to hire additional help for it because we were a pretty great location for truck rentals outside of Detroit, and we would get the feedback as being that we were U-Haul or Penske, and they thought if they made mistakes, they became our mistakes and we didn't like that. So with ours, we just wanted it to be our own truck. Sometimes we would have a truck that was for one of our local customers and then that truck would be better suited for a longer move for U-Haul or Penske. And so that would be taken from our local customer and then they would be stuck without a truck. So we just wanted one designated to our storage facility with our logo on the door basically. And when we couldn't do that, we did the research to find our own truck.

(08:55):

And when I say we did our research, my grandpa was a new product engineer for Ford, so he designed our truck to be the best for ready and he also built the storage facility with his own hands.

(09:07):

So he did not want people running into his cinder block at that time in the seventies, I think his first building. So we just really wanted the autonomy to do what we wanted with our truck and keep it just local for our customers. And it's just a lot less logistics if we just have our one truck and then some of our, I mean we had four our storage facility in Texas, but we were able to use it for whatever we wanted as well. So we used it for maintenance, for repairs, for cleaning out, for picking up supplies, and that was our rolling billboard. I go to Walmart with my truck, and then the cool thing is that you could charge whatever you want for your truck and then we don't take any kind of commission off of that. We just, if you want to give it away for free, we don't care. We're not taking, you can give it away for free when they move in or you get charged with when they move out. So just really it's up to the storage facility. They know how to run their business and we let them do it the way they want.

Sherry Miller (10:11):

The biggest thing that stands out about on the move and the way we operate is we are a turnkey solution. So for people who want to get a custom wrap truck, typically you would have to find the truck, find somebody to do the graphics and then wrap it. If you were doing something that needs upfitted, they would have to go find somebody to do that and then provide the insurance on top of it. So the thing that makes us more distinct is it is a turnkey solution. We do all of that for you. So it's a one-stop shop. It makes it super simple. You don't have to go hunting and shopping. Come to us, we get the truck you need do the custom wrap. If you already have a design, we can use that. Or we have graphics designers that can do that for you as well. So we make it easy.

CJ Strattle (10:54):

Yeah, it's so crazy. I've been doing this my whole life and my friends still call me and ask me for a moving truck and I'm like, I sell new trucks. I don't have any trucks for you to borrow here at the site. So we're actually the fourth largest rental fleet in the United States,

Scott Meyers (11:11):

Is that right?

CJ Strattle (11:12):

Yes. And no one knows who we are outside of our industry, and we're also in the real estate industry as well. But that's the strangest thing. We brand our customers, not ourselves. So it has, I kind of wish maybe we would've thought better about that long time ago, but it's kind of what we do. We are branding the, we're the tool behind the scenes.

Scott Meyers (11:36):

Well, at the end of the day, the reason why we're in self storage or rental real estate is because when you own the asset and you rent it out over and over and over again and you get to keep it, I mean, that's a pretty darn good business model. So if you're already in that business and you understand it, why wouldn't you have your own truck and not share revenues commissions with an agency? So I'm just saying, well, here's what I'd like to do now is, so Sherry, you and I, we chatted at the beginning of the ISS show in Vegas and getting caught up and then just understanding what each other's goals were and what we planned to do and who we're meeting with over the next few days. But I want to hear from both of you, what was your overall take in terms of say the temperature of the folks that were there and excitement level trepidation? What was your overall sense of the mindset of the folks that you talked to and maybe even some of the other vendors throughout the three days that we were there?

Sherry Miller (12:34):

Sure, my goodness, it's always exciting. ISS is big. There's always a lot of people there, a lot of movement. But this year there were just a lot of new vendors that I haven't seen before. So to say we're technology driven is an understatement. If you're not keeping up with what's going on with new technology, you're left behind. So for me was I think people were just curious. They're anxious, they want to know what's going on, what's best to suit them wanting. They're wanting to talk to people about what is the best tech stack to have. That's what I noticed this year.

Scott Meyers (13:13):

Yeah, I would say that, I dunno how many more property management companies this industry can hold, but there was a few more that popped up again in some of the booths. And then overall platforms, as you mentioned, some folks that have the entire tech stack, which isn't always the best. Sometimes you start with one that is solid and then you do some bolt-ons. And so we'll talk about that on another podcast. But there were many, many other providers as you mentioned in the tech sector. Those were the two that I mentioned as you said, tech, and then I noticed a lot of property management companies as well. But Sherry, before we ask CJ, what would you say in terms of just investors, folks that are owner operators are looking to get into the business, what would you say that, I dunno their temperament was, were they bullish? Were they still waiting, fear of the what's going on in the economy or were people you find surging forward?

