To: Miss Jennie Enger

From: Scott R. Houle SRH

RE: Unit 4 Project Proposal: Business Plan: Self Storage in Forest Lake, MN

Date: 21 October 2010

The project I have selected for my individual project associated with Unit 4 will be to
determine all of the costs to create a self storage business in Forest Lake, MN. Along
with determining the costs I will also find some basic legal regulations that must be
followed. Preparing this information will aid me in one of my business plans after I
graduate college. In Forest Lake, MN there is a demand for storage because many
residents in that area snowmobile, ride 4-wheeler, jet-ski, fish, etc, and do not have
enough room for all of the equipment required for their weekend activities. Please find
hereafter a brief description of the situation addressed by my project and the objectives,
methodology, timeline, and intended benefits of the project I am proposing.

Situation:
As stated in the introduction many people in the Forest Lake area are in need of
storage for all of their extracurricular activities. Unfortunately because of our economic
recession no one has yet created an affordable storage facility in that area. This is why I
want to start up a secure and affordable self storage business. This business would not
only allow people to store all of their extra stuff but do it at an affordable price.

Project Summary:
I will determine how much it would cost to start a self storage business from the ground
up in the Forest Lake, MN area. Determining the cost of a few acres of land, concrete,
the storage facility itself, gated security, and security cameras will be concluded by my
research. Along with determining costs I will find out some of the zoning and legal
regulations that would apply to this business. I will prepare a business plan that will
focus on all of the start-up costs and legal regulations to making this business possible.
The writing itself will be anywhere from 10-16 pages depending on the amount of
information found and the number of visual representations used.
Details: Writing
The writing for my business plan is obvious and will be extensive on the costs and basic
regulations to make a business like this possible. The evaluation of writing will concern
itself to the proper format of a business plan, understandability, and if the writing is
grammatically correct.

Details: Visual or Technological Components

The visual aspects will include graphs, diagrams, and possibly photographs to aid in the
understanding of my business plan. The visuals should aid in the understanding of the
material while being in the appropriate section and appealing to the reader.

Objectives:
Learning Objectives:
I have researched about many business plans but never in great detail. Therefore, my
learning objectives for this project are as follows:

 I will learn what the market is in the Forest Lake, MN area for pieces of land that
are in a good location to operate a business of this caliber.
 I will learn through research about the costs of cement, the building itself,
security gates, and security cameras.
 I will learn many of the universal regulations that apply to this type of business.

Practical Objectives:
 I will become more educated in entrepreneurship through the research of starting
my own self storage business.
 I will get a better understanding of all the self storage start-up costs that come
with owning your own business.
 I will learn through this project some very important sources of information about
being an entrepreneur.
 I will be able to express my interest in owning my own business in a professional
way that others could utilize.
 I will understand many of the regulations that apply to developing a self storage
business so I will not have to do a vast amount of research when the time comes
for me to start this business in real life.
Methodology:
As a future business owner, I intend on using my interest of entrepreneurship to aid me
in the process of creating an accurate and well designed business plan. This business
plan will aid me after I graduate from NDSU and will most likely be my first business
endeavor. I will use the following steps and methods to achieve this goal:

1. I will first complete my reading list and research more about the business and
start-up costs associated with it. Along with the start-up costs I will learn about
the basic regulations for a self storage business.
2. I will determine the proper business plan format by researching them and viewing
multiple examples.
3. I will then find and or create visuals that will aid the presentation and
understandability of my work.
4. I will write up and put all of the information into the business plan format and
complete the works cited page.
5. I will then proofread my business plan and make it ready for submission.
Timeline:
The following timeline table outlines the anticipated chronology of the steps necessary
to incorporate the previously mentioned methodology.

TASKS STAGES NOTES

1 2 3 4 5Used to check
10/25 11/1 11/11 11/18 11/30 progress of tasks.
- - - - -
10/31 11/10 11/17 11/29 12/3

1. Complete reading list and

internet research. *
2. Determine how to organize
information within the business
plan.
* *
3. Find or create visuals that will aid
the business plan and project.
Receive input from Miss Enger on * *
my report. 11/12.

4. Write and put all information

together in business plan format
and complete works cited. Hand in
progress report on 11/24. Meet with * *
Miss Enger on 11/29 to receive
feedback on report.

5. Proofread to make sure there are

no grammatical errors and follows
business plan format. Hand in * *
project on 12/3.
Evaluation:
Miss Enger will evaluate me on the following grading rubric. I will evaluate myself by
how much I can learn about a given community’s economy since that is a very important
part to determining where and when to open up a new business.

Grading Rubric
Item Max Score Comments
Points
Report is easy to understand and 25
flows well.

Report is well organized

20

Visual aspects are uniform and

appealing 15

Formal business plan layout –

summarizing main costs and 15
regulations

Content of business plan –

includes all necessities of a
business plan such as Executive
Summary, Table of Contents, List 15
of Figures, Market Analysis,
Cost Analysis, and Legal
Regulations, Conclusion

Proofread: Correct spelling and

grammar 10
 Total Score
100

Reading References
Beach, Emily. "How to Estimate the Cost of a Concrete Slab." eHow. eHow, Inc., 2010.
Web. 21 Oct 2010.
This website gives a basic formula to determine how much a slab of concrete will
cost to be installed.

Contributor, eHow. "How to Start a Self Storage Business." eHow. eHow, Inc., 2000.
Web. 21 Oct 2010.
This website gives the basic steps to start a self storage business and has
links to other websites for more information.

"Industrial Gate Operators." Commercial Gates and Controls. Commercial Gates and
Controls, Inc., 2010.Web. 21 Oct 2010.
An online business website that states prices of multiple types of gates and for
which applications they work best.

Isidro, Isabel. "PowerHomeBiz." How To Start a Self-Storage Business.

PowerHomeBiz.com, n.d.Web. 21 Oct 2010.
This website gives a checklist of things that should be looked into before starting
up a self storage business and a checklist of items that need to be done along
the way.

"Mini Storage Buildings." Olympia Steel Buildings. King David Interactive Corp., 2009.
Web. 21 Oct 2010.
An online business website that gives quotes for certain layouts of mini storage
buildings.

"Programs and Services to Help You Start, Grow, and Succeed ." SBA. N.p., n.d. Web.
21 Oct 2010.
A government website that has the basic format for a business plan. The site
also has suggestions of what should and shouldn’t be included in the business
plan.

"Realtor." Official Site of National Association of Realtors. National Association of

Realtor, 21 Oct 2010.Web. 21 Oct 2010.
 A website that allows you to view real estate and land that is for sale all around
the U.S.

"Security Cameras and DVRs." Security Camera World.com. security

CamerasWorld.com, 2010. Web. 21 Oct 2010.
An online business website that not only sells security camera systems
but explains which ones will work best for the business you are in.