As a business owner, a time comes when you want smaller or larger office space, a better location or a more advantageous lease. Perhaps you want to test the benefits of co-working spaces. Whatever reason you have to move your business, the relocation process is mostly the same. Although it can be stressful, the benefits in the long-term can largely outweigh the inconvenience. With proper planning, moving your business will not disrupt your workforce or affect your business operations.

          Here are a few tips to help you make the best decisions about business relocation.

 Sort Your Things Before Packing

Even if you’re moving to a larger space and storage is not an issue, why pay to move unnecessary things that will only serve to clutter the new office? Sorting your things should be the first thing you do once you’ve made your decision to relocate, perhaps even before choosing a new location. This way you’ll be able to better evaluate how much space you need.

Sorting your things beforehand and giving up on some possessions is an even more stringent issue when you’re relocating to a smaller space. You will have to either get rid of some equipment, devices, furniture or other assets or find a store where you could keep them safe at a reasonable cost. By the time the moving company arrives, you should know the destination of each box: the new location, storage, charity or online marketplace.

This Is the Perfect Time to Innovate and Upgrade

Moving your business is a great opportunity to reassess many aspects of your business and come up with better solutions for growth. For example, if your office furniture is old and cumbersome, why not upgrade to something more comfortable that will fit the new location better and occupy less space?

You can apply the same logic to equipment, tools or computers. Buying slimmer desks can be just a bit more expensive than moving old and bulky ones. Also, old office equipment and old computers require a lot of maintenance, while new models come with dozens of useful features. 

Optimizing your new workplace with new furniture and equipment will lead to an increase in productivity, so this a great investment in the long-term, in addition to making moving much easier. All you have to do is to direct the vendors to the new address and pay for shipping. There’s no need to struggle anymore with coordinating a moving company or fitting all the old things in the new space.

Inform Everyone in Advance

Your clients, suppliers and the post office must be well-informed about your relocation so that the necessary adjustments can be made to your shipping and billing address. To avoid any confusions, finish and reschedule any last-minute deliveries or meetings.

One or two weeks before moving, update your business contact information on your website and change your business cards. By doing so, your business will not suffer major disruptions and as soon as your employees arrive at the new office, they will be able to resume work with no downtime.

Relocating your business means moving people, things and services, so there’s a lot to take care of. Create a detailed plan to ensure you will not neglect essential aspects during the process.