Sherry Miller (14:07):

I think they're surging forward. I think the days of holding back are done. I think we're a little more, I would like to say in a little more certain space than we were four years ago post COVID, everybody's realizing that this is a great industry to be in. And of course supplies are easier to come by than they were back then too. I feel like I'm kind of comparing to a few years ago, but we have progressed tremendously in this industry. So I think people are still a little bit overwhelmed because there is so much to choose from. And my suggestion would just be find a consultant that's been in the industry a while and talk to them about how you can best things together. So if there is any reservation, I would say it is in trying to decide what to choose for them out of everything that's offered. Sometimes it's easier when you have a short, simple menu to decide what you want to eat.

Scott Meyers (15:05):

A hundred percent. Yeah, I need that. A

Sherry Miller (15:07):

Place that has every type of food it takes a little

Scott Meyers (15:10):

While. CJ, as you assess your involvement in the show and maybe even leads that came in afterwards or the business that was drummed up, what was your take?

CJ Strattle (15:21):

I was actually shocked at how many people I didn't know that came to our booth with a new operators that were already usually I always called ISS was more of the marketing and kind of like the tire kickers people just starting to get into the industry and just looking around, seeing if it felt like a lot of people had already bit the bullet, is that the right English for that bullet? So they have already broke ground, they're already ready to go. So that's always great for us when we hear somebody that's going to break ground before they need a truck, it's going to be another two years before they're ready for a truck usually. So it was great to see a lot of new people and also for the first time in a very long time for me, I remember my parents when they worked trade shows when I was a kid, they would sell the show truck at the show and I just

Scott Meyers (16:14):

Always

CJ Strattle (16:14):

Thought that was crazy. I was like, that's always been a goal of mine. I was like, they could do it. Why can't I? So we sold the show truck at the show.

Scott Meyers (16:25):

Congratulations.

CJ Strattle (16:25):

So thank you. And it was kind of a pain to get our stuff, but you know what? We have friends in the industry. We were able to store our stuff, be in Vegas soon,

(16:35):

So we knew what to do with our stuff. But it was pretty exciting to see that people were really so holding back waiting for who's going to be the next president, who's going to be, what the next tariff is going to be or whatever, that they made a decision on the spot. And I think we had a lot more, I mean just a lot quicker sales turnaround I guess, than were used to having. So that was pretty cool for us. But I thought it was interesting to see how many new companies were out there. You guys have mentioned Sherry's mentioned, but I think it's interesting. I guess it really touches base to me. I think people aren't just complaining about certain things, they're taking action. So it's like operators are like, okay, we don't like the way this is working, so we're going to create our own version of something to share with the industry. And I think that says a lot about, yes, it's a way to make money, but it's also like they're sharing their knowledge as an operator. Like, okay, this is what I want in my software program, so I'm going to build my own. That's just a quick example. So I think that's always pretty interesting and refreshing to see people that want to help the industry and change things up. But a lot of the names I did not know for the vendors was kind of,

Scott Meyers (17:52):

Yeah. Yeah, that was

CJ Strattle (17:55):

Pretty new.

Scott Meyers (17:56):

It is, yeah. I mean usually you walk around and you're just meeting old friends again and just finding out where their booth is this year compared to last year. But yeah, there's a whole lot of folks that

CJ Strattle (18:04):

I introduced myself too.

Scott Meyers (18:06):

Yeah, our booth wasn't manned as well as it should have been most of the time because I was off wandering around. There's a whole bunch of people that I needed to meet at this time,

CJ Strattle (18:14):

And so

Scott Meyers (18:14):

I left it to the folks that came with me. But that was good.

CJ Strattle (18:19):

It was good. Yeah, I actually even said we were understaffed. I haven't ever felt like that at storage because I have great, my team, I'm building out a great team and everybody knows everybody at my team, so I have to bring 'em all when I have a show between Jim Ferguson, Stacy, and Sherry. So I was like, I probably need about four more people here at least. Well

Scott Meyers (18:42):

That's good.

Sherry Miller (18:43):

Very busy.

Scott Meyers (18:44):

That's good.

Sherry Miller (18:44):

It was very busy. I mean, our first entire day, our booth was people deep. It was crazy. We have a big truck in our booth, so it's kind of hard to miss us.

