Finding Fulfillment: One Man's Shift from Convenience Store Chaos to Storage Facility Serenity - Steve Naltner - Ep 228
Mar 08, 2024
Merrill Hutchinson & Kyle Crofford
Ever wonder about the road less traveled when it comes to career paths? Steve Naltner did just that, trading the hectic life as a convenience store owner for the more serene world of storage facility management. Hear his story of personal transformation through seeking better for his family.—a story that resonates with anyone yearning for a life beyond the daily grind.
Steve is a man of God, a husband, a dad, and a community advocate. He values a high quality of life for himself as well as those he does life with. He is quick to offer a hand or provide a resource to meet someone's need.
When asked about his own upbringing and in particular, his "dad" story. Steve gives kudos to his parents and especially his father for leading the family well. As a kid he learned what it means to work and contribute to something more than yourself. He thought of his father as strict but loving. Now he sees his father as a friend and mentor. His father never had the misunderstanding of being a friend to his young children. His father recognized the responsibility of creating Strong men and dads to lead the next generation. Now, Stever has a model to provide the same for the next generation.
Check out Steve's story and feel free to stop in and see how he's doing.
Ever wonder about the road less traveled when it comes to career paths? Steve Naltner did just that, trading the hectic life as a convenience store owner for the more serene world of storage facility management. Hear his story of personal transformation through seeking better for his family.—a story that resonates with anyone yearning for a life beyond the daily grind.
Steve is a man of God, a husband, a dad, and a community advocate. He values a high quality of life for himself as well as those he does life with. He is quick to offer a hand or provide a resource to meet someone's need.
When asked about his own upbringing and in particular, his "dad" story. Steve gives kudos to his parents and especially his father for leading the family well. As a kid he learned what it means to work and contribute to something more than yourself. He thought of his father as strict but loving. Now he sees his father as a friend and mentor. His father never had the misunderstanding of being a friend to his young children. His father recognized the responsibility of creating Strong men and dads to lead the next generation. Now, Stever has a model to provide the same for the next generation.
Check out Steve's story and feel free to stop in and see how he's doing.
Because that's what we really want. This is small town USA, and we want people walking from shop to shop. That's what we're trying to build. So this is the beginning of it and it's hard and the city has planted the seeds. So you know just folks like me wanting to get involved and try to do what we can to revitalize the city, and it's exciting time, yeah.
Speaker 2:
Strong Dads wants to thank Quality Auto Mart and Service for being a proud sponsor of the Strong Dads podcast, started in 1985 and going strong for all these years. Recently, quality Auto Mart has transitioned from owners of Mark and Nancy Repke to longtime employee Fred and Lorraine Venus. For all your automotive needs and golf cart needs, check out Quality Auto Mart, located across from Indian Lakes on Highway 46 outside of Batesville, indiana. Alright, welcome to Strong Dads and I'm sitting here with Mr Steve Nalner. Steve, how you doing? Excellent. Merle, how are you Good? Good, so we are out in front of some of Steve's business workings. And, steve, you used to own this area up over here. Up behind that building was a gas station. Right, you don't own the gas station anymore. Now. Gas station, yeah, what happened there?
Speaker 3:
So I was in the business for 18 years. I had the store in Miami town, ohio. It was a VP and then we bought this one about nine years ago, but totally 18 years in the business. But I also grew up working in the convenience store business for Jeffrey, so I really had been in the business for almost 30 years, was ready to move on to some other things. So I felt like the opportunity and the timing was right. We had worked them for, you know, built the businesses up. They were both doing really well. I had my family working there and everybody had been doing it for a long time. So took advantage of the timing and sold them and got out.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah. And so now you're jumping into something totally new. Let's take a look at this. So now we've got and I want to just blow this up a little bit we got Steve's Elite Storage. What's this about?
Speaker 3:
So I've got. I was looking to do some different types of businesses with some of the funds from the sales of the shops, so I looked at actually some stuff in Harrison, ohio. There isn't a lot on the west side and there is a lot out here to purchase.
Speaker 3:
That could be revenue streams for you. So this three acres was actually for sale for some time, so I had to buy it back in April and decided to put some RV boot and really it's any type of storage that you want, but the units are big. They're big enough for us, yeah they're huge.
