PROBLEM SOLVER #25
“MOVING YOUR BUSINESS”
PAUL A. RIECKS, INNER CIRCLE OF BALTIMORE
QUESTION: I have been wrestling with a decision over the past 6 months whether to move my business or not. We are a second-generation distributor with a lot of customers who pick up items in addition to the deliveries we make. Our customers have been used to where we are for over 40 years. But, our warehouse is bursting at the seams and there is no ability to expand where we are. How do other business owners decide to bite the bullet and move?
RESPONSE: In the 17 years or so since Inner Circle started here, every business owner I have seen make the decision and move has seen his or her business benefit and even prosper. Here are some observations other business owners have made as to why this is so and some tips on optimizing the impact of the move.
Why moves can help. The first reason is the most obvious. When a business outgrows its space to “stock” and deliver whatever goods and services it sells, bad things happen-delivery times lengthen, product lines don’t grow with the market, customer satisfaction declines and so do revenues and profits.
Space restrictions also can prevent owners from hiring the additional people they need to support the growth of the business-sales, administrative, operations, and technical people. They need the people but there is no place to put them. This condition can lead to a near paralysis of the company. When people work hard to generate what customers want, this almost always leads to success. Success almost always leads to growth. And growth leads to space restrictions.
A move can also re-energize a company and the entire workforce. This is especially true when an older facility has become a real pain for everyone involved. There is something magic about getting into new surroundings that helps people see things from a fresh perspective. The new space does not have to be in a new building, it just has to be new to the occupants.
Customers that are properly notified and prepared for a move can also see the company in a new light. They see a firm that is doing the right things and is growing, a firm that provides appropriate facilities for employees to do their jobs and deliver what the customers buy. (Of course, you have to be careful not to create a “palace” if such a place creates the wrong impression on customers-unless you are in a special business where clients expect that sort of thing.)
A move can also propel a company into a whole new level of operation and success. A larger warehouse can lead to more economical buying of product or raw materials (as long as inventory expenses don’t get out of hand.) A larger sales and customer staff generate can more clients and still provide the level of support that brought the company this far.
In the very smallest of firms, a move can help the owner bring in the one or two people he or she needs to stop doing the things that prevent the highest and best use work that the owner should be doing.
Optimizing the move. Start with what you want from the move. What is your vision for the company in its new quarters? How big do you want to get? What new markets and products or services will the move enable you to offer? What do the answers tell you about how much space you will need and where you should be located?
To answer these last two questions, get professional help. Architects are trained to help you project your space needs. If this is your first move, learn how an architect can help and be prepared to pay them like you would any other professional. Work with someone you like and trust after interviewing several of them.
Commercial real estate brokers make their money by facilitating your search for the right location. Ask other people who have used brokers. Get some referrals and interview each. Again, work with someone you like and trust.
Ask your employees for suggestions. Get their views on the impact of a move. Seek their suggestions on the kinds of improvements that would help them do their jobs better. Incorporate the best suggestions into the input to the space designers. This accomplishes two important things: first, the more input the employees have in the move, the more “ownership” and satisfaction they will have in it; and second, you may wind up with some terrific ideas that you would never thought of yourself.
And finally, put someone in charge of the moving project, and make sure it is not you. For larger moves, you can hire outside professional help that knows how to manage these kinds of projects. For smaller moves, you may find an underutilized employee who is good at getting it done. Moving your business can move it to that next level you want it to achieve.
Inner Circle Mid-Atlantic forms groups of 10-15 business owners and facilitates their monthly meetings. In each "Inner Circle" meeting the members help each other fight the isolation that affects people "at the top," share experiences and advice and address the issues they face in running and growing their companies. Visit the Inner Circle Mid-Atlantic at www.innercirclemidatlantic.com or call Paul Riecks at (410) 323-7429.
(C) 2004, Baltimore SmartCEO and Inner Circle of Baltimore
