15 Simple Steps to Start a Moving Company

Last updated on September 21st, 2024 at 10:28 am

 

To start a moving company now you’re tapping into an industry full of opportunities all around the world. Though sometimes you end up lifting heavy items when moving them to their destinations, it’s not a bad business idea.

In a moving company, you can do a lot for the community, at a personal level, and in business. It’s hard to satisfy the demand for moving services but at least you can do something about it to make some money.

Sure, people and businesses will at all times need you to move their furniture, construction materials, agricultural inputs, and other relevant items at a cost. Because of the always increasing demand for moving services, many companies are put up to advantage.

So, if you’re just getting started or own a moving company in an industry of over fifteen thousand businesses, this step-by-step process is here to guide you.

What Is A Moving Company?

This is a company that helps people or businesses move their belongings from one place to another at an agreed-upon charge. The company ensures that the possessions of clients are moved effectively and efficiently to their destinations.

Types of Moving Companies

There are different types of moving companies to start but best practice is deciding to choose one that is right for you to offer moving services, let’s get into it.

• Residential Moving Company

This moves home items for people and it’s among the most popular of all moving companies. Several services can be offered here for example moving, packaging, loading, and off-loading.

• Local Moving Company

Compared to a residential moving company, this moves home-related items in longer distances within the same state charging clients per hour for work done like packaging, loading and off-loading, and moving items.

• Commercial Moving Company

This is where the company works mainly with businesses in moving their possessions. To start a commercial moving service you must be competent enough for companies to hire you for work.

• Long Distance Moving Company

This is where the company offers moving services from one state to another or different countries. Here charges are mainly based on weight, moving distance, and other related services.

• Specialty Moving Company

The company specializes in moving certain types of items in the moving business for clients for example Aquarium, Agricultural inputs, construction material, Artwork, cars, and more.

Pros and Cons of Starting a Moving Company

Before starting a moving company you need to know about the positive and negative sides of the business.

Pros

• Lots of business opportunities are available
• You don’t need a lot of money to start
• It’s very profitable

Cons

• Stiff competition
• Lifting heavy loads has health risks
• Labor intensive business

Simple Steps To Start a Moving Company

After understanding the pros and cons of starting a moving company, you then need to know where and how to get started setting up to bring the business idea to life. Let’s now get into the simple steps to start a moving company from A-Z.

1. Market Research

In starting up any business, market research should be prioritized to find out whether the business is right for you to set up. Without carrying out market research you won’t be able to know about your competitors and opportunities in the industry.

Doing market research is a process that takes quite some time but worth it. You get to learn about the business in detail and the entire industry so that when you come into play service is provided at its best.

As a new startup, you want to be different in the industry with the best service compared to your competitors, benchmark performers in the same line of business for the best.

Whether you’re just starting or you didn’t take the time to do market research for the business, it’s a step you needn’t avoid when starting a moving service business.

2. Pick a Niche

One of the most effective ways to grow a moving business is by niching down for easy identification. Sure, people want to identify you as a service provider in a certain field of business.

You can decide to move furniture, cars, construction materials, agricultural inputs, and more. Clients will identify the company by the type of service offered.

Make sure that the niche selected should be appropriate to the target market for business purposes. Researching the industry puts you at an advantage in coming up with the best niche for the industry.

You don’t have to be an expert to cite the best niche that suits your interests and the entire industry as long as you carry out market research in the best way possible.

3. Select a Suitable Business Model

You’re done with picking a niche, right? Now you should choose an appropriate business structure for the moving company. Let’s briefly look through the different business models fit for a moving company.

• Consumer to consumer – Here, the moving company offers services to private individuals.
• Business to consumer – This is where the company offers moving services from businesses to individual consumers.
• Business to business – Here, service is offered by the moving company between businesses
• Hybrid model – It consists of both business-to-business and business-to-consumer business models in service delivery.

Select an appropriate business model for a moving company that relates to the interests of the company. This may sometimes be confusing, make sure to get it right.

Here the target market will always dictate the decision to be made for an appropriate business model for a moving company.

4. Make a Business Plan

A moving company should have a business plan to be used in the implementation process. Different components make up a business plan as below.