Speaker 3:
So you put the automatic doors. They're 14 by 14 foot on the doors. So what's really nice about these types of businesses is you know you got to build your clientele up. But once you get to a certain point you know the marketing really takes over, with the people talking about it. So if you've got a good spot and we feel like we've got a good spot we're close to the highway, the facility is brand new, it's obviously gated in and fenced in heated units, so we've got a lot of amenities we can talk about when we walk down. But if you've got the right spot, people will start selling it for you. So we're just in the beginning stages. But it's good. But it's not a lot of hands on.
Speaker 3:
So once you get to people in and you get moving, it sort of runs. I don't want to say like a computer or like a robot, but it kind of runs itself. We got a generator over here so if the power goes out that kicks on. Everything runs. It's a pin pad to get in. Everybody's got their own pin pad and then they get their own garage store opener have a lounge. It's accessible to the customers and to the members so they can.
Speaker 3:
They don't really need me to be here 99.99% of the time. So, other than coming up and checking on your business and those types of things which I do, the thing really runs itself. So, being in the convenience store business, you know those are open seven days a week for 18 hours a day. Yeah, it's not that you're physically there all the time, earl, but you know, with the phone range, you're dealing with it. If somebody doesn't show up, you're dealing with it. The last thing you want to do is shut your doors and not be open for business, because that's not going to bring in any customers so it's a lot and to do that for as long as we did, it was time to move on to some other things.
Speaker 3:
But doing stuff like this I sort of pivoted some other things we can talk about too, but this gives me more time at home with my wife and my kids and hopefully in the next couple of weeks here, when I'm wrapping up some things here, you know, go do some traveling and spend some time with the family.
Speaker 1:
So we haven't done anything.
Speaker 3:
I haven't left the St Leon area outside of maybe for sports, since I sold the shops. So I'm definitely ready to get out and relax a little bit and do some stuff with the family.
Speaker 2:
So Good, okay, I got a question for you. What's with the rock here? I mean, there's got to be a story here.
Speaker 3:
So we sent it over here on the field behind you and just got it set up in place here, and there's a fellow down in Cedar Grove that's going to come up, he's going to pressure wash it and then he's going to engrave on the front end.
Speaker 2:
Let's go take a walk, let's go see what this place looks like.
Speaker 3:
Alright, so we'll go to the right here. So each of these has a pen pen on it, and this is number four, so garage door opener. So these are heated, and are heated from the ground up.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so you guys, you got heat down in the floor itself.
Speaker 3:
So this building here is 300 and 353 feet long, and in the ground they have 9,000 miles of piping.
Speaker 1:
That is where the hot water runs through.
Speaker 3:
So one of these units has a boiler room in the back, so it's four foot short and there's a wall. So when you open the door up you can't tell it's there, you can't hear it right.
Speaker 3:
But it's four foot short and that's where the boiler room sits and that pumps hot water into this concrete and it holds these units at 60 degrees. Now you know, when you open the doors up, the air from outside transfers in and that. But it does If you close the doors and hang out here for a little bit and start to feel it. It feels real good so electrical air types as we come back there. So it's back up RV plumes and regular outlets as well. Yeah, everything they're looking for Pretty nice.
Speaker 3:
So right here. So the last electrical thing I have to do is bring the electric from here and put a plug in. But this is going to be where my pressure washer goes, so okay. I've got a mount on here. It's a wall mount pressure washing system, so mount it on here, we'll plug it in. I'll have a high pressure hose connected to it. So all you do, when you want to use the pressure washers, come in and just pull that lever up.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
And this will be ready to go and you can clean your unit and all that water will drain into there.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
This over here is a dump station, so they pull in and they hook up their hose to that.
Speaker 2:
So they can dump gray water, black water, sewer water.
Speaker 3:
Wow, and that actually goes into the grinder pump.
Speaker 2:
Okay, I was going to say so. You had to put it into a grinder pump to get it to the actual sewer line Right.
Speaker 3:
So here to the grinder pump.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
So the grinder pumps the last thing it does before it gets shot to the main.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:
So then this here is for them to clean out their tube, so they can pull that down, oh yeah, and just look their tube up and they clean that up. And then people always ask me what this thing is for, and I didn't know, but it's for. When people drop it, it doesn't bang on the metal.
Speaker 2:
Thinking of everything.
