Business Relocations
– What You Need to Know
If you’ve got your own business, the first thing to do is get it off the ground. This is never quite as easy as it sounds, and by the time you’ve moved into that first, tiny little office, there’s already been a wealth of work to get there.
At first, you’re probably in charge of every aspect of the company; but when more employees are required, it’s not ideal to be squashed into a tiny space.
It can take years and years for businesses to grow. In fact, it’s not unusual for companies to operate from the same, small office for years until more employees are required. When things start getting too cozy, it’s time for a move.
You don’t have to put commerce on hold if you conduct the office move correctly. Here are a few things worth considering.
Forward-planning
It’s never too soon to start planning for an office move. You will need to take a few things into account before even starting the process of relocating.
First off, make a researched and informed estimation of how much you expect the company to grow. How big does the new office space really need to be? Is the cost of moving attainable? Does the budget allow for it?
Allocate an office manager to make sure the move goes smoothly. Choose someone who is good at organizing people. Research local or interstate moving companies who can help facilitate the move.
It’s very important to keep your staff informed of the progress of the move at all times. Make sure they how the company structure will be affected, reassure them of their job security, and let them know if there will be any costs of the move that will affect their pay or bonuses.
The move
The move can be a complicated progress. There are some great tips from Make It Cheaper regarding a successful office move, but the main thing to keep up is organization.
Since you’re moving, it’s a good idea to tidy up things within the actual office. It’s a good time to get rid of any unused or obsolete files and data. Archive files that are no longer used, use some secure storage and make sure you keep tabs on everything during the move.
It’s also a good idea to take legal advice regarding lease documents; don’t sign anything until you have a full understanding of the terms and your liabilities.
FrugalMama shares some great tips in how to find a low-cost mover without getting scammed.
Updated 11/21/16 to replace a broken link and add a featured image.
Gail Gardner
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Business relocation should be smooth transactions with hardly a ripple. But assuming you’ve got everything packed up and ready to go, and the moving crew heads upstairs to start moving the desks, these tips are helpful to make sure your relocation is a success.
I agree with your statement, “It’s very important to keep your staff informed of the progress of the move at all times”, And, it must happen as it helps to manage a successful relocation.
Absolutely gorgeous advices, Last year , the company that i work in, had our office removed and it was a total disaster. The plan was made just a few weeks before the final move and it was a stressful period for both the workers and bosses. These things take time to manage and see exactly how everything in the process is going to unfold.
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Any business takes time in taking off. Relocation service business is no different. It takes time and patience in making clientele and building a trained team. Give more for less and you will grow in no time.
Relocating business is really tough thing to do because it takes month’s to plan this things. I hope your tips will guide us in future.
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Hey,
Great Post! It all comes down to marketing and how a small business owner leverages his or her relocation as a promotional opportunity.
Hey Gail, Sean here just finished your article. And want say thank you for it. I am absolutely at one with your point that it’s never too soon to start planning for an office move. Planning matters more than anything else and I can understand better than someone else because I belong to this profession. So also write articles on moving on my moving blog. I think for any kind of may be that can be home moving or specialty item moving whatever we need planning. It plays more important role in your moving process.
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Hi Sean,
Back when I worked for IBM, I managed many mainframe moves and an entire computer room moving across several huge parking lots to a new building. Nothing hones your skills at move planning like having only a few hours to move a hospital’s mainframe and peripherals and getting them all up and running again.
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I agree with you, Gail! Moving can be a complicated especially if you have other business in your life. That’s why it is important to plan ahead earlier make your path free before you relocate to the other places.
Betty Zachary would love you to read ..Have Stress Free Moving with Packing Services
Business relocation is now easier than ever. Last week, we have moved an office in Wembley, London with over 200 employees for less than 8 hours. But our man and van company has over 10 years of moving experience with large offices and corporations. Like this article states – you need a proper planning and experienced team, the rest is just a piece of cake.
Moving a business isn’t that much easy and isn’t that much difficult, but moving a business needs proper planning and resources. Once you are done with planning then you are good to go for moving as this is a phase where you are about to grow your business. Many IT consultants can also help you in managing your business networking while you move on to the next place.
Moving to a new business relocation only means that your business is growing and expanding but moving to other placeS is hassle for someone who doesn\’t have the proper equipment beside no business owner can afford a big amount of damage to their properties.
It’s really helpful to know how this sort of thing works. It’s pretty tough to move a house, let alone an office. It’s especially interesting because you have to protect every asset from damage and loss more in a business than you do with your personal possessions. I definitely agree that it’s good to plan way ahead so there are no surprises or issues that will slow down the moving process.
If your are relocating business or office, you have to make sure that your landlord and you both understand well and agree with the terms and condition before signing the contract to avoid future problems. Moreover, your hired mover company is fully insured just in case something bad happen to your office stuff.
When relocating, it’s important to schedule the relocation of all IT services. I am talking about T1 and Fiber optic lines, phone lines, Cable, etc. Disconnecting those services too early can create problem and reconnecting them too late will cause problem because your workers won’t be able to work. Make sure you have phone number of an account manager or supervisor so that you can call them if you have problem. You don’t want to wait and find out on Monday morning that things are not working. By then it’s probably a little too late.
Good tips, Emile. Many do not realize that access is not available everywhere – or that it may be much more expensive if they are further from a hub.
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I think the best idea when doing an office move like this is to hire a mover to help out, otherwise things can get very difficult.
Definitely an incredibly complicated process, but very necessary as a company grows and expands, and of course it’s got to be complicated to move all of the office things to the new office, why? Because that’s just how it plays out.
Solid advice for any person in business preparing for relocation. Make sure all parties, like your landlords, are well aware of your timeline for reloaction and the properties are ready for the hand off.