Episode 60: Dillon Leonard: What is the Secret To a Booming Business? The First Responder Who Grew His Storage Rental Business in Less Than a Year

It was great to see Dillon Leonard back on the show from episode 9 last year. In this interview, he shares what's happening with his company. After flipping cars, houses, and candy machines, he now runs a booming storage unit business. They also started renting out some of their units on Airbnb to cover some expenses, and now his wife has her own business. He is still a first responder in Kentucky and has not retired. Having been a first responder and an entrepreneur at the same time, he is an excellent example of someone who can do both.

We invite you to learn from our guest today as he shares his strategies and methods. And listen to his advice if you want to start your storage rentals and grow them as he did. 

Why do you need to listen to today’s episode?

• Discover different ways to use the space you have on your property. Make sure they all generate income for you. Then, identify the tools you could use to ease the flow of your business and which would be most appropriate for you and your team. 
• Find out what the snowball method is in real estate investing. Here is how our guest applied it to his business. 
• Learn about the different rates involved in buying a property. In terms of costs and rates, what is the difference between commercial and residential?

“So all the properties I have, are off-market properties. We have a really heavy marketing kind of turn or presence that we try to keep up. I've identified about 330 storage facilities in the state that I call every three months. It's a lot.”

-  Dillon Leonard.

Topic Covered:

1:37 - “I'm a third-generation firefighter. My grandfather and father both retired from the city of Louisville. The last time we spoke, I was around 12,000 square feet, 96 doors. I had just transitioned from multifamily into self-storage. Actually, due to a fire in one of our apartment complexes, I decided I wasn't going to own anything people could live in anymore. And that's when we made the jump. And I had some gas for one of our crews also respond to that fire. So that was a really good time. But today, we're kind of setting around that 86,000 square foot. We got another contract or property under contract.” 

In this episode, Dillon shares an update on his business since he last appeared on the show last year. A lot has improved for him and his company, which has been a giant leap forward. 

10:07 - “So her boutique, she's from the medical field, but it's more