Regardless of the reasons for moving your business to a new location, you will agree that this process can be quite challenging and stressful. A business move requires careful consideration and thorough planning in order to be successful. After all, your goal is not to lose productivity while the move is in progress.
There are many tips for organizing a successful office move. In this article, we’ve singled out several factors that you should have in mind when relocating your business and which will, hopefully, help you go through this as easily as possible.
What do you mean by moving your business to a new location?
According to the experienced team from USA Moving Reviews, if planned correctly, business relocation can be exactly what your company needs in order to grow and flourish. However, a business move can imply different things. It is very important to have them in mind in order to plan and conduct the move as smoothly as possible.
Relocating a business can mean more than just changing a physical address. Even changing your physical address can mean different things depending on if you are just moving a couple of blocks away, to another city, or even to another country.
On the other hand, you might be moving just a portion of your office or setting up another branch. If your business is growing it is a whole different thing as you will need a bigger space and you’ll need to think of more factors.
Determining the reasons for your business move is the key to creating an adequate moving plan.Â
Planning and timeline
Moving your business to a new location is not something that can be done overnight. It is recommended that you start planning it at least 3-6 months before, depending on your business size. Pre-planning is the key to a successful move. You should go through various scenarios and be aware that different delays can happen. This will help you save your most valuable asset – time and keep your business operational during the move.
You should involve your employees from the start as they can provide you with invaluable feedback. After all, there is no one who knows your current office better than your team and who can advise you on what needs to be changed. Also, create a dedicated team that will handle the move – you can choose one member from each department in order to get better insights.
Your employees can help you with creating a timeline. This will keep them in the loop, as well. The timeline should be as realistic as possible. Think about the time that’s needed to renovate the new space, move and connect all the equipment, get in touch with the suppliers and be aware of all delivery times and schedules and etc.
Most importantly – give yourself and your team extra time as unpredicted hold-ups can occur. Be prepared for the unexpected!
Finance
Business relocation can be quite costly so it is of utmost importance to create a good budget plan. Sure there is a cost of the move but there are also various hidden expenses you should have in mind. Before you do anything, make sure to assess if the financial gain from an office relocation outweighs the cost of the move itself. If that is the case, you’re good to go.
When creating a financial plan, make sure to list the cost of the new rental place, different office space expenses (utilities, internet expenses, supplies, and similar), new equipment, and costs of third party contractors you will probably need to hire (professional movers, IT experts and etc.). Your budget will determine which location you can move your business to.
Make sure you have some extra funds on the side. As mentioned, unexpended circumstances can occur so you need to be on the safe side.
Location
Choosing a location in many ways depends on what the actual reason is to relocate your business. It really depends on your business needs. Things can get even more complicated if you are also relocating your warehouse space.
For example, you are moving your business because you tend to increase productivity, focus on your staff’s wellbeing. Or, if you tend to attract more talent, try to find a place at a desirable location where potential new employees can envision themselves working.
The last but not least, think about your employees. If most of them live close to a certain area, try to move your office there. This way, your staff will save time on travel which can benefit overall productivity.
Hiring professional movers
One of the most important things when moving your business to a new location is to find adequate assistance. You need to find reliable and experienced movers to make this transition as easy as possible for you.
Why is this important? Because you want your business to run interrupted during the move. You need to be sure that everything will be done on time as delays can harm your business in ways that can potentially take a lot of time to fix and compensate. That’s why you need to make sure you hire a reputable and competent moving company.
A few more things you shouldn’t forget
On top of everything listed above, here is a list of few more details you should keep in mind when relocating your business:
- give your customers timely notification about the move
- update your website
- try to keep your phone number
- update your business cards
- order new brochures and letterhead
- notify relevant authorities about the move (for example, IRS)
- change your company’s insurance policy
Pay attention that the new location satisfies all health and safety standards! You have to make sure to identify all safety hazards and make this one of your priorities when choosing a new location for your company.
Regardless of the reasons for your business move, you have some exciting and challenging times ahead of you. We hope our advice helped you make your decision more easily and that it will make the move itself a little less stressful. Congratulations on taking a big step!