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That's Timm ...with two m'sPosted by Timm on 18th June 2009

After nearly ten years in the storage industry, it seemed strange to ride off into the sunset taking my knowledge with me - so when speaking to Ben and the whole team here in Brisbane over a BBQ lunch (cooked perfectly by Steven, I might add), I figured I would put those years of knowledge (I am sure they are in there somewhere) to good use - by helping the team here get the good word out about StorMan.

Having worked in the industry for a while, I understand a whole world of different challenges - from starting a storage facility from scratch, swapping from one management system to another and integrating gate systems - to name just a few! Subsequently, I have learnt that no two days in storage are ever the same.

 

I first joined National Storage in 2001, and worked in Queensland as an Assistant Manager, working my way up to Centre Manager, then Regional Manager for South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and NSW ...so I can certainly say that I've earned my stripes and have had the joy of working in storage across 6 states here in Australia. In my time, I have met many great operators and could not have imagined that I would've enjoy storage as an industry as much as I have. It is still as much a joy for me talking to operators today as it was learning the ropes back in 2001.

As you can imagine after almost 10 years, I have had the fortune (or "lack of", some might say) to need to provide solutions for swarms of bee's, overdue bikie gangs, water damaged buildings, near sighted truck drivers as well as deal with crazy customers (too many to list individually) who were always right, sane customers who were always right and a large corporate head office that was always right. I certainly couldn’t say with any degree of certainty that I have seen or heard it all, but it still enjoy hearing the stories (maybe I am just a glutton for punishment) and I hope there are many more to hear.

Most importantly I understand customers; having worked in retail since the late 80’s, and I understand how important they are to any business - especially given the cost it takes to generate enquiries and how important they are to convert! Luckily, StorMan was a big part of helping me convert enquiries to sales in the past, and with the things I have seen this first week (don’t forget I am the "new" guy here), it does look like it will continue to help the industry as a whole into the future.

 

As for me personally, I grew up on the sunny Gold Coast and cut my teeth in sales with a company in Miami called Errol Stewarts (that building is now a Storage King - freaky!), then moved to every little country town in QLD / NSW with Woolworths - Emerald, Mackay, Rockhampton, Lismore, Tamworth to name but 5 from a list of 40+. My time with Woolworths took me to New Zealand where I lived in Auckland for a year and helped establish Dick Smith Electronics as a brand store in 5 locations across New Zealand, selling everything from 2 cent diodes to $10,000 computer systems. I even remember the midnight launch of Microsoft Windows 95!

From New Zealand, I then moved to the United Kingdom - mostly the Lakes district and Scotland for a few years, with time also spent in France, Turkey, Spain and even Wales (don’t judge me just yet), just doing the typical Aussie backpacker thing, while working in pubs as a chef/barman and a short stint with a brewery. After returning home to Australia, I started back with sales at Harvey Norman in QLD and continued my love for high end audio equipment by helping people build in-home cinemas. I eventually ended up in a storage facility and have not looked back since.

I am a Rotarian and Toastmaster, have MC’d a few weddings (many more stories there I can assure you all) and have also run a few successful & fun charity trivia nights at various pubs around Melbourne and Country Queensland.

 

I love all types of sport (NFL my standout favourite though) and support...

  • Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL (or anyone playing Green Bay)
  • Aston Villa in the EPL (or anyone playing Liverpool)
  • The Titans in the NRL (or anyone playing Manly)
  • The Brisbane Lions in the AFL (or anyone playing Collingwood)
  • The QLD Reds in the Super14 (don’t hate me)
  • The Roughies in the CFL (look them up if you have never heard of them)
  • The Wallabies and Aussie cricketers obviously (or anyone playing the kiwi’s)

 

I am looking forward to seeing how I can help as many of you as I can, now and into the future, and definitely looking forward to many more BBQ’s cooked by Steven (they always taste better when not cooked by yourself). Thanks again all and look forward to hearing all the stories I can handle!

 

Regards,
Timm (International Sales Representative, StorMan).