Speaker 3:
That's what I asked, and then we got an air machine here.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, you got your setup. So they put it in the same way.
Speaker 3:
My son was out here testing the length so he didn't find it up. So anyway, this thing will fill up a tractor trailer's tire.
Speaker 2:
Good deal. Well, I want to thank you for showing me around here, but let's go in and have a seat. I got some questions for you, gotcha, you all right with that? All right, steve thank you, sir.
Speaker 2:
Thanks for showing us your new facility. Steve's elite storage right, Steve's elite storage, All right. Well, Steve, you and I have known each other for a bit and I know that there's more behind Steve Nautler than just the business guy. And part of doing Strong Dads is the challenge that Kyle and I and just rock solid families and the industry is reaching out to men and saying, hey, you know what kind of purpose are you working with? How's that serving your family? How's it serving your business? How's it serving your marriage? And so I would just, if you're willing, let's have a little conversation about what God has to do with, what motivates you and all this business enterprise at your building.
Speaker 1:
You up to that yeah absolutely All right.
Speaker 2:
So you know you talked earlier about your you've always were in the business world, and mostly in the convenient gas station food market thing, right, right, when did you know that you kind of had a gift for running a business, like when?
Speaker 1:
did that hit you.
Speaker 2:
Like man, I can actually do this and do pretty well at it.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I think I've always had confidence in myself to be able to succeed, and success can be defined a whole bunch of different ways. I don't, you know, a lot of people think about it as monetarily, but I just I wanted to, I wanted it to work. So I had a lot of drive and desire to want to be successful in what I was doing and I sort of had that approach with a lot of different things in life. So with with running the convenience stores, you know, early on, you know I had to find stores that you know, the BP in Miami town wasn't what it was when I bought it, you know, and we were able to get into that in a situation that was more desirable because the business wasn't doing very well.
Speaker 3:
So, you know, to work through that and essentially knock on doors to get people to come to you is what we did. So really I think it just comes down to drive Early on. I dedicated myself to work a lot. I knew, you know, I didn't really have social life the first couple years I was in business and then obviously not my wife and started a family and everything like that. So it got to the point fast forward, you know, back this time last year really probably a couple years ago where I realized that although this business is providing for my family, it's probably not what I wanted anymore as far as the time that I had to put into stuff like that, the time away from my kids and my wife. You know you're essentially on call 364 days a year. We closed on Christmas.
Speaker 3:
And I'd still get text messages and phone calls on Christmas and we work 24 hours a day, but we were 18 hours a day. And that's a lot of time, so I was ready for a change. I hadn't quite gotten to that entirely. The transition from selling those two businesses. Obviously selling stuff and getting some money is wonderful, but income's important.
Speaker 3:
You can be able to continue to pay the bills. So I had. This last six months has been a transition for me and with building this facility here I took on the general contractor role. So I haven't really gotten to take a breath and but that is coming very soon and we're definitely looking forward to it, where I can take a step back and enjoy my family. So that's sort of where I'm at with it right now, getting, you know, tightening up the screws, so to speak. We got a couple of loose ends here and there, but really it's the major portion of construction. We're probably 99% done. Like I was telling you in my office and then in the lounge area it's just hanging things on walls and that can come down the road. So I'm really it's funny we're doing this now because I'm just about at that point where I can really say, okay, I'm done, I can take a breath and start doing some stuff with the family.
Speaker 2:
Well, it kind of brings me to the idea or the question of you know at what point you know you're a young man, you've got drive, but at what point do you start to question what you're valuing when you've got this many hours involved away from your family? You can all day long talk about well, you're supplying, supporting the family, but they want more than your money. They want you.
Speaker 3:
Sometimes it needs to be told to you yeah, to be totally honest.
Speaker 2:
Well, and I think that's a good point that you bring up. Like, sometimes we like to stay in the places that we tend to feel like we're good or get rewarded. So if I'm making money or getting pads on the back at work, it's like, well, listen, honey, you take care of home, I'm going to work, I'm going to work, and in the meantime you can be missing out on what you need to have at home. So did somebody tell you, hey, maybe we can see a little bit more of you around here?
