By Samantha Higgins

Relocating your office is a huge decision to make and comes with its challenges. The process can lead to a significant disturbance to your company’s activities. As your company grows, its needs keep changing, and you are left with no choice but to move it to a bigger office. According to a review by Forbes, on average, business owners are faced with the decision to move their business once every seven years. Due to the stressful nature of moving a business from one office to another, you need to find ways to do it smoothly.

Below are ways you can relocate your company to a bigger office without causing any distractions.

– Start planning early

Making this decision requires careful consideration of all possibilities before giving it the go-ahead. Therefore, you start your planning process as early as four to six months before actually moving to alleviate chances of significant disturbances. The early you start planning, the more you get sufficient time to ensure each aspect is captured in your business relocation plan. Besides, remember to tell your staff about the planned business relocation as soon as possible. In some cases, moving a business can affect workers’ family life. Thus, informing them earlier helps them adjust easily.

– Outsource the services of a moving company

Similar to any service that’s on-demand, moving companies get reservations pretty fast. Therefore, you need to make your booking as early as possible to ensure you receive services from the best moving company. Making your booking late increases the challenges you can encounter during the relocation process.

Additionally, you should make sure the moving company your hire has the necessary tools and equipment to facilitate a smooth relocation. Moving a business requires a lot of effort, equipment, and human resources. As such, you should find a moving company that has the necessary tools, including motorcycle shipping equipment. Ultimately, finding a well-equipped moving company can help you move your business smoothly.

– Create a budget and adhere to it

Moving your business to a bigger office can create a chance for you to misuse your funds if you’re not careful. As such, taking the time to make a budget is an excellent way to capture all expenses you expect to incur. Many collapsed businesses are remembered for having taken the wrong decisions to relocate to prestigious areas where their budget couldn’t sustain. Therefore, ensure you remain strict regarding the budget you intend to use in moving your business. Additionally, you should carry out a full inventory check to know the necessary items to carry and those to sell. Eventually, creating a detailed business moving budget and sticking to it can help you relocate your company smoothly.

– Update your business address

The earlier you embark on updating your business address on printed materials, the better your relocation would be in the long run. As a result, you should start ordering your company’s new letterheads, return labels, business cards, and other documents with your business address on them. Also be sure to update the address on your website and on online directories.

By doing these things early, you’ll prevent unnecessary disturbances when you eventually settle in your new bigger office. Consequently, this leads to a smooth and uninterrupted relocation to your new office.

– Remember to carry your IT equipment

In most cases, the most significant disruption of moving your business to a new office is the disconnection you do on all your IT equipment. In case the moving of your IT equipment isn’t done with the utmost care, you risk losing sensitive data. Without some of these data, your business may be disrupted, leading to workflow inefficiency.

Additionally, inform your IT department about the new office they’ll relocate into, for them to identify and recommend the necessary technical adjustments. Besides, you should allow your IT department to develop a plan of how IT equipment needs to be moved. In the end, this will ensure every precaution is taken to smoothly and carefully move this sensitive equipment.

Relocating your business from its current office to a new and bigger office can be financially, emotionally, and physically draining. However, business relocation is a decision you can’t evade at times. Therefore, you need to find ways to smoothly move your business to a bigger office without causing significant interruptions. A few of these ways include starting to plan early, outsourcing the services to a moving company, and creating a budget and adhering to it. You should also remember to update your business addresses and carry your IT equipment. Eventually, by applying these strategies, you can smoothly move your business to a bigger office space.

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Samantha Higgins is a professional writer with a passion for research, observation, and innovation. She is nurturing a growing family of twin boys in Portland, Oregon, with her husband. She loves kayaking and reading creative non-fiction.