• Executive summary – It’s an overview of a business plan to mirror the business’s future strategies.
• Strategic market analysis – This is where identification of the target market for moving services is done for effectiveness and efficiency.
• Company Description – This entirely describes the business goals, missions, visions, and services offered.
• Competitive analysis – This is where you get to know about your competitors in business. Understanding who your competitors are is very important for a moving company to have a competitive edge.
• Financial plan – Here planned capital expenditure and projected income for the business are in context, it’s a reflection of the company’s financials.
• Organizational structure – It is where the company’s legal structure and the team are captured.

5. Business Location

A moving service business needs to have a physical location where clients can find it to get assistance. Though most clients request for service through online platforms, in some states you’re required to have a physical address.

Moving service offices must be situated in a place that is strategically located according to business type, for example, residential and commercial moving services should be located differently.

However, you must take into consideration startup costs for a business in a given state before officially opening up. Locate business offices in a state where new startups are at an advantage in terms of taxes and other legal benefits.

Despite startup benefits, don’t forget you need the moving business to be located in a place where there’s a ready market.

6. Register the Business

Before opening up to officially start the moving business, it must be registered with the authorities in charge of business registration in the state.

Register the moving business with an appropriate business structure that suits your interests. Whether you want a sole proprietorship or a partnership, it all depends on business goals and other future interests.

Here is a list of business structures to consider at business registration for moving services.

• Sole Proprietorship – It’s a one-man business with full control and liable to any business proceedings.
• Partnership – Here partners register business to start operations but with equal liability to any business proceedings.
• Limited Liability Company – Compared to a partnership, members of the company are subject to liability and tax protection benefits.
• Corporation – This is a separate legal entity where legal actions and business transactions are operated in the name of the business. Members of the business earn profits in terms of dividends during the financial year.

After choosing an appropriate business structure consider getting a company name for reservation with appropriate authorities. Sure, you need a name that uniquely identifies you from other businesses.

7. Tax Registration

Though the moving business is just starting, in the future it will have to file returns for the financial year. As an employer, you’re required to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or use a Social Security Number (SSN) for a sole proprietorship business for tax purposes.

During the registration process, you’ll also need to choose a tax year that begins in a given month of every financial year. Working out tax requirements in time helps to keep up with tax laws in any state since taxes are compulsory for any business.

8. Business Bank Account

Get a business bank account where official business transactions can be made like tax payments, business earnings, and more. Organize required documents for opening up a company account as advised by the service provider for convenience.

The availability of a company account eases accountability for business incomes and expenditures during the calendar year.

Some documents required by service providers during account opening include an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security Number (SSN), Articles of Incorporation, Directors, Business address, and some other relevant legal documents.

9. Secure Funds

Before or after the business has just started it needs to be funded to keep operating despite some challenges along the way. Initially, you might have some start-up finances but inadequate to facilitate operation hence the need for alternative sources of funds.

Let’s walk through how to get funding for the moving business to effectively support its operations in the long run.

• Personal Savings – Before moving out to get financial support from anyone or an organization, personal savings can be used to invest in the business. Personal savings will help you start without borrowed money that comes with wired interest rates.
• Family Members and Friends – In case your savings are done or you don’t have any savings talk to friends and family members about it. Some will be willing to offer financial support freely or become business partners to share profits.
• Government Grants – Another alternative source of funding for the moving company is through government sites like grants.gov. New startups with up-to-date information about government support get funding here.
• Crowdfunding – You can also get facilitation from investors interested in funding new startups through place platforms like Wefunder and Fundable. Before investing, funders would like to know about the interests of the business hence documenting plans in this process is paramount.

10. Process Licenses and Permits

For any new business to start operations in any state or city, it should possess the required licenses and permits by law. You can’t start a business without being officially authorized by responsible authorities in your city.

I don’t know where your business offices are located, but licensing and permit requirements differ in several states.

For a moving company, you’ll have to register with authorities like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) responsible for transportation and motor carrier licensing numbers. Consider an international registration plan and fuel tax agreement tag for transportation to different states for example a long-distance moving company.

