The California Gold Rush of 1848 all began in January of that year when James Wilson Marshall found some pieces of glinting metal at a lumber mill where he works along the length of the American River. It was published in a newspaper; but it wasnt until Sam Brennan, a shopkeeper, showed a bottle of gold dust as evidence in May that people started dashing for the then Mexican non-state.

California became an official state of the United States because of this and San Francisco became a profit center, with the inhabitants growing to 100,000 within the span of a year. But it was said that it was really the shopkeepers and the merchants who profited from it and not the miners. This is partly right, as those who are providing shovels and other tools, as well as those offering rooms and food were the ones who benefited a great deal than many of the miners. But what really happened was that the earliest miners to go there were the ones who struck rich.

But no, unfortunately, Marshall was not one of them. And why, it was him who discovered the gold flakes, wasnt it? It was simply because he did not see the value of what was right in front of him and decided to focus on finishing his sawmill while he permitted his workers to dig gold for themselves.

There are two lessons that can be learned from this story. One is that it really is true that the early bird gets the worm. And two, know the value of what is right before you and dont pass it by because it might actually be the goldmine youre looking for! With these two lessons in mind, let me now tell you how you can apply them.

Self storage investment is analogous to the California Gold Rush. How so? Because even now that the economy is really bad, the demand for self storage units continues to increase! Ask yourselves these questions: What do people do when the economy is good and what do they do when its bad? When things are doing great, Americans go about their favorite pastime: shopping! And when the economy is bad, we either sell off our extra stuff or move to a smaller place. So what happens to all the extra stuff that has been bought and those that have sentimental value? They go into storage! This is why self storage is virtually recession-proof!

Added to this is the fact that it has low development and operating costs! You dont even have to hire manpower regularlyjust some weekly cleaning crew to make the surroundings presentable and an automated kiosk that can accept tenants and payments just like an ATM machine! Theres more! Banks love self storage because it has the lowest bank loan rate failure at only 8%! And the clincher is that the industry is still not tight with competition. Yes, few people have taken advantage of the goldmine that is self storage investment!