The Overlooked Real Estate Model: Turning Land Into Cash Flow

**What if you could turn underutilized land into recurring cash flow?** Chris Long, founder and CEO of Long Yard Storage, joins Loren Wernette to unpack a niche real estate model built for contractors and businesses that need outdoor space for equipment, vehicles, and materials. He shares how a career in construction, a painful insolvency, and a need for more control led him to build a cash-flow-focused storage yard business from the ground up. This episode is especially useful if you want to understand industrial outdoor storage, land underwriting, or how to structure a business that generates recurring revenue from dirt, fencing, and logistics. Key topics What Long Yard Storage is “Self-storage on steroids” for big equipment and materials Fenced land, access control, and month-to-month rental agreements A solution between expensive long-term leases and unreliable informal storage Chris’s construction background Starting with his grandfather at age 14 Becoming a licensed carpenter and taking over the family business Recognizing the opportunity through his own need for secure equipment storage The insolvency that reset everything A large commercial project went unpaid Chris went from managing 14 employees to rebuilding almost alone The experience taught him to focus, make faster decisions, and operate with discipline Instead of quitting, he found a gap nobody was serving: storage for the big stuff. Not just boxes—contractors, trucks, equipment, and businesses that need secure outdoor space. This episode is a powerful reminder that sometimes a major setback can reveal a better business model. What would you build if you had to start over today? Connect with Chris: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-long-152b3988/ #BrickByBrick #LongYardStorage #CommercialRealEstate #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth