“After forty years, I still get jazzed up about this industry!” raves Dianne Tanna, co-owner of TNT Self Storage Management.

“The self-storage industry changed my life by allowing me to be financially independent,” explains Dianne. “It allowed me to devote as much time as I wanted, when I wanted, to work. It allowed me to stay home and raise my children. It allowed me to have no two days alike in a row—ever. It allowed me to work with managers and staff on-site, and I find that very rewarding.”

After emigrating from Canada in 1974, Dianne went to work for a company owned by celebrity Art Linkletter and built some of the very first self-storage in California. An accountant by trade with a family background in real estate, Dianne “bugged and bugged” Linkletter to let her work in the self-storage division. Soon she was running both the accounting and self-storage departments.

Dianne directs property management for self-storage companies across the United States. “I like working with the managers the best: setting goals and getting them excited. I like setting up systems and working on areas that can be optimized for efficiency. I especially like working with clients who share the same enthusiasm I do for the self-storage industry,” she says.

As expected, there are very few things about the self-storage industry Dianne doesn’t like. In fact, the only scenario she could think of are the difficult situations when tenants haven’t paid their rent.

Dianne’s advice for those considering a career in self-storage property management comes from personal experience. “My son is getting into the business now, and basically, he started from the ground up as a maintenance person.” Dianne advises getting into self-storage at the site level when doing property management, “to see if the self-storage business really turns you on. Don’t be afraid to spend a year doing that—living and learning—and look to advance from there.”

When asked to describe her vision for her future, Dianne is quick to share that she is already living her dream. “I already don’t work as many hours per week as I did when I started because we have so many outstanding team members. I don’t see myself retiring ever, I will always be doing this,” she concludes.