Do you want to start a business with a low budget? If yes, consider opening a moving company. The profitable business of packing and moving things can be started with almost no money within a city or across, even across countries.
There is always demand for the services of a moving company. People often change their offices, and homes and relocate to other places. The moving company is the most essential service in shifting or relocation.
You can start this business of moving company with almost no money, or very little money. Good planning, hard work, and strategic marketing will yield good results for you.
As per Statista, the moving companies in the USA have grown in the period between 2017 and 2022. Here you can see that despite the pandemic, the growth has been steady. Hence, you can expect growth and profit maximization in the years to follow.
12 Steps to Start a Moving Business
1. Primary Requirements
If you have a van, you can easily start your moving company with almost no money. In that case, you will need the expenses of maintenance and fuel for the van. If you don’t have a van, you can rent it after an extensive bargain. Apart from the van, you will need dollies, moving straps and boxes, pads and blankets, and tarps to keep things dry.
Another very important requirement for your moving company business is that, your diligence as well as physical strength and stamina.
If you want to offer packing services along with moving, you need packing materials.
2. Market and Service
Starting your moving business with almost no money needs your research and homework. First of all, try to know the demand for moving services in your area. As people in large numbers are always shifting or relocating for various reasons, you are expected to find the market.
Secondly, find out how many competitors are there in the market. This will help you in planning your strategies to move ahead of your competitors and establish your USP.
Finally, make a decision, regarding your range of services for the clients. You can provide only moving services, packing and moving services, or packing, moving, and unpacking services. Determine the rates for each service category.
3. Determine Clientele
Who are the clients of your moving business with almost no money? Precisely, anyone who is shifting and needs things to be moved from one place to another is your client. Clients of your moving business fall under two broad categories: the homeowners and the office owners or corporations.
Don’t think of a niche in the initial years of your business. Since you are starting with very little investment, don’t think of a niche, take all kinds of orders that come to you. This is the best method of expanding your business and establishing the name of the company.
4. Write a Business Plan
Make a clear business plan and mention specifically that you wish to start this business with almost no money. Hence your business plan should have points like the following:
- Prospects of moving business
- Your mission and vision
- Why moving business
- Tools you need for carrying out moving work
- Manpower
- Little expenses needed
- Marketing Strategies
- Profit Projections
The business plan will help you organize the business efficiently and evaluate each stage correctly.
5. Name of the Moving Business
Choose an appropriate name for your moving business. The name should be precise and direct, specifying the kind of services your company provides. Don’t choose poetic or long names for your moving company. Names signifying activity or mobility may be chosen.
You have to get the domain in the name of your moving company. The domain is necessary for the website and the website is necessary for the publicity of your business.
6. Register your Business
It is essential to register your moving company to make it legally compliant. Every country and state offers a wide range of business formations based on the scale and size of the business.
For example, in the United States, the popular options are Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, C Corp, and S Corp. Forming an LLC is a good option as it protects personal assets and a host of other benefits with limited cost.
7. Tax Registration
Register your moving business for the necessary taxes both federal and state. In the United States, getting an EIN is mandatory to be able to apply for taxes.
8. Licenses and Permits
You will need certain licenses and permits for your moving business. The first among those is a license from the Department of Transportation. You will also need state-level licenses and permits which you must obtain at the earliest for the sake of hassle-free business operations.
9. Buy a Business Insurance
Insurance is very important for your moving business. You will need General Liability Insurance for the business Commercial Insurance for the vehicle and Workers’ Compensation Insurance for your staff.
10. Apply for a Business Bank Account
It is very important to open a business bank account in the name of your moving business to keep the accounting procedure along with payments and receipts organized from the beginning. Also, try to get a business credit card to enjoy short-term credit facilities.
11. Office and Staff
Start your moving company from home to save office expenses. Hire a couple of helping hands for moving things and a part-time accountant. Apart from that, you will need a computer, internet connection, and telephone. Marketing and website support are also necessary.
12. Marketing Plan
Your moving company is with almost no money. Hence marketing strategies should comply with this principle and will greatly depend on your efforts and initiatives.
a) Create a Website
It is an important part of your marketing. Make a website of your moving company informative with details of the services you provide and their respective rates. Also, mention the clients you have served.
b) Google Business Profile
Create your moving company’s profile in Google business listing. Put the profile on Google Maps to get more visibility. These are very effective.
c) Social Media
Create pages in the name of your moving company on social media handles. Update the pages with new developments, client lists, and pictures. This is a great method of reaching more people.
d) Personal Contact
Develop personal contact with prospective clients like furniture and gadget shops, home and office owners, students, etc to get orders from them.
e) Business Listing
Enlist your moving company’s name in local business directories and online lists or Yellow Pages to let others know about your business.
f) Flyers, Pamphlets
Distribute flyers and pamphlets at different crowded places to let people know about your business. Do not forget to create a catchy logo for your moving company.
g) Networking
Form special networking groups on platforms like WhatsApp and spread the name and services of your moving company.
h) E-mail Marketing
Send regular e-mails to prospective clients about your moving company and its services.
i) Put Extra Effort
Give some extra services to the clients of your moving company like organizing the home or office after shifting, furnishing details of the new area, doing some errands, etc. This will help in building up your moving company’s image.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Moving Business Profitable?
Even if you start with almost no money, the moving business will give you good profits. As a mover, you can charge your client$25-$40 per hour, per mover. The average price of moving a short distance is $1000-$1800 and for long distance, it is $3500-$5000 approximately. Hence, the more orders you fulfill, the more your income and profit.
With your hard work and successful contacts, you can expect to earn more than $50, 000 in the first year of your moving company. With the expansion of your contacts and manpower, you can earn more than $400,000 within a couple of years. The profit percentage will be more than 30-35.
How Much Money is Needed to Start a Moving Business?
Since you are starting your moving company with almost no money, you will require very little funds in the beginning. For the initial expenses, you will need approximately $2000-$3000. As your business starts rolling, you will be able to generate funds.
A moving company is always needed as it is a vital service. Therefore, even if you start a moving company with almost no money, you can enjoy a decent profit.
Editorial Team at 99BusinessIdeas is a team of experts led by Rupak Chakrabarty with over 25 years of experience in starting and running small businesses. Started in 2010, 99BusinessIdeas is now one of the largest free small business resources in the industry.
