10 challenges of Independent Moving Companies

10 challenges of Independent Moving Companies

As an independent moving company, there are several obstacles and challenges that you will face. Discern and be aware of the 10 biggest challenges that you will face.

  1. Developing your idea and vision

This is widely considered as the first challenge every independent mover will have to face. Trying to find the right way to run your company and running it off your idea is not an easy thing to do. As an independent mover you need to be able to see what others can’t. If others see a problem, you see an opportunity.

However the main challenge of this task is going to be converting those problems into your business idea and vision of your moving company. Try the following steps to help you convert any potential problems into an opportunity.

–           Identify the problem

–           See the opportunity in the problem

–           Coming up with a solution

–           Develop your opportunity into a business idea

–           Integrate opportunity into a business plan

  1. Raising your Capital

After you have developed your idea, your next challenge is raising the capital. As the independent mover, you are the only one who truly knows your idea down to the core. Trying to convince an investor about your idea is a definite challenge. Keep in mind that there is more to raising capital that asking for money, an investor is more likely to invest in an already established company with minimum risk. When you build an independent moving company from scratch, raising capital is a definite challenge.

In order to overcome this obstacle, you need to develop the ability to sell your vision and idea to investors. In the capital raising game, you need to have a good story that is backed up with a smart business plan.

3.     Assemble a Team

The third challenge you will face when building an independent moving company is assembling the right team.  Your team needs to consist of people who can help grow your moving company. As an independent mover, you will have obvious strengths and weaknesses. For this reason you will need to assemble a team that can play off of both. The hard part is assembling the team, but communicating your vision and passion can be easy and fun.

It’s imperative that you strive to make sure that your team sees the same future that you see. In turn they must believe in your possibilities and have a passion to make it reality. If your chosen team does not amount up to these standards, then keep searching.

  1. Finding the Best Location

If you have a feeling that this is going to be easy, you may want to take a long hard look at how important the location for your moving company is. Discern the following areas and use them as a basis for finding the best location:

– Suitable price
– Easy access to raw materials
– Good network to roads
– Basic amenities and infrastructures
– Adequate Power supply
– Easy access to cheap labor
– Nearness to high traffic roads
– Moderate state and federal tax
– Favorable Government fiscal and monetary policy
– Favorable federal and state laws.
– Current economic policy and political situation.

5. Find the right employees

Finding the right employee is harder than simply presenting a job description, you need to search out the passionate, driven and trustworthy employees. Those who are independent moving company owners know how difficult it can be to find an honest and trustworthy employee.

Keep in mind that your employees represent your moving company to your customers on the field. An employee is a reflection of your moving businesses ethics and culture. A good rule to live by when searching for employees is to “hire slow and fire fast”.

6. Find good customers

The sixth challenge independent movers will face is finding good customers. We say good customers, because we all know about bad customers.

Always be on your guard for bad customers, especially in the moving industry. Good customers can be hard to find. A good customer is one who is loyal to your moving company and is able to forgive you and accept an apology when mistakes have been made. Good customers will do the right thing, which is in the benefit of both them and the company.

A bad customer will always look for loopholes in the company’s policy to exploit and make some few gains. Bad customers will always try to exploit the company’s goodwill and look for ways to rip off the company. Bad customers are responsible for bad debts.

You will know a bad customer if you see one. A bad customer will try to liquidate your business. Just as you would fire a bad employee, you must also be prepared to fire a bad customer without any hesitation. You must not allow a customer to take advantage of your business or employees.

7.     Overcoming the Competition:

Competition is an obvious challenge. Most people see competition as a plague on their moving company, but try to look at it as a challenge instead. Look at competition as a benchmark for creativity. Without any competition there would not be any innovation, leaving a stagnate market. Competition will keep you on your toes and drive you to constantly improve your moving services.

“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.” – Robert Kiyosaki

8.     Be aware of any Unforeseen Challenges and Expenses:

These may include:

– Unexpected law suits
– Inconsistent government policy
– Not being able to make payroll
– Unpaid bills or taxes
– Unexpected resignation of staff from sensitive office
– Bad debts from customers
– Loss of market share
– Dwindling working capital
– Inadequate stock or inventory

These challenges, if not handled immediately and effectively, can ruin your moving business. Be awake and aware when or if any of the listed happens, and always be pro-active.

9. Keep Up With Industrial Changes and Trends:

Changes in trends less common in the moving industry, but still something you need to be aware of. Trends have made and broken lot of businesses. Seasoned moving company owners know that trend is always a friend and are always willing to adjust their business with the current trend. Keep your eyes open to spot trends, it is really a challenge but the bigges task will be your ability to quickly use the trend to your advantage.

10. Exiting the Business:

When building your moving business from scratch, you are going to face the business challenge of determining your exit strategy. Most independent movers run their business without any plans to exit and even if they have an exit strategy, they find it difficult to implement it.

Before starting your moving company, it is advisable to always plan your exit. There are benchmarks you can use to determine your exit from the business. Examples of such benchmarks are:

– Annual sales
– Annual Turnover
– Asset Base
– Market Saturation

An exit may be painful, but it is best to have one just in case the worst happens.

Discern and put to practice these 10 key areas and you will be well on your way to a successful independent moving company.