The Aussie small business is the unsung hero of our economy. The governments know it and we know it too in this post-commodity boom. We can't rely on China buying our mineral exports to survive and grow as a nation. As all successful small business owners realise, expansion into a new area of activity brings with it the risk of over capitalisation - except maybe if you know about storage units.

So how do you grow a small business without drowning your business in debt?

One of the main needs when expanding is extra space. This can be for materials or for storing extra product. Maybe you just need short-term space. So why not test out the strength of the market using the flexibility of gaining some extra space through mini storage units?

Another obvious application is for seasonal businesses where perhaps as a food outlet you bring in soup-making equipment in winter and ice cream making equipment summer! Or maybe you're a retailer who needs to store winter gear in summer and summer products in winter but you don't want to buy a shop big enough for both. Just hibernate what you don't need in one of your storage units.

Market stall holders face the unique challenge of having to store their shops for weekend or special event markets. If this is you, why not use mini storage units to organise and store the products and stall equipment that you really only need to access at the end of the week before market time. You could even park a whole stocked trailer in there if you need to be ready to roll at a moment's notice!

Another idea as a business owner is to order in larger quantities so you can make use of quantity price breaks. Again, you may not have space to store this much in your current premises, but the discount you get back might be too good to pass up, if all it takes is opening up some extra storage units.

As an entrepreneur you may have an innovation or new project or new product range you want to try. Again, self storage will probably be one of the biggest challenges. Mini storage can be a very real key to success as you navigate towards making your dream a reality.

Expanding your business can also result from buying a competitor. If they're in the same game as you are, maybe you can't supply the market on your own and you need to incorporate some of your newly acquired equipment and/or stocks and spares rather than just offload them in a fire sale. But how can you be sure what you need? A storage unit allows you to park the newly acquired equipment and stock. Once you've been operating for a while, you will have had a chance to swap in or out the necessary items and make alterations as necessary.

Manage, grow your business and innovate, the mini storage unit way!