Make Space: It’s All About Service

Would you spend your hard-earned money on a bunch of empty space? At face value, it’s a ridiculous question. But, if you’ve got more stuff than you have room for (and many of us do), you might be doing just that by renting a storage locker. Yes, there’s the benefit of having your belongings secure and out from under foot, but it’s still a pain to pay a monthly fee for a product that otherwise amounts to a lot of nothing.

The concept is even more burdensome when you consider the process of self-storage. There’s the hassle of lugging your stuff to the facility, unloading it, resisting the urge to shove it in haphazardly, consequently forgetting what’s there and dreading the prospect of schlepping over to get whatever it is out. In the past, this was about the only option, short of becoming a minimalist. But someone has come up with a better way….

Enter MakeSpace. Their mission is to use computerization to help take the pain (and the “self”) out of traditional self-storage. With just a few clicks of the mouse, MakeSpace delivers bins or boxes to your home. Once you pack the bins with your belongings, MakeSpace picks them up and creates a photo catalog of each box. This inventory is then stored online, so you can easily see what you’ve got. Then, with a few clicks, you can request to have specific items delivered to you anytime you need them.

I found this new business model compelling for a number of reasons. First, it begs the question  “Why hasn’t someone come up with this before?” This inquiry indicates there are probably a lot of good, yet-to-be unmanifested ideas floating around in the stratosphere that are ripe for the picking. Use your imagination! Secondly, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, the concept demonstrates how identifying, then filling a need, can be the launching pad for a brilliant new business. Last but not least, it got me thinking about how all of us—whether we’re providing a product or a service—can find ways to emphasize service to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. And, using technology need not depersonalize the process. Used strategically, it can bring us closer to our customers and clients.

If someone can take a product, basically a lot of thin air, then turn it into a compelling new model based on service, just think what you might discover to transform your product- or service-oriented business into a revolution. MakeSpace has not simply presented us with an answer to what to do with our stuff, it also encourages us to Make Space—no matter what we are currently providing—for more and yet more service.