If you’re running a family business that has grown a bit too big for its breeches, then this article is for you.
Family businesses are a cornerstone of American society, and you can find numerous examples in history of family-owned small companies that have grown to huge heights.
It can be unexpected at times, but a small family business can grow so big it requires an actual office to handle its day-to-day activities.
Whatever the situation, here are a few tips and tricks for moving your family business to a bigger working place.
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Plan Ahead
If you’re planning on moving, then you definitely need to plan your move at least a few months in advance.
This is even more true if you’re planning on using a moving company, as most tend to be booked in advance and require time to properly make you an appointment.
If you don’t plan ahead, you might end up with having to do everything last minute, which isn’t ideal.
You need to make a moving strategy as soon as possible, and assign people tasks whenever you can.
It’s also important to set deadlines as a way to avoid procrastination.
Set a date for when you’ll start planning the move, one for when you’ll start packing, and one for when you’ll actually move.
This way, you won’t end up delaying everything to the last possible moment.
If you don’t have the time to handle these issues, then delegate the task to one of your family members who has more time on their hands.
Decide What You Want Moved
As a small family business, the way you handle your assets when moving is important.
Depending on the type of business you’re running, you might have pieces of furniture or workstations you’ll want moved to your new location.
These are just examples, and it varies from business to business what assets are required to be moved.
Either way, you should make a list of all of your owned items, and decide early on what you want to transfer to your new site.
Even after you’ve made a list and decided on what to move, there are still things to consider and keep in mind.
For example, how many items have you written down on your list?
It’s important to keep track of all of your assets so as to discern how difficult the future move will be.
If you’ve got a lot of things, then you might need to consider hiring professional movers to help you out.
Consider Hiring Professional Movers
As mentioned above, if you’ve got a large amount of assets, then your best bet would be to hire professional movers.
They will not only deal with packing and storing your items until they are ready to be moved, but also with transporting them to the new location.
There is also the question of insurance to handle, which most moving companies offer.
You’ll sleep much easier at night knowing that whatever happens to your assets, they are insured, and you’ll receive compensation in case anything is damaged.
Car and motorcycle transport professionals are also available. These professional services can help businesses save money when redistributing fleet assets.
Even if your business has very few company-owned vehicles, you can still benefit from knowing that your vehicles are better insured in the care of professionals than they are in the care of your own drivers.
What you need to keep in mind when hiring movers is that, like with everything else in life, there are also scammers.
Check if the company is reputable before signing a contract, by looking if they are listed on the website of the Better Business Bureau.
Other things that you can do to avoid scammers is to look for reviews of the company online, and see what other people are saying about it.
Set a Budget Ahead of Time
This applies even if you’ve chosen to handle the move using a moving company or whether you’re handling it yourselves.
From hiring trucks, when necessary, to getting a quote from a moving company, you need to know how much you’ll end up spending.
If you’re using a moving company, don’t base your budget on the initial quote, as the price itself will probably be 5% to 10% higher when the move actually happens.
If you’re doing it by yourselves, then know that you’ll still need to hire moving trucks, which can be pretty expensive.
Properly Pack Your Assets
If you’ve hired a moving company, then this step won’t be necessary as more often than not the company will pack your things itself.
But if you’ve decided to go at it by yourself, together with your friends and family, then you need to know that proper packing is a must.
Label all of your boxes, pack from room to room, and try to keep your stuff organized.
You can go a step further and color code your boxes based on which room they belong in.
If you care about the environment, try to use plastic boxes as much as possible, instead of cardboard ones.
Cardboard boxes tend to break and are only good for one or two uses, and then they need to be thrown away.
With plastic boxes, you can reuse them as many times as you like, since they won’t break as easily.
