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How Moving Company Owners Can Use Storage to Build Slow Season Revenue

Many moving company owners depend too much on one thing: booked moving jobs during the busy season. When the market slows down, cash gets tight fast.

In a conversation with Joseph Stanio of Strong Mile Movers in New Jersey, one clear lesson stood out: a moving business needs more than trucks, crews, and daily moves. It needs cash protection, steady revenue streams, and a plan for what happens when demand changes.

What Is the Main Lesson for Moving Company Owners?

The main lesson is simple: do not build your moving company like every season will be busy.

Joseph talked about looking for different financial streams inside the moving industry. His long-term focus is storage, including portable storage containers and possibly self-storage. The goal is to create income that can support the business when regular moving leads slow down.

Why Should a Moving Company Consider Storage?

Storage fits naturally with moving. Movers are already inside homes, apartments, offices, and self-storage facilities. Customers often need a place to put their items before, during, or after a move.

Joseph pointed out that self-storage can be attractive because many customers keep units for long periods. He also noted that storage facilities can have many units under one operation, with surveillance and limited day-to-day maintenance compared with other real estate models.

Storage Options to Review

• Portable storage containers: Joseph recently launched this side of his business.
• Self-storage facility ownership: His long-term goal is to explore this model.
• Warehouse storage: A moving company with warehouse space may create another income stream.
• Military-approved storage: The podcast discussed this as a possible way to generate storage income during the slow season.

How Can Military Storage Help Fill the Winter Gap?

The podcast discussed military-approved warehouses as one possible opportunity for movers with storage space. Military moving work is often seasonal, and storage may help create income outside the normal rush.

The suggestion was to look into local military bases or subcontractors that handle military moving and storage work. Cartwright was mentioned as one company that some movers have worked with in this space.

Military Storage Research Checklist

• Find out if there is a military base near your service area.
• Research what it takes for a warehouse to become military approved.
• Identify subcontractors that handle military moving and storage work.
• Ask what storage standards, insurance, and licensing are required.
• Decide if the opportunity fits your current warehouse, staff, and cash position.

What Mistakes Should Moving Companies Avoid When the Market Gets Hot?

The podcast covered a major warning from the COVID-era moving boom: many new movers believed high demand would continue. Some bought trucks, took loans, and expanded based on a market that did not last.

Experienced movers treated that period as temporary. They made money, but they also put cash aside for the slow season.

5 Expansion Mistakes to Avoid

• 1. Assuming one strong season means permanent growth.
• 2. Buying trucks before you have steady demand.
• 3. Taking on debt without a slow-season plan.
• 4. Spending all busy-season profit instead of building a cushion.
• 5. Entering new services without understanding the operational requirements.

How Do You Know If Your Moving Business Is Too Dependent on Summer?

If your company only feels healthy during peak season, you may not have a stable business model yet. A moving company owner should know what happens if moving estimates slow down, moving sales drop, or moving leads become more expensive.

Quick Scorecard

• Cash reserve: Do you save busy-season profit for slow months?
• Revenue mix: Do you have income outside one-time moving jobs?
• Service range: Do you offer local moving, long distance moving, residential, commercial, or storage where appropriate?
• Market awareness: Do you plan for demand changes before they happen?
• Growth discipline: Do you avoid buying equipment just because one season is strong?

Quick Win: Review One Storage Opportunity Today

Set a 30-minute timer and review one storage path for your moving company.

• Look at your current customers and ask: how many need temporary storage?
• Check whether your warehouse could support storage safely and legally.
• List nearby self-storage facilities you already visit during moves.
• Research one military storage contact or subcontractor in your area.
• Write down one question you need answered before moving forward.

How to Apply This This Week

• 1. Review your last busy season. Identify how much profit was saved and how much was spent.
• 2. Map your current revenue streams. Separate local moving, long distance moving, commercial moving, packing, and storage-related income.
• 3. Choose one storage idea to research. Pick portable storage, warehouse storage, self-storage, or military-approved storage.
• 4. Talk to one person already in that lane. Contact a facility owner, subcontractor, or mover with storage experience.
• 5. Create a slow-season cash rule. Decide how much busy-season profit must stay in the business before you expand.

To hear the full conversation with Joseph Stanio of Strong Mile Movers, watch the original video Episode 129 - Let’s Talk Moving - Strongmile Movers and visit the Let's Talk Moving Podcast YouTube channel.