Archive for September 2010
25
Having A Relocation Checklist
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Movers in Singapore, Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
There is no denying the fact that changing your location can become a complicated task. Whether you want to change your office or your home, you will find yourself dealing with many issues.
When you’re planning a move, the first thing to ensure is to make it a stress-free procedure. This can be done if you prepare a comprehensive moving checklist and plan. Sometimes, you might need to move immediately, but more often than not, ample time is at hand.
Generally, it should take no more than four weeks to plan and execute relocation or a move. With a simple moving check list, it becomes easy to prioritize activities. When you pencil in the requirements that need to be managed on a move checklist, they can be assigned priorities and dates. In this manner, you have scheduled deadlines for each activity and can break up the entire moving procedure into small and manageable parts.
Planning Your Move Effectively
There are certain basic moving tips that need to be considered for making it an easy experience. For starters, don’t delay the planning and execution for too long. More often than not, you have more stuff than energy. This takes a lot of time to pack up, discard or store.
Most of the tasks need to be scheduled around your work day or on the weekend. So you need to consider the fact that while you may look at it as a four-week plan it actually is a few sporadic hours spread throughout the week.
Perhaps the largest amount of time that is required in moving is for packing items. This is where starting early comes in handy. You can’t dump things in a box and move on. Items need to be classified and placed in certain categories. This makes it easy to unpack and access things after you have moved in. Otherwise, the same process and hassle will be repeated again.
Planning the Move Check List
You must ensure that before you start packing you have a plan. It should be very simple and realistic. Basically it should highlight the amount of time you have before you need to move out.
Also, you need moving supplies and packing help. You need to be aware of the number of rooms that you have to pack up. You have to assign friends, movers and family members to be available at your convenience. Also you need to realistically assess the number of hours that you have available in the four weeks before the move.
Benefits of a House Moving Checklist
You can simply assign tasks in a calendar format and have a printable moving checklist. This will allow you to maximize time utility and keep abreast of the progress. By consistently monitoring, the plan to move on a daily basis you will be able to manage time and achieve more. The best reason to have a moving house checklist is that it becomes your activity monitor.
25
Relocation Business in Africa Growing Exponentially
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
According to the OECD, there are over 7 millions expatriates in Africa. The top countries of origin include: France (2.8 millions) the US (988,000), the UK 833,000, the US, Spain (423,000) and Portugal (439,000). Overall, international migrants represent close to 1.9 Percent of the total population in Africa. While exact expat numbers per country is still hard to come by, the top receiving countries include Algeria, Egypt, Botswana, South Africa,, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritius, the Seychelles,, Senegal and Ghana.
In spite of this large number for expatriates and international migrants, there is still very little relocation support on the continent, an even more critical shortcoming in countries where the tourism sector is not developed. And very few companies have a physical presence on the continent. Where it exists, in places such as South Africa, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia and Nigeria, the market for relocation is much segmented and it is still hard to find a relocation vendor that has the capacity to deliver full comprehensive destination services to outbound and inbound assignees.
One area of relocation services that has seen growth is real estate – as construction is booming on the continent, to the point of becoming one of the most profitable business sectors – easily reaching 20 percent rate of return in unsuspected cities such as Dakar, Rwanda and Accra. Even then, it is in most cases loosely organized and operated by individual agents with no formal listing in the majority of the cities on the continent.
And yet, there is no other place where having support is more crucial to new expatriates given the nascent destination service sector coupled with language and cultural challenges which can definitely affect an assignee’s ability to settle in and be productive.
Part of what is at play is the belief that Africa is largely undeveloped with no modern amenities and that those expatriates who go to Africa are rugged adventurers who need little help and can fence for themselves. After all, why would they choose to go to Africa? There is also the (largely incorrect- since movers tend to markup shipment to the continent raking in huge profit margins) business view that there is little money to be made in the relocation and move business. These misconceptions put a brake on potential business expansions and make assignee leery of moving to the continent. Worse, in the international development arena, these misconceptions actually keep Africa from benefitting from the best minds that, instead, choose to offer their eservices to developing countries in Latin America and Europe.
Africa’s story needs to constantly be retold to balance the views that westerners and even African have of her (I will always remember black South Africans referring to a friend and I as “Africans” after a soccer practice- which drew a strong rebuke and a cultural lesson from us!). To begin with, it is good to remember that it is a continent with 53 countries with an incredible diversity- often within the same country- Cameroon being one such good example with over 200 distinct languages and is a full scale representation of the different fauna including a desert, a savannah and a rain forest! And while there is plenty that should be fixed the good story about Africa include the following facts:
• Several African countries (e.g. Ghana, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Rwanda) are rated higher than BRIC countries in ease of doing business and corporate governance
• Africa has 36% of the world’s emerging market countries, 30% of the mineral resources, and will have 20% of the global population by 2050 yet receives only 4% of foreign direct investment (FDI).
