There are many reasons it might be a good time to relocate your business. If you’re having trouble gathering foot traffic, if you’ve realized that your business is too big (or too small!) for space you have, or if you find that you just can’t manage the overhead costs, it might be time to move your business. But how do you know when it’s finally time?
Can you afford it?
The first question you should be asking before you plan out a move is whether or not your business can afford the move. It’s tempting to only look at the overhead costs of your current location and the one you want to move to, but there’s a lot more to look at. You need to consider costs like:
- Advertising your new location to customers
- Refitting any furniture that won’t be able to be reused
- The cost of hiring movers to relocate your items
- Setup costs for utilities
As well as the change in overhead for your new location.
There are times when your business has grown too large for your current location, but you should also consider whether or not your business is too small for the location you have. Perhaps your business has a huge parking lot that isn’t being utilized or has room for far more desks than you’ll ever need. Either way, cost of a move and new location should be considered.
Are there clear benefits?
It’s easy to think that any problems with your business will be solved by moving to a new location, but that’s just not true in most cases. Research by E-Z Moving Company shows that companies that relocate to areas with higher standards don’s see a success to the luck of location. Before committing yourself to a move – and ideally before looking for a new location – you need to have a clear-cut understanding of what is good and bad about your current location. Be honest; unless your loud upstairs neighbour is directly impacting your business, they don’t count.
As always when estimating your business’s budget, overestimate your costs and underestimate your revenue. You should consider a move when it will dramatically reduce your overhead, give you significantly better foot traffic, or offer much better accessibility for your employees.
Are you prepared?
What is a move going to cause for your business? Do you have a clear plan for communicating with both employees and customers? How is this going to affect your bottom line? Will this affect your relationship with vendors or suppliers? Are there any items that movers will not move? Is anything going to require speciality service in order to be moved?
Knowing all of these details will help you determine if a move is a right step for your business, but going through the process of determining these things will also help you understand whether or not a move is going to be the right choice for your business right now. Once you know for sure that a move is a right choice, you can also start making to-do lists, such as putting out email blasts and customer communications, notifying suppliers, and reducing inventory in preparation for the move.
Can you grow another way?
When location is limiting a business, the answer people most often turn to is moving to a new location. But if that’s simply not possible for your business, you need to look at how this change will affect your business and other ways to make your location work.
- If your location is too big for your business look at what you can do with the extra space. Can you rent out conference rooms to businesses that may not have their own office spaces? Can you set up one section of your office as a co-working space, rent out desks and let freelancers use your office space? Rent out your copier and printer at a lower price than the local copy shop. All of these options can help your business make the space you have work.
- If your location is too small for your business look at what you can do to get fewer employees in the office every day. Maybe you could encourage flex time or work from home days, or work on expanding with freelancers instead of in-office employees.
- If you’re struggling with overhead consider speaking to your landlord. Depending on the business real estate market in your area, they may be able to offer you a reduced rate to avoid needing to list and fill your space when you move.
Moving your office is just one option amongst many when it comes to setting up your business in a new space. Make sure you’ve planned ahead and have a solid understanding of what’s involved in a potential move before you make a final decision.
