Thinking about moving your business to the other side of town? Or, perhaps you’re thinking about moving your business to a new city.
With either of these scenarios, you’ll run into a slew of positives as well as negatives. Let’s look at some things to consider before moving your business.
Employees
You want to consider your employees before deciding to relocate.
There’s always the option of employee relocation, but as a startup you might not have the budget, or people might not want to move with you.
So, moving your business may mean having to find all new employees. This is when it’s good to have a human resources department to help you manage the move as it pertains to your employees.
Moving Costs
A good rule of thumb when moving is to expect the costs to be much higher than you anticipate.
Whether you’re moving across town or to a different city or state, you still have to move an entire office including your products, equipment and furnishings.
You’ll also want to factor in the cost of this downtime as it’s unlikely you’ll be doing much business during the move.
Make sure to let people know on your website, social media and answering systems what’s going on so you don’t lose business.
Competition
Before making the decision to relocate your company, you want to do the same market research you did when launching your startup.
For example, you want to make sure you research the competition. If you sell children’s toys, how many other toy sellers are in your new chosen location?
In addition, if you sell items to a target demographic that depends upon walk-in traffic, you want to make sure your new location is in the right market, and that there is a customer base for what you’re offering.
Bottom line – you need to understand the demographics of your new location. Does your desire to expand meet the actual need of the area?
If so, the odds of a successful move are higher than if the need doesn’t match your desire.
Culture
The culture of the area you want to move to makes a difference in the office atmosphere.
Employees in different areas of the country and even the world, have unique expectations. For example, employees in San Francisco may have different needs than employees in rural Pennsylvania.
One set may value free catered lunches while others appreciate getting off an hour early.
People in different locations may talk and act different and have different aspirations than what you are used to.
Make sure that you can handle a culture upheaval, especially if you have to hire a new team. Know that one location’s staff may have different needs than another location’s staff.
Operating Costs
Another thing to consider before moving your business is the cost to operate your business in a different location.
There might be advantages or disadvantages.
For example, Illinois has an extremely high tax rate, while Oregon has no state income tax.
Be sure you know the tax rates of your new location and how they apply to not only your business but your employees.
Final Thoughts
Location, location, location. Like most people, you’ve probably heard this saying before.
It pays to give this statement some credence as location is vital to the success of many startups.
While relocating and uprooting your company may seem like a good idea, you really want to think about these things before moving your business. Take note of what we’ve discussed, do your research and make a plan.
You’ll find many reasons to move your business, just make sure they are the right reasons as well as sustainable ones.
Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.
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