PHOTO PROVIDED A view of My Self Storage Place on Route 15 in South Williamsport, as seen on the company’s website.

My Self Storage Place, 50 U.S. 15, South Williamsport, may seem like an ordinary storage facility at first glance, but owner and operator Sara Cowie brings a wealth of knowledge and ambition to those renting space from her.

“My dad has been doing storage since 1985 with his business partner, Robert McIntosh, and they’re my business partners,” said Cowie, who purchased her first self-run facility six and a half years ago.

Peter Cowie and partner McIntosh, now in their 70’s, originally moved to Florida from Canada for a summer job, but ended up getting into the storage business and never looked back.

“They’ve just been serial entrepreneurs their whole lives, and they love it,” Cowie said.

Though Cowie always had an interest in joining the family business, her father insisted she create something explicitly for herself.

“He said ‘I don’t want you to work for me. I’ll mentor you and help you, but it needs to be your own,” she explained.

“I fully drive all the decision making, but I’ve had a lot of guidance from their team in terms of managing it, making improvements, and providing the best tenant experience possible,” Cowie said.

“I had corporate jobs, and always looked up to my dad being an entrepreneur, and I really wanted to have my own business. I love it, and it’s been a great fit for me,” she said.

For Cowie, the decision to start out on her own with My Self Storage Place came down to location, location, location.

“A lot of people drive by there every day and don’t even realize it’s a storage facility because they’re so focused on making that turn around the road,” she said.

“I saw a lot of management opportunity and opportunities for improvements,” Cowie said, adding that running a self storage facility is a lot more work than many people would think.

“It’s actually a lot more hands on than people think. We want to be the best maintained and cleanest facility in the area, and provide the best customer service,” Cowie said.

“It’s an interesting job because the property manager isn’t in the office all day. They’re maintaining the facility, signing leases with new customers and collecting payments. There’s a sales element, but they’re also probably outside 70% of the day, working around the property, including shoveling snow in the colder months,” she explained.

Among the improvements Cowie has made are the installation of an electronic gate, extensive milling and asphalt work and new signage.

Unlike many self storage facilities, where the renter goes through the steps of setting up the rental on their own, Cowie’s facility strives to offer a more personalized experience.

“A lot of times when people are in need of a storage unit, they’re going through a stressful time, they’re moving, a loved one died, they’re getting divorced, and I think a lot of people take comfort in knowing that someone’s at our facility six days a week, overseeing the property for safety and security reasons.

And our manager has built a lot of relationships with tenants that come in and have a cup of coffee,” she said.

Office hours for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays, however a call center is available outside of those hours should someone need to ask a specific question about a unit.

For those who prefer the digital route, Cowie said a number of their renters have set up rentals online.

Leases at the facility are on a month-to-month basis, with access hours running from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. 365 days of the year, Cowie said.

“Each person is given their own unique password to go into the facility, and they just type that on a keypad to get into their unit,” she said.

For legal purposes, all renters are responsible for putting their own locks on their respective units.

“We don’t hold the keys or codes for anyone’s unit,” Cowie said, adding that their efforts have been well received.

“We’ve seen a lot of people comment on how well maintained the property is, and they appreciate the changes. We get a lot of really strong Google reviews about how helpful the manager is, so I can definitely tell that the manager is making an impact on their experience,” she said.

“The number one thing too at the end of the day is that we want people to choose us because they had a great experience interacting with us, and they feel like they’re safe here,” Cowie said.

“I want us to be a business that represents the community well because we care about the community and the people, and our facility reflects the community,” she said.