Wednesday, May 18, 2016

TIPS FOR RELOCATING YOUR BUSINESS

If youre looking to relocate your business to a new location, the good news is that your company is growing and in need of bigger space. But you might be worried about the finer details to make the move as easy of a transition as possible. Dont worry. These tips will clear the way for smooth sailing, and show you how to have fun in the process.

Divide and Conquer
Theres an old carpenters motto that you should measure twice and cut once. A similar thought can be applied to planning the move to your new location. One of the biggest concerns with business owners during a move is having a large lapse in work productivity. Youll want to organize your business into categories, like essential and non-essential operations. What can your business live without, or at a bare minimum during the move? Those departments should be the first to pack-up and relocate. Theyll be able to get situated in the new location and get back to daily operations as soon as theyve settled. More essential operations should be the last to move to keep business operating as close to normal as possible. An alternative method is to temporarily rent a co-working space, like WeWork, for essential business operations, or allow employees to work from home, while professional commercial movers pack and transport office items to the new location.

Pack Early, Organize and Dont Forget to Label
Getting a jump-start on packing is never a bad idea. Waiting until the last minute can cause additional delays in the moving process and more stress than necessary. Additionally, not properly labeling boxes and bins causes confusion and misplacement of important materials. The best way to solve this issue to pack according to department, labeling the boxes to indicate what is inside and the department to which the items belong. For example, if your sales department packed their offices efficiently, boxes should be labeled: Sales Departmentcomputer monitors and cables, or, Sales DepartmentClient Files, A- F, 2014- 2016.

Dont Be Scared of the Trash Bin or the Donation Bin
Even if your business is moving after only six months, a lot of clutter can accumulate. Spend some time prior to packing going through shelves, drawers and cabinets to eliminate odds and ends, like take out menus, old business cards, broken office products, etc. Having a de-cluttered desk, or work station leads, to a de-cluttered mind. Try to make this a common practice once every two months at the new location to keep up efficiency.

If youre looking to upgrade your tech, desk, chairs or other office furniture, there are plenty of donation locations, or young start-up businesses, looking for low-cost and gently used items to get their business started. Dont forget you were in their shoes once, and donating office supplies is an environmentally friendly way to keep more office equipment out of landfills.

Update Your Contact Information and Let People Know
Your snail mail address will change when you move, so make sure you let customers and clients know well in advance that youre moving, when youre moving and where youre moving to. Posts to blogs and social media help, as do email campaigns. Make sure customers and clients know if your phone number will change and any changes to hourly operations. Youll also want to make sure you update any stationary, business cards, email signatures or wherever your business address is listed.

Make a Check List
If youve ever left for the grocery store with a mental list of items in your head, chances are you forgot all but one item on the drive over. Make a physical checklist of all the items youll need to move and make sure to check them off as theyre packed and brought to your new office location. There are plenty of organization apps, like Google Keep, to create and manage lists on your smartphone or tablet.

Have Fun
When The New Yorker magazine moved its offices to downtown Manhattan, they had to transport furniture, technology and decadesworth of back issues, documents, books, files, artwork and much more. So what did they do? They had a party and shared their move with the world. Not only did the staff document the move on their blog, they also used Instagram to share images and anecdotes using #TNYMoves. It was a unique way to engage the magazines readers with a behind the scenes look into the publications past, while also looking ahead to its future. By using social media to share your own moving experience, clients and customers will get to see another side to your business. Its a great way to build a stronger relationship with your followers on social media, and can help grow your companys brand. It can also ease the stress of the move

Hire Professionals
The best way to relieve stress is to hire a moving company that cares about your belongings as much as you do, and offers safe and easy transportation for local or long-distance moves. Moving companies that also offer storage facilities can be beneficial if there is a gap between your move-in and move-out dates. Earle W. Noyes & Sonsstorage and Commercial Moving services come fully equipped to meet your individual business needs and put your mind at ease.

Sources: Instagram, Green Standard, WeWork

Thursday, May 5, 2016

HELPFUL TIPS FOR MOVING WITH CHILDREN

Moving can be a stressful time in your life. Add children into the mix and moving could begin to seem unbearable. Fortunately, there are some simple things that you can do to help prepare your children for the impending move and help things go smoothly throughout the entire process.

Talk with your children. Whether you are moving across town or across the country, this will help them to know what to expect throughout the entire move. Explain to your children that the move is exciting and encourage them to express how they are feeling about the situation. Depending on age, there are also many great books that you can read to help younger children better understand the move.

Involve them in the process. If you haven't already purchased a house, try to include them in the process as much as possible. This will make them feel included and let them know that their opinions count. If the house is too far for them to visit, show them photos and even let them see their new room.

Have a yard sale. In order to save money and space while moving, have a family yard sale. Let your children pick out things of their own to sell and they can use the money they make to buy things for their new room.

Visit your new area. If you are able to visit your new town or area, bring your children along to check it out. Drive/walk around and show them areas like parks, schools, and playgrounds. When your children have new things to look forward to, it will make old things easier to leave.

Have a party. Even if you aren’t moving far away, children often have an emotional connection to their house. Having a farewell party for your house can be a great way to make sure your children have happy memories about leaving. If you are moving farther away and visiting friends and family might be a bit more difficult, have a “See You Soon” party. This can be a great time to make sure your children have contact information for all their friends. With so many ways to keep in touch, (phone, email, text, FaceTime) it should be much easier to say “See you soon!”

Once you're in your new home, let the little ones help decorate their new room. This will help them to feel comfortable in the new space and it will feel much more familiar when it is filled with their own things. Also, let your kids explore their new home and surrounding area. This will help them get comfortable at their own speed. 

Moving with children is always a challenge, but it doesn't have to be an overly stressful situation. With a few simple preparations and a little creativity, it can be an exciting time for everyone. Earle W. Noyes & Sons has over 90 years of experience moving families and we do everything we can to help make moving with children as easy as possible. Please consider giving us a call or visiting our website for more information.

Sources: HowStuffWorks, ParentSquad,