Episode 71: Investing in Self Storage Units with Scott Lewis

Published: Jan. 19, 2021, 7 a.m.

<p>In this episode I interview Scott Lewis. Scott is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spartan Investment Group, LLC (SIG) and has led several successful real estate projects ranging from single family flips to ground up development of self-storage. To date SIG has operates over 4000 storage units, 200 RV pads, has completed $11M in development projects, has $97M more underway, and raised over $25M in private equity. </p> <p>As the Chief Executive Officer, Scott is responsible for developing business strategies and plans ensuring their alignment with short-term and long-term objectives. In addition to Spartan, Scott is also in the US Army Reserves and is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. Scott graduated from Michigan State University with degrees in Chemistry and Marketing, from Catholic University with a MS in Management, and from Georgetown University with a Certificate in Project Management.</p> <p>In his free time, Scott enjoys spending time with his wife, Lindsay, mountain biking, skiing, and chasing their Jack Russell Terriers around the yard. </p> <h1>In this episode we discuss:</h1> <ul> <li>Starting a company so that he has an awesome place to work at [4:05]</li> <li>Serving in the army [5:42]</li> <li>How flipping houses help start Spartan [7:22]</li> <li>Decision making concept from the army that can be applied in business [9:00]</li> <li>How he got the funds for starting Spartan Investmentment Group and syndication [12:32]</li> <li>How they approached looking for deals to invest in and what is their criteria for the deals [14:46]</li> <li>How they decide how many storage units they build in an area [19:11]</li> <li>Process and systems for managing their construction projects [20:57]</li> <li>Challenges in building storage units in different areas and advice for people investing outside their areas [21:50]</li> <li>Effects of COVID-19 on their business [23:21]</li> <li>How long does it take to lease units from construction and jurisdiction restrictions [25:14]</li> <li>Getting investors for deals and how to treat your investors [28:29]</li> <li>Importance of having someone handle communications to investors [32:47]</li> <li>Best ways to contact them if you’re interested in investing [34:59]</li> </ul> <h1>Links to sources and tools</h1> <ul> <li>Follow Scott Lewis and Spartan on social media:</li> <li>Personal LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-j-lewis-aa616027/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-j-lewis-aa616027/</a></li> <li>Company LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/17927834/admin/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/17927834/admin/</a></li> <li>Facebook Page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/spartaninvestmentgroup" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/spartaninvestmentgroup</a></li> <li>Visit <a href="https://spartan-investors.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://spartan-investors.com/</a> to learn more about hope you can invest with them</li> </ul> <p>Listen to more episodes here: <a href="https://passthesecretsauce.com/category/real-estate/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://passthesecretsauce.com/category/real-estate/</a></p> <p>Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/passthesecretsauce" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/passthesecretsauce</a> to get updates on new episodes. If you haven’t already, please follow and leave a review for our podcast, we’ll really appreciate it. And as always, don’t forget to pass the secret sauce.</p> <h1>Support our podcast</h1> <p>If you’re a fan of the show, there are three simple things you can do to support our work: </p> <ol> <li>Subscribe, rate and review: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pass-the-secr...