Speaker 3:
I think that you know, I probably had some signs as well. But you know, conversations with the wife, conversations with my family, you know I had my mom and my dad who worked for me, two of my brothers who worked for me. So talking to them, talking to the wife, it was definitely, I think, after having conversations with everybody and talking with my wife about it, I was ready. And sometimes when you're caught up in it, so you're in the day-to-day operation, it is the weeks turning to months and the months turning to years and things go by pretty quick because you're busy.
Speaker 3:
When you stay busy, time flies. So I was incredibly busy and, in the convenience store industry, those who worked in it or have owned those types of establishments know that there's always something to do.
Speaker 3:
And you could probably say that about anything in life, but when you have customers who are actually coming into your store at 9.30 at night, at 10 o'clock at night, at 4.30 in the morning, that changes it because you're actually dealing with the people that are spending money with you for that entire 18 hour period. So I think getting out of that immediately felt like a thousand pounds off my back, where I can put my phone down and my wife might not like it sometimes because it's on silent. I've had my phone on silent a lot and you know I can call the person back if I need to, but that's something that I never could do. I want to walk from one room to the next without my phone in my pocket and it was always on and it was always on, you know disturbing.
Speaker 2:
It really gives meaning to becoming slave to your own business operation, absolutely yeah. So, steve, I also know that you have always been a supporter of the community, of local athletics and community activities and stuff. Where did that come from?
Speaker 3:
It's always been that way for me. I probably got into trying to help before I was even really probably able to help. I can remember my first year of business helping out with local wrestling programs and whatnot, and, you know, being that I was so involved with the business, I wasn't able to put a lot of time into volunteering for different things. I have coached some things in the past and I'm coaching new sports now for my kids, but I always try to. You know, I feel like everybody could always use finances, so I'd always try to help if I had it and thankfully I was busted to get some stuff and get some finances and I've been able to bless others with that.
Speaker 3:
You know the youth sports or you know rock solid families, young life. I really, you know I love what you guys do and I love what Nick Lawrence does over at Young Life and there's some other local community stuff like that that I try to get involved in, even though I might not be the person that's there to kids or helping out with the kids or helping out with the things that you guys do to help people. I know the type of people that I'm given to in those organizations and I love doing those types of things, so you know.
Speaker 1:
I'm glad that.
Speaker 3:
I'm able to do those types of things. So I feel like it's been there really from the get go. I've always been a person that wanted to help others, and when you can tie you know some type of a Christian based organization to that, that's really where I like to be with those types of things.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, got a question for you. It's a strong dad. I don't know, and you can decide whether you want to go down this road or not, but what's your dad's story? What was your dad like as a dad to you? And you've mentioned a couple of brothers and stuff he was just up here.
Speaker 3:
He pulled out, I think when you pulled in my dad was great, so he was a self-employed for most of the time growing up. He's a devout Catholic. He goes to church every Sunday and raised us really good. You know he was say he was probably strict, but in a good way.
Speaker 3:
I think that he, you know, raised four boys to be respectful young men. And my mom, you know they laid down a law and we followed through with it. We always talk about it, my wife and I, with our kids. How picky all the kids are today with what they eat. And my mom made a meal and we ate what was put on the table and nobody said anything about it so. But no, he's, he's very faith-driven. We actually were just talking about the priest from St Peter's who's going to be doing that exorcist. Yeah.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
So I asked my dad if he wanted to go to that. He said why listen to the podcast?
Speaker 1:
I guess he had a podcast about it.
Speaker 3:
So, anyway, but now he's. He's been a great role model. He's one of my mentors. I have a few of them and he's one of them and was a great leader, not just in work ethic but also in faith. So he did a real good job, paid him the way for us.
Speaker 2:
Steve, I asked that question because, specifically in my line of work I get I asked that question just about every man I work with. Most of the men that come in to see me are coming in because there's there's something going on that's not very pleasant in their life, right, and when I see him stumbling around, one of my questions will be tell me first a little bit about your dad's story. Tell me and I will just tell you. I don't, I can't give you the percentage other than I know it's in the 90s the percentage of guys who, if their life is wrecked or rough and broken and falling apart, their dad's story is the same it's rough, it's broken apart, it's it's fragmented. And I asked you that because you are a guy who you do well, not because of yourself, not because of you creating you. Did you have a generation before you? Your dad?
Speaker 1:
poured into you? Yeah.
