Setting Up a Home Based Business When You Relocate

Moving is already enough to make you question how you managed to accumulate so much stuff. There are boxes everywhere. The scissors you need to open the boxes are naturally inside one of them. You can’t remember which company needs your new address, and the coffee maker has somehow become the most important item you own.

Add moving a home based business to the list and things get considerably more interesting. When your home is also where you work, relocating isn’t simply a matter of moving furniture from one address to another. You’re moving your office, supplies, records, equipment, internet connection, and possibly the official address attached to your business. A little planning before moving day can make it much easier to get back to work once you arrive.

Start With the Business Before You Start Packing

Before you put the first office item into a box, make a list of everything connected to your business. Think beyond the things sitting on your desk. Your list might include business registration information, insurance, licenses, banking, tax records, websites, online accounts, mailing addresses, suppliers, clients, subscriptions, equipment, inventory, and professional memberships.

Some businesses will have considerably more to update than others. A freelance writer working from a laptop has different requirements from someone operating a childcare service, beauty business, consulting practice, or business where customers regularly visit the property.

If your business is regulated, find out what relocating means before you sign a new lease or purchase a home. Depending on the industry and location, you may need approvals, licenses, inspections, or changes to existing registrations.

Professional guidance can be useful for businesses with more complicated requirements. Someone establishing or relocating a childcare operation, for example, might work with a daycare business consultant to understand business planning and operational requirements while also checking the rules that apply in the new location. Don’t assume that something permitted at your old address will automatically be permitted at the new one.

Check Whether You Can Run the Business From the New Home

This is particularly important if customers, employees, deliveries, or business vehicles will regularly come to the property. Local rules can affect what kind of business activity is allowed in a residential area. If you’re renting, the lease may have restrictions too. Ask before moving.

It is much easier to discover a problem while you’re still comparing properties than after you’ve moved twenty boxes of business supplies into the spare bedroom. People researching rentals in caloundra, for example, may be thinking about bedrooms, commute times, outdoor space, and weekly rent. Someone who also plans to work from home needs to add a few business-related questions to that list.

• Is there enough space for the work you actually do?
• Is the internet service suitable?
• Is there adequate storage?
• Does the lease allow the intended use?
• Will noise, parking, deliveries, or clients create a problem?

A beautiful house isn’t necessarily a good workplace.

Decide Where Work Will Happen

Working from home becomes much easier when work has somewhere to live. It doesn’t have to be a dedicated office. A spare bedroom is wonderful if you have one, but a desk in a quiet corner can work perfectly well for many businesses. What matters is having enough room for the equipment and supplies you regularly use.

Think about storage before moving in too. If you need files, shipping supplies, product inventory, photography equipment, or other materials, decide where those things will go. Otherwise they tend to migrate. First there’s one box in the dining room. Then three. Soon you’re moving business supplies off a chair every time somebody wants to eat. Give things a home from the beginning if you can.

Protect the Things You Need to Start Working Again

Pack your essential business equipment separately from ordinary household belongings. Label those boxes clearly. “OFFICE” is better than “MISC.” Trust me you do not want to go through five boxes when you only need to open one. Nothing good happens inside a box labeled miscellaneous.

Keep important documents, computers, chargers, hard drives, security devices, and anything difficult to replace with you when practical rather than putting them somewhere you can’t easily access. Back up important digital files before the move. You hope nothing happens to the computer during relocation. Hope is not a backup system.

Get the Internet Sorted Out Early

For many home based businesses, losing internet access means losing the ability to work. Arrange service at the new property as early as possible. Check what providers and speeds are available rather than assuming you’ll have the same options you had at your previous address.

If your work involves large file transfers, video calls, cloud software, online sales, or multiple people using the connection throughout the day, your internet requirements may be higher than those of someone who only checks email occasionally.

Have a temporary backup plan too. A mobile hotspot may be enough to get through a short interruption. It’s much less stressful to know your backup before you’re sitting on the floor beside an unpacked router five minutes before a meeting.

Update Your Business Address

Make a list of everywhere your old address appears. Depending on your business, that might include registrations, tax records, insurance policies, banking information, invoices, your website, online directories, contracts, supplier accounts, payment services, and printed materials.

If customers physically visit your business, update public information carefully so nobody arrives at your old address. Don’t forget return addresses and shipping accounts if you regularly send products. Mail forwarding can provide a little breathing room, but it shouldn’t become the permanent plan. There is always one company that continues sending something to the old address six months later. Apparently they enjoy tradition.

Tell Clients What They Actually Need to Know

Not every customer needs the full story of your move. Tell people what affects them. If you’ll be unavailable for several days, give them the dates. If your business address is changing and they need it, provide the new information. If deliveries, appointments, or turnaround times may temporarily change, explain that before the move. A short, clear message is usually enough. You don’t have to provide daily updates from the land of cardboard boxes.

Move the Business on a Different Schedule From the House

If possible, don’t shut down your business at the exact moment the entire household is being packed. Create a small working setup that stays functional until close to moving day. Then establish another basic setup at the new house before worrying about creating the perfect office. You need the things required to work. Start with those things. The matching storage containers can wait. Trying to create a beautiful finished office while the rest of the house is still in boxes may give you one more project than you need.

Keep Business Records Together

Moving is an excellent time for important paperwork to disappear. Don’t let business records travel in six different boxes. Keep financial records, insurance information, contracts, licenses, and other important documents together and clearly marked.

Digital copies of critical records can also be helpful. If you use cloud storage, make sure you can actually access it from another device before moving day. This is also a good opportunity to get rid of paperwork you are no longer required to retain, provided you follow any applicable recordkeeping requirements and dispose of sensitive information securely. You already have enough boxes. There is no reason to pay someone to move a stack of expired office supply catalogs.

Think About Insurance at the New Property

Don’t assume ordinary home or renters insurance automatically covers everything related to a business. Coverage can vary considerably. Business equipment, inventory, customer injuries, professional liability, employees, and business vehicles may require different coverage depending on what you do.

Talk with an appropriate insurance professional about the business and the new property. The important part is being specific about how you use the home. There is a difference between occasionally answering work emails at the kitchen table and running a business with equipment, inventory, or customers coming through the door.

Give Yourself Time to Settle In

Moving always takes longer than you think it will. You can label every box, make lists, schedule utilities, and still spend the first week looking for something you know you packed. Build a little extra time into your business schedule if possible.

Don’t promise a major deadline the morning after moving day. Don’t schedule five meetings because you assume the office will be completely functional by Tuesday. Maybe it will. Maybe Tuesday will find you sitting on the floor with your laptop because the desk is still in pieces and nobody can find the screws.

Get the essentials working first. The rest will come together. Eventually the boxes disappear, you stop reaching for light switches that belonged to the old house, and the new office starts feeling like the place where you actually work. Just keep the box with the coffee maker clearly labeled. Some parts of business continuity are more important than others.