Starting a business isn’t as glamorous as it might sound. Yes, the final goal is to be financially free, have free time to travel the world and all this other stuff that comes with it, but people don’t talk about how hard it is to make it successful. You need knowledge and action to get a chance to make it in business. It can be profitable, but it requires planning, and you should know everything about the local regulations and how to win in the customer service field. The most successful businesses were started by people who were doing moving on the side. Meaning, they had a full-time job and in their free time they were taking on moving jobs on their own. Let’s get into this guide that we put together to help you get an idea on where to start.
Market Research
Before you start on anything, you should understand the local market. We are talking about Tacoma here, so you should be aware of the ups and downs that come with the seasons of the year. Temperatures and the weather conditions will dictate a lot in your new journey. Traffic is another thing to pay attention to.
- Competition – search on Google for “movers near me” and look at the top 3 companies that show up in google search and on google maps. Study everything about them. Figure out how much they invest in advertising, how they started, how they expanded and why people like them so much. Think about how you could be different and better than them.
- Target Customers – think about what you want to start with: residential or commercial or even just specialty moves like pion or antiques moves.
- Pricing – look at your competitors to see if they have any pricing on their website, if you can’t find any contact them as a potential customer and ask about how much it would cost to move from point A to a point B just you get an idea on how much these services cost in your area.
Create a Business Plan
This is an important step but don’t go crazy about it. You can never make a perfect business plan, so here are a few things for you to get started on:
- Register your company (LLC, corporation, sole proprietorship) – for beginners start with an individual LLC and when you expand your business you can switch into a C Corp or S Corp. Don’t go crazy about the type of company. You don’t have time for overthinking here.
- Startup costs (trucks, equipment, insurance, licenses)
- Marketing strategy – talk to a few marketing agencies that offer marketing for moving companies in your area to see how much money you need for marketing investments.
- Operational plan (scheduling, staffing, logistics).
- Financial projections.
Register Your Business and Obtain Licenses
In Tacoma, moving companies must comply with local and state regulations:
- Business License: Apply through the City of Tacoma for a general business license.
- Washington State UBI: Register for a Unified Business Identifier (UBI) with the Washington Department of Revenue.
- DOT Authority: If you plan to operate interstate moves, obtain a USDOT number and Motor Carrier (MC) number through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
- Insurance: Secure liability and cargo insurance to protect your business and clients’ belongings.
Acquire Equipment and Supplies
A moving company requires reliable equipment. Key essentials include:
You need equipment. If you are planning to do this on the side, starting small, you will need a few things to get started:
- Trucks or vans – you don’t need to buy one, you can rent one from your local U-Haul store or Home Depot.
- Dollies, moving blankets, straps, and packing supplies – these are some things that would be good to buy tight away as it will save you energy. Dollies are important, moving blankets can be rented from Home Depot and then you just have to pay for the packing supplies which shouldn’t cost too much.
- GPS or routing software to optimize travel times – you can use a simple GPS on your phone. This should be enough for you to get started. You don’t need QuickBooks or other crazy expensive software for your fist year in business. You need to make money, not to spend them.
- Phone systems and scheduling software – use google calendars, they are free and more than enough for your first moves.
Hire and Train Staff
Your team will define your company’s reputation. Hire skilled, trustworthy movers and provide training in:
The training shouldn’t take too long. Find a couple of friends to help you when you get a bigger job. Most of your jobs will probably more of loading/unloading labor only jobs, until you’ll start figuring things out.
Set Your Pricing and Services
Develop service packages that appeal to different customer needs:
Here’s one mistake than many beginner mover make, they start charging corporation prices. Lower you rates a little bit, maybe 20-30% so you can get some clients. In this way people will learn about you existing in the market and with time they will start to recommend you to other people like neighbors and friends. Word of mouth is most powerful marketing campaign. Don’t underestimate it.
Market Your Moving Company
Digital marketing works. Start with your website. Build a beautiful website and make sure it’s index on google and other search engines like Bing, Yahoo, etc. Add your business on google maps, make sure you have a few beautiful photos and upload them all on your website and google maps.
Again, you don’t have to go too crazy about it. Marketing is expensive at firs; just make sure you start with your website to look really good. After that you can add a few posts on local directories like craigslist and maybe look for a few Facebook groups in your area where you could make some posts with your services and website.
Final Ideas
Like I already mentioned above, all of Tacoma’s moving companies started with the first small step. Start with something, find that first client and do your best at helping them move whatever they need to be moved and keep doing that over and over again, and you will see how people will start to recommend you to others. You will grow in time, just be patient.
Starting a moving business shouldn’t be so hard and scary like many people might say. Don’t listen to anybody and go for it even if you don’t know how things work. You will learn along the way, as long as you have that drive to go after it.
