Running a business is a challenge at the best of times. Although it is a rewarding and fulfilling job, it can be incredibly stressful too. This is especially true when you’re faced with a large project, like an office relocation. Moving offices can be incredibly exciting, with promises of new opportunities and the chance to expand. While it is a complex and complicated process, there are things that you can do to take the pressure off. This will make the relocation more pleasant for everyone involved. With that in mind, here are ten smart tips for a stress-free office move.
Choose The Right Time
There is no way that you’re going to completely avoid disruption when moving your business. All that you can do is try to minimize it. This is possible by choosing your moving date carefully. Every company has different peak trading hours, days, and times throughout the year. By picking a day that doesn’t conflict with these times, you will lose as little money as possible. Make sure that you schedule meetings and other commitments sensibly, just in case of a possible delay.
Plan Well In Advance
Leaving planning until the last minute will more than likely lead to mistakes. For this reason, it’s also necessary that you pick a date well in advance and begin planning right away. Ideally, you should have at least a few months to prepare yourself. You can start by writing a list of tasks that need completing for the move. Make sure that you write those tasks on a calendar so that you have a moving timeline to stick to. You can also write the names of those handling these jobs.
Communicate With The Team
The decision to relocate will affect your staff just as much and sometimes, even more than it will you. After all, you’re the one choosing to relocate, so you’re obviously going to choose a location that you can travel to. Your employees, however, might not be able to get there. This is why it’s so important that you keep them in the loop. By letting the team know about your plans early, you give them a chance to think things through, ask questions, and make a few plans of their own.
Update Your Contact Details
When carrying out such a large undertaking, the little things tend to count much more than you realize. Although changing your address online might not be at the top of your to-do list, it is a very important task. This is because it tells customers that you’re moving so that they won’t try to contact you at your previous address. To spread the word further and louder, you should seek out the local press. They can cover your business’ relocation and keep all the customers informed.
Clear Out The Clutter
You should never take all of the stuff from your current office to the next one. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, you will have accumulated a lot of junk over the years. These things will make the packing and moving process longer, harder, and more expensive. Instead, contact a cheap bin hire and start to throw all of your clutter away. From broken computers to old documents, there will be many things that you don’t need. Just remember to shred paperwork before throwing it.
Work With The Experts
Moving offices is very different from moving homes. Although there are sure to be some pretty valuable items in your house, it won’t affect your income and the income of others if they were to be lost, damaged, or broken in transit. The same can’t be said with a business move. For this reason, it’s best to work with experts and hire a moving company to assist you. Make sure that you choose the best team for your business by researching and comparing a few different ones.
Delegate Tasks To Employees
The relocation of a business is a huge undertaking. Therefore, even with professional help, you might want to delegate certain tasks to your employees. You could have some of them clear out clutter, for example, while others pack up boxes. Sometimes it can be helpful to send some of your team to work from home. This means that the business won’t come to a standstill, even though the office is in chaos. Sharing responsibility will make the move easier on everyone.
Put Someone In Charge
Being the boss, you will have grown used to being the one in charge of most aspects of your business. However, this is one area where you should consider stepping back. You already have so much on your plate, after all, without adding the pressures of relocation to it. Instead, you should put someone else in charge. They will oversee the entire move and be the person everyone reports back to. This individual could be a trusted member of your team or an expert.
Stick To A Budget
No business has an unlimited supply of funds, especially a small business. Keeping that in mind, you must create a budget for your move. This will ensure that you don’t spend more money than you have or can. Make sure that you consider all of the costs involved and plan for any unexpected ones by adding a cash cushion on top. You might also want to secure a line of credit, just in case you need it later.
Use Quality Packing Materials
With so little money to play with, finding ways to cut costs is important. That being said, packing materials is one area you might not want to skrimp. The cheaper packing materials are, the worse quality they tend to be. This creates a risk of boxes ripping or collapsing, which would likely damage equipment and other business belongings. While you can find cheaper packing materials by shopping around, investing in quality will limit any unnecessary risk.
Relocating your business is never going to be easy. However, with the tips above, you should be able to move offices without any unnecessary hassle.
Be sure to hop into the Savvy Entrepreneur Private Facebook Community to collaborate, learn and grow with your fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
Similar Posts by Savvy Entrepreneur:
10 Income Reports by Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/10-income-reports-by-entrepreneurs-for-entrepreneurs/
Get More Customers Using Your Website, Email Marketing, and Social Media
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/get-more-customers-using-website-email-marketing-social-media/
Mastermind Groups for Entrepreneurs Foster Accountability
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/mastermind-groups-for-entrepreneurs-foster-accountability/
This is a Collaborative Post
