Thinking about relocating your business? A move is a big undertaking, but it often comes with great rewards.

Business relocation is typically spurred by a need to expand, upgrade facilities, reach new customers, increase revenues or decrease costs.

If you decide to relocate, there’s a lot to consider. You’ll likely do a lot of research before moving. It’s a time-consuming process that shouldn’t be rushed. After all, you want to find the perfect spot to avoid another move in the immediate future.

To help you through this process, here are five things to consider when dealing with business relocation:

1. Site Selection

Site selection is everything. For starters, you need a spot that’s close to your customers. You’ve built a loyal following, and it’s important that they stay with you after the move. Be sure you have a clear understanding of where your customers come from so you can make a smart business relocation decision.

You not only want to be close to customers, but you want a spot that’s easy to get to. Look for areas that have easy highway access and great parking to keep customers happy.

Look for a spot with some curb appeal too. A business that has great visibility and good parking often helps attract new customers.

When you’re considering a new location, chat with neighboring business owners. Ask them what they think of the area, and ask for advice that could be helpful during your business relocation.

Once you narrow down a location, be sure to use city resources that are available to you. Some cities have startup kits that provide helpful relocation information, or offer services like site selection assistance, development services and business incentives.

2. Cost

Of course, you can’t talk about location without talking about cost. You want a space that you can afford and doesn’t eat into profits. This cost varies dependent on the type of business but the overall average rent-to-sales ratio of 1.24% (building material retailers) to 8.93% (clothing and accessories) and an average of 7.62% for restaurants and bars.

But, the cost to buy or rent a new place isn’t the only expense. Each location comes with additional costs like taxes, licenses and city fees. Before making any decision, you should reach out to a city’s economic development team to get a better understanding of the fees and taxes, as well as the incentives of a business relation.

In addition, during a move, you could potentially lose some business. Despite your attempts to inform your customers or clients about your move, some may not return. Some employees may not follow you either, so you should consider the cost of recruiting and hiring new employees too.

You’ll also have to juggle two operations at once. As your old store closes and new one opens, you may have to pay additional wages to make a smooth transition.

Moving expenses will also be a one-time hurt. Between hiring movers, renting trucks and buying moving insurance, you’ll need to budget for these costs.

As you weigh location and cost, here are a few questions to think about:

  • Will your current customers come along?
  • Will customers get more from your new place?
  • Is there enough new business to replace or add onto?
  • Are you prepared to lose good employees not willing to relocate?
  • Do you have the budget to run two operations during the transition?
  • What additional costs come with the new location?
  • What will moving costs add up to?
  • Does the city offer cost-saving incentives to relocate your business?

Cities that want to attract businesses offer incentives. Connect with a city’s economic development team to see what kind of discounts you can get. In many cases, you might be eligible for tax breaks or utility savings.

3. Planning for a move

Once you pick a new location, it’s time for action. No one knows your business better than you do. The same applies to moving your business. You may want to hire a company to help with the move, but you should assign a point person within the company to make the move run smoothly.

Meanwhile, day-to-day operations must continue to meet expectations too.

To help, here is a two-month plan to handle your business relocation:

Two months until move:

  • Assemble a move team
  • Schedule weekly update meetings
  • Define areas of responsibility
  • Assign workspace furniture and technology needs on a floor plan layout
  • Assign tear down and setup responsibilities

One month until move:

  • Create move packets for employees on how to move
  • Assign bar code labeling or tags to correlate with floor plan
  • Schedule a company wide meeting
  • Create press releases detailing move
  • Obtain move insurance
  • Modify new space to fit your needs
  • Determine security need if applicable
  • Fine tune move schedule

Two weeks until move:

  • Finalize move schedule
  • Conduct company wide move meeting
  • Hand out move packets
  • Schedule labeling and packing materials
  • Prepare welcome packet for new office including, floor plan, break rooms, bathrooms etc.
  • Create list of emergency contacts
  • Create an area in both locations for a lost and found
  • Hire cleaning company for old location

Move week

  • Plan for additional packing materials above and beyond what you expected
  • Tag and label destination site for employees
  • Post multiple floor plans throughout new site
  • Distribute emergency contact list
  • Change locks and distribute new keys/key cards

4. Advertising your move

Moving is a big job, but letting customers know about it is a big task too. Two months before you plan to move, start prepping customers and vendors

Here are some advertising suggestions:

  • Have employees hand out business cards with your new address on them
  • Talk about the move on social media
  • Document the stages of your move on your blog
  • Hang fliers in your current store and in your new location
  • Host a ‘Moving Sale’ to move inventory and spread the word
  • Have employees mention the move when interacting with customers
  • Consider buying air time on the local radio or TV stations
  • Send press releases to local media outlets
  • Make a “We’re Moving” slideshow and play it on a TV at your business
  • Mention your move at networking sessions
  • Give existing customers a coupon to use at the new business
  • Host a grand opening at your new location

Advertising will take some time; so don’t wait until the week before your move. Advertise your new place often and early. Give the advertising responsibilities to an employee to oversee.

 5. Tasks to complete after the move

Once the boxes are moved and customers are notified, there’s still work to be done. There are a series of administrative tasks that often get overlooked. Here are a few things to add to your to-do list once the move is complete:

  • Change your address online
  • Change your phone number/try to keep it
  • Update your invoices to reflect new information
  • Update your address and information with the government
  • Update marketing materials
  • Update social media

By using the tips above you can efficiently handle your business relocation. It will be a stressful time, but the more planning you do the better the process will be.

For More Information

Want more information on the business incentives and assistance from our team on moving your business to Moreno Valley? Contact our Moval Strike Team today!