How To Start A Moving Business: 9 Costly Mistakes To Avoid

When you decide to start a moving business, you may feel like things are moving full steam ahead. But before you know it, there could be a number of issues in your way that can slow down progress or even derail your new business altogether.

Even if you’re the most organized person on earth, there’s no denying that starting any company comes with its fair share of pitfalls—and movers are no exception. Here are nine common mistakes and how to avoid them when starting out in this lucrative industry:

Not investing in training

Before you begin a moving business, you must ensure that your employees are properly trained. The most important aspect of training is teaching them how to load and unload a van or truck safely. This must be taught first-hand with practical demonstrations on what not to do. For example, if an employee loads furniture from the top down, they will be more likely to damage it than loading from the bottom up.

It’s also important for movers to learn how to strap furniture properly so that when they move it off one truck and onto another truck or into storage, nothing falls off during transit due to slippage. In addition, employees should be instructed on how much weight different objects can handle before becoming damaged during transportation.

Forgetting to get licensed and insured

Before you start, you need to get licensed and insured. You need to register with the region and complete the paperwork. You should also have a business license, phone number, and website. If you look for truck and van sales, ensure you’ve looked into the vehicle’s insurance before purchase.

Not planning seasonally

A common mistake that new movers make is not planning their business around the seasons. When it comes to moving, spring and summer are the busiest times of the year, while winter and fall are slower. You need to understand how these changes affect your business plan to succeed in this industry. A good way to get started is by building a seasonal calendar that outlines your budget for each season and any other projects or initiatives. You can also use this tool as a guide when hiring seasonal help; there will be more jobs available during certain times of the year than others, so make sure you’re prepared.

Not prioritizing safety

Safety is one of the most important things to consider in your first year. You can’t get away with shorting on training or equipment because you have a big job that needs to be done ASAP. It’s best to avoid working yourself and your employees into the ground by keeping a healthy balance between hard work, rest, and relaxation.

Be careful to avoid skimping on either side of this equation. Plenty of companies invest in training but don’t invest in equipment or proper staffing. On the other hand, some companies will hire anyone off the street without checking their references, which is a recipe for disaster when it comes time for moving day.

Overburdening yourself with debt

Avoiding debt is not only a good financial practice but also an important part of running a business. However, if you’re taking on too much debt to finance your moving company, you could run into some severe problems.

If the company is unable to make payments on its loans and bills, it may have a harder time servicing those debts later on. In addition to that problem being financially draining for you as the owner, it can also lead to legal trouble if creditors start suing or garnishing wages from your employees who are helping pay off this debt created by mismanagement and poor decision-making.

Over-promising and under-delivering

It’s unfortunate that many businesses over-promise and under-deliver—and it’s a costly mistake, which is why you need to know how to fix it when you make this type of mistake. When you over-promise and under-deliver, customers are left with a bad taste in their mouths. They feel like they’ve been lied to, tricked into buying something that wasn’t what they were promised. It can damage your reputation and your business in the long run.

The solution is simple: be upfront about how long it will take for you to deliver something, and be honest about what you can do for them. For example, if someone asks for a custom list of ten people who might want to buy from them, tell them that the list will take two weeks to compile (and then do it). Or in the case of your moving business, if you tell them that you can move them on a certain day and with care, ensure that you are there on time and ensure your workers know that they have to be careful with the property of your client. If anything is damaged or goes missing it will be your business that suffers.

Not taking advantage of marketing opportunities

Marketing opportunities come in many forms, and you can only sometimes see them coming. But if you’re not actively looking for them, then you’re missing out—and leaving money on the table.

The one step to ensuring you’re taking advantage of marketing opportunities is to decide on a strategy that works for your business and stick with it. You should constantly be looking for new ways to grow, even if they seem like a bad idea at first glance.

For example, using memes on social media sites like TikTok, or even creating a YouTube channel and greeting a series surrounding how you move your clients and the different places your company visits, Taking advantage of every possible marketing venture will be better for you in the long run, rather than not taking the opportunity in the first place.

Failing to set aside money for taxes

As a business owner, you can expect to pay taxes on your income, capital gains, and losses. Your tax liability will depend on whether your business is considered an S corporation or an LLC and whether you have an employee. If you have employees, the government will expect to get paid when they collect payroll taxes from their employers’ wages.

You may need to set aside money in an account that’s separate from other funds because taxes may call for it at any time during the year. If they believe there are issues with your reporting practices or feel they’re owed more than what was reported in the previous year’s returns, which could happen if your business has grown substantially, it coiled to have a negative effect on your business

Not planning for disorganization.

If you are planning to avoid disorganization, you are taking advantage of a huge opportunity to save money and increase productivity. A step in avoiding disorganization is to have a written plan. If you do not have one, the chances of being unorganized are high.

For example: if your business is moving into a new building, having an organized plan will help make sure that all of your employees know where everything goes. It will also make sure that nothing gets damaged during the move.

Another way to avoid disorganization is by using tools such as software programs like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to keep track of information such as customer orders to clarify what needs to be done next.

Conclusion

Don’t let yourself be caught off guard by the moving business mistakes that can sink your company. Instead, follow these tips, and you’ll avoid costly missteps and ensure a smooth start to your venture.