He would like to lock up the market.

• Position: Businessman Steve Benson

Morningstar Mini-Storage was one of four businesses Steve Benson started after he moved to Charlotte in 1979. It cost him 12 years and about $1 million, but he hopes he's learned his lesson: You can only do one thing well.

Matthews-based Morningstar builds and rents storage space. It's the largest company of its kind in the Carolinas, with 26 locations in North Carolina, six in South Carolina, 140 employees and 1995 revenues of $10 million.

There are around 10,000 ministorage companies in the country, Benson says, but about two-thirds are mom-and-pop shops, and many are run by less-than-savory characters. Morningstar prides itself on being retail-oriented. Its roadside signs have messages such as "Fuquay, The Best of the Varinas" and "Honk If You Feel Hot." It has 24-hour access, which means computer-controlled gates and closed-circuit TV to make its clients feel safe. Managers don't live on-site, Benson says, because he wouldn't hire people who would.

Morningstar's business is about 70% individuals and 30% companies. Its customers include college students, Presbyterian Hospital, even the IRS, which once stored the entire contents of a seized Hallmark store. Benson's interest is more than professional - he got the idea for Morningstar because he wanted somewhere to store his antique fire engines. He keeps three in Pineville as well as a 1942 halftrack and some antique cars.

Benson, 56, grew up in Chicago and got a bachelor's in economics from Augustana College in Illinois in 1961, then got an MBA from the University of Illinois. He went...