Speaker 2:
your product to your environment, yeah, and you had four brothers, and I don't know all of them, although I know that you're all big old boys. Yeah, I can't imagine if you had no father how you guys would have just run like a bunch of wild elephants over the house, right yeah. And so dad had a strong enough thumb that he said hey boys, this is how we're going to roll here.
Speaker 3:
Yep, he was, um, you know I, he was strict, but he was strict when he had to be. So when I look back and we talked about that this too, with you know sort of how kids were being raised today and, um, you know, we, there was a little bit of a sense of fear that we had, and it wasn't a fear that you're, a fear of your life. It was a fear that you were going to get dealt with if you weren't lying, if you were back talking to your mother or if you did something in school, and those types of things.
Speaker 3:
Um, that was early on.
Speaker 3:
You get to a point where you sort of become who you are and you start watching your mom and your dad when they're growing up, Um, and you know I'm not saying that my parents are perfect, but they did an excellent job of raising the four boys, Um, and I think who we are and how we are is a testament to to how they raised us. And, and so I'm close with my dad. I consider my dad to be, honestly, a friend of mine. He's definitely a mentor. Even though he's retired now I still any chance I can get to have. If I need a helping hand, he's here. He's got three ligaments, I don't know. He's had multiple ligaments in his ankle tour.
Speaker 3:
He just got the phone call. He's going to have to have surgery. He's out here looking 50 pound bags of salt you know what I mean. He, he likes working. He's, um, I think more than sort of than working is just being. You know, he got to be around Kevin and I and we got to be around him, and there's experiences in. It's not work, it's just you're hanging out with your family and love.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's awesome, all right, so, um, you know, as, as you get ready to open and start operating Steve's elite storage, we're going to wish you the best with all that. Hopefully you can get some time, um, more, a lot of towards family and community service and things you would like to do, rather than, uh, being a slave to the old business. Absolutely, um, is there anything is? Is we got young dads out there watching this show? Is there anything that? And you're still relatively young, but you got enough wisdom behind you now. Yeah, what would you tell your 20 to 25 year old self?
Speaker 3:
Uh, don't, don't lose faith. Um, I feel like the the thing that I can attribute, more so than anything, to the success I've had, whether it's been with my wife and marriage, or raising our kids, or in businesses or whatever it may be. Um, I've always had faith and even though there was a point in time of my life where I was a Catholic, raised Catholic and through college I was trying different churches out, uh ended up, you know, the last 10, 12 years going to a Christian church I did a bright Christian church. Now, no matter what church I was going to, no matter whether or not I was regularly attending Sunday services or Sunday mass, I've never lost faith and I've always prayed Um, and I've always felt like he's been with me and I feel like if you uh leave that door open, that he will always be there for you.
Speaker 3:
Um, and there's been a lot of times in my life, especially early on in business, um, that there was no doubt in my mind I wouldn't have gotten through if it wasn't for him. Lots of things that went my way, that didn't have to go my way, and everybody needs a little bit of luck when they're doing things and they're getting started. I had a lot of luck. Yeah, I had a lot of luck and a lot of luck, and a lot of luck and I don't think it's luck.
Speaker 3:
I think it was my faith and my religious show of Jesus and I think that that has helped me get to where I'm at today and even though life isn't perfect and everybody's got issues and got problems, I'm still going to keep that faith and use it and going forward so I never lose the faith. Keep the faith, keep that door open.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I've learned to replace the word luck that I know when I'm doing things the way God desires me to do them is no longer luck, it's called a blessing.
Speaker 1:
Yeah.
Speaker 2:
And you can use that word, or that you've been blessed. So when you talk about luck, it's like well, actually you're just being blessed, you're just satisfying God and he's wanting to satisfy you right back. So I agree, all right. Well, I want to again. I want to thank you, hey. So I think it's worthy to help you promote a little bit. So how do people get in touch with Steve's Elite Storage, or you, or, however, I got a big camp or I got a big boat, yeah, how do I reach out to you?
Speaker 3:
I do the website, which is steveseletestoragecom. So all one word steveseletestoragecom. Okay, my cell phone number is also on the website, if anybody wanted to call me.
Speaker 2:
Don't give that out here, right? You know what? It's not hard to find it's on signs. Yeah.
Speaker 3:
But yeah, steveseletestoragecom, and can you call me any questions. All right, thank you, sir, thanks for your time, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:
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