5 Things you Can Do to Prepare for Relocation

As you may imagine, relocating an entire business is an undertaking that tends to pose some fairly tough logistical challenges. Therefore, to be able to pull it off without any major disasters, you may want to take a structured approach to the entire procedure.

To help you do this, we've come up with a list of factors you need to take into consideration when relocating your business.

1. Come up with a list of reasons for relocation

As annoying as it might seem, relocation can be a pretty interesting concept if you put some meaning behind it. To clarify, what we mean by this is that once you come to terms with the fact that you absolutely positively have to move, the whole process becomes much easier to handle. It's a psychological thing.

Whether it's because you've outgrown your current premises, or fancy relocating yourself to a cultural hub with plenty of potential customers and clients, moving your business can be a step in the right direction if done at the right time.

2. Evaluate the pros and cons of relocation

Once you've justified your wish to relocate your business to yourself and your employees, it's time to sit down and do some brainstorming. Gather the relevant executive figures and stakeholders and come up with a list of pros and cons for moving to a certain location.

Make sure to take into consideration positive factors such as:

• More space to work with (bigger production premises)
• A bigger talent pool of potential employees
• A larger number of new clients and customers

Also, don't forget about the potential problems and risks associated with changing your location:

• Production disruption due to unforeseen circumstances
• Loss of some employees who can't or won't move with you

3. Count the expenses

Make no mistake, moving to another location as a business is an undertaking that is inevitably going to set you back a considerable amount of money. In fact, the expenses can get so high and start getting so unpredictable that the best way to cope with them would be to organize a completely separate budget for the move.

To do this, make sure to count in everything and anything, from buying (or renting) the property itself, paying the transport of your equipment and furniture, to additional expenses connected with the delay in production and other unforeseen circumstances.

Don’t be afraid to hire some professionals to help with this. Guesstimating costs can be tricky, and you don’t want yourself to be left short. Hiring local property valuers, for example, can help to give you a better idea of the ideal location and also take some of the stress away.

4. Select the Operation Manager

Unless you plan to position yourself at the helm of the entire operation, appointing a Relocation Operation Manager is a must.

Remember, moving can be a messy business, even when performed on a smaller scale, so imagine how hectic it can get when a large scale business is relocating.

Just as a project manager is concerned with making sure everything runs smoothly when a project is in question, a relocation manager will keep every step of the relocating process under their watchful eye, ensuring it goes smoothly and saving you a bunch of money you'd have otherwise spent on unnecessary costs. 

5. Make an action plan

Once everything is set, you may begin finalizing your preparations for the grand move!

As a finishing step, organize a comprehensive action plan complete with boxes you can check once you've completed a certain task. Create a detailed schedule for your move so that you can keep everything in perspective.

Also, make sure to notify your customers and business partners of your relocation in advance!

All things considered, moving to a new location doesn't have to be either tough or stressful as long as you keep the whole process firmly under your control.