6 tips for laying the foundation for a successful moving business

 Talking the ownership over your own career and starting your own business always involves a certain amount of risk. The good news is that, although not amongst the most glamorous career options out there, starting a moving business cuts that risk to a bare minimum. It’s actually very simple – families will always need housing, and as long as they are buying or renting new properties, they will need to move.

If you want to last in this industry, you only need to lay the groundwork that will set your business for success. Let’s take a look then at some of the necessary steps you should take.

Come up with a viable business model

When people think about the moving industry, they often imagine huge warehouses and big trucks. However, according to the American Moving and Storage Association, 83% of all relocation projects in the USA are performed within the same state and require only the basic manpower. So, there are obviously several models you can successfully apply to your future venture. If you want to cut the startup costs, you can easily set your business as a local, family-oriented company and scale your services once you start increasing revenue.

Think of the branding

Industries like moving often tend to overlook the importance of branding, wrongfully assuming that branding is something reserved for giants like Apple and Coca Cola. In reality, the brand is nothing more than a way people perceive your company. The more effort you put into setting up this image properly, the easier job you’ll have standing out from the competition. So, once you have identified your target audience, try to come up with a catchy name and appealing logo, and work your company’s identity out from this foundation.

Create a comprehensive business plan

The business plan should be the backbone of your future company – it should lay out its goals, market analyses, operations plan, financial plan, financial projections, marketing strategies, and finally the list of your services. This document is the only way you keep your business on course after the launch and an excellent reference point to measure how fast you are making progress. Also, if you ever decide to partner up with another company or ask investors for help, the existing business plan will make your job much easier.

Purchase the adequate equipment

Depending on your goals, the amount of money you will need to spend will vary. The one thing remains unchanged, though – the quality trucks for sale should be at the top of the list of your priorities. Once you find a good purchase that will fit your business model, you can proceed to the tools that are not so detrimental for success, like pallet jacks, ramps, appliance dollies, tool kits and hoisting straps. Keep in mind that some of these tools that won’t be used so often (e.g. pallet jacks) and are therefore cheaper to rent than buy and maintain.

Be sparing with full-time employees

Since you are most likely going to hire third-party companies or individuals to take care of your legal, bookkeeping and marketing obligations, you should delegate the bulk of the actual money-making work to yourself, part-time workers and independent contractors, at least for the time being. Putting too many full-timers on your payroll will produce a lot of pressure on your budget. Keep in mind that all of your employees need to be covered with liability insurance and provided with forms required by your local Revenue Service.

Stand out with pricing and service structure

If you don't have an established reputation, charging less than your competition is a certain way to get the necessary attention. The same goes for the level of service you are going to provide. Doing more for the same amount of money ought to earn you a lot of good will amongst customers. So, instead of simply moving the items and helping the owners with loading, you should expand your list of services with packing, storage services, insurance services, and even appliance services and furniture assembly.
These six tips should help you set your moving business on a solid foundation and put it on the map without too much effort. From this point on, it all depends on your hard work and dedication. One thing's for sure, though – the moving industry will give you a much better fighting chance than most of the other parts of what we like to call the business landscape.