-Written by Erik Sargent
When it comes to the moving process, people generally think of small, local moves, usually with homes, apartments, or condos consisting of a few people and their belongings.
There are countless factors to take into consideration when moving a business, mainly the ability to stay in operation, along with transporting belongings and equipment, and changing company info.
According to the Market Intelligence Blue Book from Coldwell Banker Commercial – a company that specializes in tracking commercial real estate moves and helping assist with the process – Southern California has seen a major spike in business moves. The report states this surge in moving is due to a wide range of factors, including low vacancy rates, increased land sale, and strong activity at ports in cities like Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“Employment is predicted to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent over the next five years, adding over 300,000 jobs across all industry sectors,” said the report of the Los Angeles market.
So how does the moving process for a business come to fruition? Meticulous planning and attention to detail are a must, and having a solid plan in place will help ease the process immensely.
One business in this region that recently completed a move was the YWCA of Pasadena. The YWCA of Pasadena is a non-profit organization that serves women and girls in the area, and focuses on empowering them through a variety of platforms.
“Being a non-profit, we have programs after school for girls in the area,” said Jessica Kubel, executive director of the YWCA of Pasadena. “The week that we did the move, we had to put our programs on hold for a few days so we could complete the moving process.”
Kubel and the staff at the YWCA were looking for a safer building for their girls that was ADA compliant, in a better location, had better parking, and more affordable rent. The recent real-estate surge for Southern California made this possible, and soon enough, they were in their new building.
The move took about a week total, with a majority of the move taking place over two days where most of the big items were transported to the new location.
“This is the first time I’ve had to move the organization, so it was a little new to me,” Kubel said. “(Some challenges were) just having have to re-do all of our I.T. servers, and making sure that our clients, supporters, and donors knew where the new location was. Other than that, it was pretty smooth.”
Finding companies that can handle moves of this magnitude can be a struggle, but one company that has made a name for itself in the commercial business moving industry is the nationally recognized moving company, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®.
With more than 350 locations across the United States and more than six million moves completed, TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® has established themselves as the leaders of the moving community.
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® was able to assist Kubel in moving the YWCA building over a year ago, providing the assistance needed and also doing it for a good cause.
“It worked out really nicely with (TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®),” Kubel said. “They were able to donate the moving services to us because we are a non-profit organization.”
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®’s Pasadena franchise has been involved with many of the commercial business moves highlighted in the Blue Book report, and they are receiving anywhere from three to five business move requests per month.
“Usually businesses get a few different quotes, and they generally go with us because of the higher quality of service,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Pasadena Marketing Manager Stefanie Shook. “The process for a business move is very similar to a home move. We take a look at everything they are trying to move to help us get a better understanding of how many packers, movers, drivers, and trucks we will need to complete the move. Smaller businesses tend to just want to pack themselves, where larger businesses tend to need help packing.”
According to Shook, the most important factor of a business move is communication. They work to have an exact plan for the process before everything begins, and they remain available for contact at all times throughout the move.
Along with communication, Shook said they strive to provide a level of trust and peace of mind for the businesses they are moving, and they go out of their way to do all they can.
“Businesses can expect all of the same great qualities they would receive during a home move from TWO MEN AND A TRUCK®,” Shook said. “We provide peace of mind by having drug tested, background checked, fully trained and uniformed movers, all of their furniture padded and stretch wrapped, and the same level of quality care that has run our business for over 30 years.”
The Blue Book Report from Coldwell Banker commercial highlighted a few other regions of the country seeing a major boost in commercial real estate markets, including the Midwest, Northeast, and South Atlantic areas. The Midwest and the Northeast are also seeing a high number of multi-family business moves over the last year.
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® 