There might be several other licensing and permit requirements you may need to acquire, consult with appropriate authorities, or talk to a business specialist for assistance. Also, you can use the Small Business Administration (SBA) Guide for further inquiries about licensing and permit requirements.

11. Staffing

Any business requires staff to offer service when there’s need though sometimes it depends on the size and demand. When there’s no need for filling a given position recruitment isn’t necessary unless otherwise.

However, when the company starts to pick up it will get more business which would require more staff to support operations in the long run. Ensure to employ people with the required skills for a moving services company.

Consult with online platforms like Fiverr and Upwork to get access to professional staff for a moving company when in need. You don’t have to invest a lot of money into sourcing staff since there are several online platforms where you can place job adverts for free to get quality employees.

12. Business Insurance

Another very important step in starting a moving company is business insurance against unpredictable events. Sure, you will need to insure workers, cars, and the entire business property to avoid unpredictable costs.

Whether you’re just starting or not, basic insurance covers should be prioritized depending on the nature of the business. Insurance is an expense to the business and the best way to minimize costs is by shopping around for cheap quality service providers.

We can now check out some insurance covers worth purchasing for a moving company to keep safe from unpredictable events.

• Workman’s Compensation – The policy covers moving company workers whenever they get injured at work during working hours.
• Business Property Insurance – Equipment and supplies for the moving company business are all covered here.
• Commercial Auto Insurance – This is a must-have insurance cover for a moving company to cover its vehicles.
• Liability Insurance – Injuries and property damage are all covered under liability insurance coverage. If you’re looking for an all-in-one insurance package you can’t miss it out.

With some states depending on the company, a list of insurance covers is a requirement before officially starting business operations. You should look out for appropriate insurance covers for the business.

13. Establish an Online Presence

Today, whether you like it or not you need to have a social media platform or business website for business purposes. Despite having a physical location, you need to have online platforms for the moving company.

Clients want to find you with convenience because many won’t have the time to come to your offices. When I was doing my online side hustle, most of the people who requested a physical address didn’t turn up.

Online platforms ease communication but also make sure that you meet the expectations of the clients to build trust.

Setting up professional social media platforms and a business website will cost you some money when you’re not tech-savvy. You can hire a professional social media developer and a website designer through online platforms like Fiverr and Upwork at cheaper costs.

Establishing an online presence will save you the hassles of hunting down clients with a traditional door-to-door approach to business. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok with a business website will give a boost to your marketing strategy to target clients.

Putting up an online platform is key to any business in today’s business environment, but make sure to choose an online platform that is right for the moving company for business success in the future.

14. Route Planning and Transport

In a moving company you need to manage time and fuel costs hence the need to plan routes effectively. The shortest routes will always save time and money in fuel costs.

A moving company in the startup stage should save on transportation using appropriate route planning software. It should be supplemented with suitable vehicles or trucks used in moving property.

The usage of appropriate route optimization software to streamline transportation brings about effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery. An effective route optimization will give the best guess about the time, distance, and speed required to move items.

Therefore, planning routes and using appropriate transportation are among the requirements that will give you an edge in the industry.

15. Market the Business

The moving company has to spread awareness about its services to target clients. Marketing can be done in different ways for example using paid and non-paid platforms.

Through social media, a business website, and paid ads the moving company can reach out to several people that would be interested in the services offered.

Using paid ads can be quite costly for the new startup unless otherwise, but social media and a business website can be a good start for organic traffic to the business.

Social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and more. Besides, there are also traditional marketing channels like using fliers, banners, posters, billboards, and car adverts.

When you want to make marketing more professional, hire expert marketing specialists for the business. This might be quite costly to the company but the outcomes are worth the costs in the long term.

FAQs

What Expenses Are Involved In Starting A Moving Company And Will Continuously Cost The Business?

Several expenses will continue costing the business for example truck, office rent, equipment, insurance, wages, and more.

How Much Do I Need To Start A Moving Company?

If you’re serious about starting a moving company it will cost you about $65000 on average. The most costly start-up requirement here is a company truck.

Closing – How to Start a Moving Company

When you start up a moving company you must be patient enough to wait for results, the industry is growing fast with several competitors out there nowadays. Like any other business, you must put in the work by providing the best service to make money.