Scott Meyers (18:57):

Yeah, so I always talk with Terry Lonza, director of ISS, and just ask her, okay, first of all, compliment her on once again pulling off that is just a massive undertaking that show each and every year, even though they have a checklist and processes, I mean you guys know what that involves, but I always ask about numbers and she said, well, I can't share numbers. I said, I know, but I'm going to ask every year anyways. And she said, well, we're about level with if not a touch over 2019. So before COVID, I said, that's good. I said, it felt like, it seemed like there's a lot more this time. And I said, and then I asked her the same question. I said, give me your overall take on the attendee here. What is the avatar of the attendee? She said, I think the non doers are staying home.

(19:44):

The tire kickers and the folks that are thinking about the industry are just coming here to look at it. The folks that are here are the ones that are doing that are moving forward. And so that's the reason probably why your booth was full. Instead of people just going by and seeing what's in your candy bowl, they're engaging and wanting to take things to the next level, or they're gaining information with the intention of taking action shortly thereafter. And that's what we found in our booth as well. I mean, we're promoting our education, which also includes our mastermind, our high-end mastermind, where folks are doing, and we got probably more requests for information or just discussions about our people getting involved with our mastermind because now there's so much information and there's so many vendors in the tech stack and so many management companies and so many options that you can take that I think people want to have a group or a Sherpa to drag 'em up the hill and tell 'em, this is the best vendor here, this is the best way of going about this.

(20:39):

And so we noticed that there was a lot of conversations around our mastermind and then also the private equity side, which is what we promote as well, where people can invest in our syndications. And a lot of, I'm surprised, a lot of passive investors. So folks that were looking to get into the industry, but not by way of active, they're looking to invest in joint ventures, partnerships or with somebody else, whether they were looking to initiate that or just tag on to somebody else. So I thought that was a little bit new this year as well. We were a successful show, but you're right, it was different flavor with the folks that were there in the mix, if you will. Alright, let's shift gears and talk about, I also we're always assessing the industry and doing our best to skate to where the puck is going and finding different opportunities from an investment standpoint or even just to keep an eye out on trends and anything else that we need to be on the forefront of.

(21:32):

And again, this is not a very dynamic industry. It's pretty static for the most part, but every once in a while there's some things that are going to be game changers for us. So anything that came to mind either from the show or just from this year that as a company or as individuals in your own role within your organization that you're saying, Hey, here's something we really need to keep an eye on and here's something that we're moving forward, or here's a great opportunity for us. And you can't give a blanket answer of just saying, yeah, AI, because everybody says ai. That's permeating everything. But is there anything recently that you've come across that you're really seeing as an opportunity that on the move is taking advantage of or surging forward with?

CJ Strattle (22:13):

Well, the most difficult thing for every trade show for me is definitely getting dressed. So I will say AI helped me for the veil. I don't know quite how to dress for veil. So I did ask chat GBT to give me some outfits and the links to it. So I don't know if that's more personal than I'm using it for. But yeah, I mean we definitely have seen the different, I think just the people's interest and security and protecting their facilities. We start building the seventies. These facilities are getting older and different materials, different gates, different locks. The locks that I thought were great, there's way better ones now. So it was just interesting that way.

Sherry Miller (22:59):

Staying engaged in technology and being able to best accommodate the customer and make it as easy for them as possible is what our goal is.

CJ Strattle (23:07):

Yeah, the user experience is what really, I mean we changed that. I created the software for the manager to use because they're the ones at the desk and I created that way and it's like, okay, the managers might not be there so if they want to book a truck, I need to create a software where the renter can just do it online and not take the manager out of the equation. So user experience, I think we all have seen that. I mean, I book everything. I've met my husband on an app, so I mean I book, if I can't find it quick on my phone, I don't want it. So that's kind of where the tech, I'm just keeping up with it, which is something, I mean we, I'm trying to think of, I don't even think I had email when I was a manager. I don't remember using email at all.

