There are many reasons why businesses relocate, but regardless of the reason, one thing every business owner wants is for this process to run as smoothly, quickly, and cost effectively as possible.
Relocating a business, whether large or small, is a big undertaking – it will take a lot of time, money, and effort (and even more patience…). There are a lot of details that will need to be taken care of that are often times unanticipated or underestimated. That is why organization is the most important factor for a successful move.
To help ensure that you, your team, and your clientele ease into your new location effortlessly, we’ve put together our top 5 tips for relocating your business
Our Top 5 Tips
1. Create A Step-by-Step Relocation Plan
It may seem tedious at the moment, but creating a precise and detailed step-by-step plan for the move will save you from a potential mental breakdown halfway through the move.
Outline the timeframe for the move, your budget for different costs (both direct and indirect) associated with the move, who is responsible for taking care of what tasks, and a checklist of activities that are essential to the move (such as changing mailing addresses, redirecting utilities and services, hiring outside help, etc.).
2. Insure Your New Property
This may sound obvious, but do not forget to get office insurance for your new building.
As soon as you are in possession of your new building, insure it. Even if you are not working out of it yet, that does not eliminate the risk that some harm could come to the property. To lose your new building, or have to pay reparation costs, before a costly move would only set you back.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
3. Give Yourself Extra Time
Unfortunately, these things always take longer than anticipated.
To avoid any costly pushbacks, it is better just to preplan for longer downtime than you are scheduled for. In any case, if you complete the move on time, then you are actually ahead of time and can reopen sooner than expected, and if you are running late, then there is really no fowl, as you have already accounted for the delay financially.
4. Communication is Key
Everyone involved in and affected by this move need to be kept up to date through an effective means of communication. If people are all on different pages, things will become messy.
This includes your staff, your customers, your suppliers, and anyone else involved, such as movers, financial advisors, property managers, etc.
If no one is properly aware of how or when things are happening, you will not only cause yourself extra stress, but you could cost your business a lot of money.
5. Hire Movers in Advance
A lot of things are going to need to be moved, a lot of important or expensive things specifically – you will want good quality movers at a reasonable price.
If you wait to close until the proposed moving date, most good moving companies will be booked solid. To avoid this, you want to hire movers far enough in advance that you have a wide range of options to choose from.
Hiring in advance not only gives you more options for quality and price but gives you more than enough time to properly communicate and plan with the movers to ensure the big day runs smoothly.