Scott Meyers (23:58):

Yeah. Well first of all, the security piece, you're right. I think we need to beef that up and that is a competitive piece that it's no longer an advantage, it's just a must. You have to have it. And that is evolving as well. And again, as I say, not to continue to just talk about AI for sake of ai, but what we're seeing with advancements in security, utilizing ai that's tying into our systems using the existing system, but new cameras that are detecting thermal and movement and just doing different things within the site, it really is. And then alerting the right person for whatever that breach is within the security system. It's getting fairly advanced and that's great. I've always been surprised by a group of entrepreneurs that went out and started a business, a self-storage business, how much everybody gravitates towards the attorney's sessions where they go in there and they talk about all the pitfalls and the bad things that can happen and the session's on security because everybody's worried about having their facilities secure. And so I get it, I understand that. And I guess maybe I'm more focused on growing and acquiring and developing and building more, but there seems to be, I agree, the same thing. There just seems to be a resurgence in people wanting to just make sure that their tech stack, including security is up to speed and making sure that they buttoned everything up and their older facilities to get 'em up to speed.

CJ Strattle (25:20):

Well, I know our facility, our big security was my aunt was the manager, and she lived there in the apartment upstairs, so she was definitely her dog and her, they had it head it down. And it's amazing that you can, there's somebody that's watching the cameras right now and they can just be like, Hey, get out of there. And some really cool stuff. And I just remember here in Texas, we had a shotgun under the desk and that was my big security. I was the daughter, so that had to be protected.

(25:56):

But, and I have really seen, we also have an insurance agency, which, and we've had it since 2012, and we've seen such a huge change in our claims because of the ability that people have now is definitely changed. The break in claims and security claims are getting more under control, which is good for us. And hopefully if there isn't any more crazy storms, which there always are going to be these crazy, just abnormal things that we've been seeing with storms and stuff, I think, and fires and that kind of thing, I think we'll see a better, I don't want to promise that we probably won't see better rates with insurance. They won't go back down, I don't think. But

Scott Meyers (26:39):

We usually don't,

CJ Strattle (26:42):

Once they're high, they say high.

Sherry Miller (26:44):

Well, if you can invest your money in security rather than claims, that's a better way to go.

Scott Meyers (26:51):

Yeah, that's a little less costly for sure. Our company and many that we've talked to are pretty much projecting with the economy interest rates being flat, as you said, CJ, it's easy to budget for things now. So people are once again moving in the economy because we don't have a runup of interest rates and inflation for building materials. And so we are surging forward as long as we know the rules of the game, just tell me what the cost is of the pieces, parts on the front end, and we know how to make the sausage afterwards as long as things aren't going up and down. And so we are surging ahead and this is usually the time when fortunes are created, which is when there's a slowdown and people are running out of the market or just sitting on the sidelines. That being said, our existing stores, existing operations, everything is kind of steady as she goes. Rental rates we see are starting to creep up a little bit, but what are you seeing in terms of what kind of goals have you set, Sherry, putting you on the spot since you're new here, the budget for the year and goals. Are you flat as an organization or on the sales side of the organization for you and your folks that are underneath you? Are you seeing projecting an uptick? Where do you see for your business going forward, which is probably going to be a little bit telling for the entire industry.

Sherry Miller (28:08):

Yeah. Oh, we're going to have the best year. There's no doubt in my mind that we're moving up. Zero doubt in my mind. There's a big need for what we have and being able to get in front as many people as we can to get them to understand that our solution is so beneficial to them, we're only going to go up. Zero doubt.

Scott Meyers (28:30):

All right. CJ, you buy that as well coming from your sales manager?

CJ Strattle (28:35):

Oh yes, I definitely do because I've seen it and I see our numbers. We've already reached our goal for the year basically, so we're really seeing an uptick. But I think one of the biggest objections that I hear for our product is, well, I'm in the business of running units out, not trucks. So I think I hear that. And then especially now, I don't want to have any ancillary products at all because I just want to do it remote and not having a manager there is so much better and less expensive and stuff. And so I hear that and it, it's just so interesting to see the divide, how different people, the people, how we all value user experience. It just depends on, and we're all different. We're different generations and we have quite a bit of different people, but I like convenience and so I want to do everything on the phone, but I still, I don't know what, I've only been doing storage my whole life, but I have no idea how many storage units I would need to if I was moving right now. I know he thought we needed a five by 15 for our last move, but that was incorrect.

Sherry Miller (29:48):

He doesn't need storage as well as we,

CJ Strattle (29:50):

But I think that's a nice thing. I like to call somebody and just be like, Hey, what do you recommend? And be able to be guided like, okay, well what are you storing? I'm just storing books. Okay, well maybe you don't need it air condition or climate controlled. So just having that guidance and being there for customers and providing them, oh, okay, great. I have a lock. I've got boxes, I've got a truck for you. And doing that. So I think I've heard a lot more people talking about going back to the old ways. Even some of the larger companies that, some of the REITs, I've talked to some people at the REITs and they're like, oh, we are looking back at trucks somewhat, which they were like, no, bottom dollar, we're getting rid of this. We're doing this. But there's some old school things that are kind of come back, just like the pants that have the bell bottoms, the bell bottoms. So we see coat things come back and trends come back, and we don't have that many different things to do with storage. We can only create so many revenue streams.

Scott Meyers (30:51):

Right, right.

Sherry Miller (30:52):

Well, a nice thing about our product too is we do have a net zero option. So if finance seems to be an issue, we can rent spaces on the back of the truck. So you can literally have a lease for $0 a month. So the financial part for me, when it comes to sales, if you get people to understand how they can use the truck and think outside of the box a little bit, primarily stayed on the back of the truck, right? You're stopped at a stop sign, you're part of the community, you sell ad space, 200 bucks a month, whatever that looks like, it pays for your lease. It's almost a non-issue. So to me, yeah, so when you get people to see and understand that, it's a no-brainer.

Scott Meyers (31:38):

Well, lastly, as we wind down, what would you say to both of you, what would you say is the greatest threat to our industry right now? If there is one that you see in the horizon?

CJ Strattle (31:48):

That's a tough one. I can't think of any huge threats. I think we are pretty sustainable interest. I think the biggest thing is just having too much, I guess, and people seeing how great people are doing. I always say the demand in supply and demand I guess would be the correct term for that, but I think I always say, you didn't see, I've never driven by a storage facility that said, going out of business, come pick up your stuff or anything. There's always somebody willing to invest in making that facility better. So I think we always talk about it our three or forties, and there's always going to be divorce, death, and I think we saw that through COVID. I mean, our customers or our storage operators, they thrive during COVID. And so I just think we're pretty sustainable and either the rates are going to fluctuate the most just by supply and demand.

Sherry Miller (32:44):

She kind of took my answer. I think there is an influx, as we know in the self-storage industry, they're popping up everywhere because it is a need. And I would say just having the competition so close is probably the toughest part of this business. Our competitors tend to drive our rates that is stabilizing a little bit more. They are going back up, so that helps a lot. I know the past couple years, the REITs have kind of dictated what we've done because they gave crazy specials to move in. I see that fading a little bit and allowing the owners and operators to sell their value rather than their competitors rates.

Scott Meyers (33:36):

Well, I would agree as well. There doesn't seem to be a lot. We are in a pretty good space right now where certainly we could use a little more activity in the marketplace with interest rate if interest rates were to come down a little bit. But we're also seeing an uptick in movement in the housing side as well. So I think we're going to see a little bit of absorption. But yeah, as long as the Cowboys don't assume that it is the wild, wild west and continue to build, then I think we're still in pretty good shape. But that this is also market specific and really literally within the market of five square miles or a radius of five miles roughly. So long as everybody's behaving well, most of us in the industry shouldn't be affected by that too much.

CJ Strattle (34:19):

Yeah, I just know our local community is called Bernie, Texas, and when I moved here in 1995, we were population 5,000. And now here in 2025, we're population 25,000. And we haven't really had, we've been mostly independent operators out here. We had nine storage facilities out here that just when we were at 5,000 people. And so it was crazy. A REIT just bought several of the facilities out here and then one just built ground up. And I was just like, it's just crazy. I know San Antonio is experiencing quite a bit of growth, but I think everybody is, but we don't have attics here, so we have to have storage.

Scott Meyers (34:58):

Well, Sherry and CJ, so good to catch up once again. And so good to have you on the podcast if you would. What is the best place for people to find out a little bit more about your services and offerings?

Sherry Miller (35:10):

I would say go online or go to any of the SSA shows ISS. We're going to be there. We're the ones with the big truck in the booth, easy to find, easy to find. But on the move trucks.com is our website.

CJ Strattle (35:23):

We're heading to Texas Executive Self Storage Association. I know Stacy's been asked us speaking about three other shows going on lately. I can't think of 'em all right now. So I know definitely we're out and about. We're on the move.

Scott Meyers (35:38):

Fantastic. Yep, you are on the move. I know it sounds cliche to you, but yeah, it works. Alright, well ladies, thank you so much for your time once again, it was so good to catch up and to learn a little little bit more about how you are approaching in the market right now and what's happening with on the move. So until next time, thanks again, gang. We'll see you soon.

CJ Strattle (35:58):

Thank you.

Sherry Miller (35:59):

Always good to talk to you Scott. Thanks for having us.

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