• Africa on a relative basis was more resilient than most other Emerging countries (not to mention developing countries) in the recent global downturn.
• Africa has had the highest rate in growth of private FDI to emerging markets since 2004 and this is expected to increase by 22% in 2010
• Africa has $980bn in infrastructure requirements over the next 10 years (including power and telecom).
• The profitability of foreign companies in Africa has been consistently higher than in most other regions of the world, reports the UNCTAD study.
Since 1990, the rate of return on foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa has averaged 29 per cent, and since 1991 it has been higher than in all other regions, in many years by a factor of two.
All of this prompted Jens Schleuniger, manager of the Deutsche Bank DWS Invest Africa LC fund, to say in a Reuter’s interview. that Africa’s potential is so great that investors should actually prefer it to China because its stocks are significantly undervalued. According to him, “Few know that Africa is the second-most dynamic growth region behind Asia,” he said. Though, as many he admits that, there is a lack of trust as many investors attach too much importance to political risks. I believe this is partly exaggerated.”
As the senior adviser in Africa for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), David Nellor, noted in a report last September, sub-Saharan Africa today resembles Asia in the 1980s. “The private sector is the key driver,” wrote Nellor, “and financial markets are opening up.” War is down. Democracy is up. Inflation and interest rates are in single digits. Terms of trade have improved.
For those who still doubt my sense of optimism about the continent they should have tea with the Chinese and find out what is driving their enthusiasm about the continent. While the old superpowers still agonize over Africa’s poverty, China is captivated by its riches. Trade between Africa and China has grown an average of 30% in the past decade, topping $106 billion last year. Chinese engineers are at work across the continent, mining copper in Zambia and cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo and tapping oil in Angola. “We will continue to have a vigorous aid program here, and Chinese companies will continue to invest as much as possible,” Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in South Africa in January. “It is a win-win solution.”
Overall, Africa’s wealth, the current economic growth coupled with its economic potential portend well for an increased need for move and relocation information, support and services required for a smooth relocation and effectiveness at work.
25
The Differences Between Relocation Vendors
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Movers in Singapore, Singapore Mover
Relocation companies might all seem to offer the same service on the surface, however, if you examine them closely, each moving provider actually differs slightly in the service that they supply. While some will naturally resemble each other a good deal, there are others that are highly specialised relocation companies that will only service a very specific kind of client. For instance, office movers are removal companies that only do office relocations, they will stay away from domestic removals. Knowing the difference between relocation companies will help you to make the right decision when it comes time to hiring the right moving supplier for your removal.
The first type of moving company on the market is one that most people are familiar with – domestic or local movers. These moving providers will service a given area of a city or even a state or province depending on the size of the company. The bigger the company, the more professional you can expect the service to be, but you can also expect to pay more. Mid-to-small relocation companies might not offer the same kind of comprehensive moving services as the larger providers, but they will definitely offer a more personalised kind of experience that many people actually prefer. Choosing between the large providers and the smaller ones will really depend on just how much work you are willing to do. If you would prefer having the moving company do all of the work, then it is best to hire a bigger firm, but otherwise, even the smaller ones will provider excellent service.
Office movers are companies that specialise in helping businesses relocate from one headquarters to the next. They have agents that will come in and remove the office furniture and equipment from the old address and set it up at the new address based on the plans provided to them by the move manager. They have movers trained to understand and know how best to set-up an office and to follow the instructions given to them. Office movers are the firms you definitely want on your side if you are relocating your business.
The more specialised relocation companies include a long list of niche-market providers. Automobile moving companies are further broken down into companies that move regular cars on a daily basis and moving suppliers that only cater to high-end or luxury vehicles. The relocation companies that specialise in high-end cars charge more, but provide a greater degree of protection to the vehicles that are in their care for transport. Deciding between these two kinds of moving companies will depend entirely on how precious your vehicle is to you and the kind of protection you want it to have while in transit.
Pet transportation providers are another form of relocation company that is currently on the market. As the name of these relocation companies suggests they specialise in getting your furry friends from one place to another.
Yet another form of relocation company is one that delivers live organs, tests and cultures from labs to hospitals.
As long as you know what kind of movers you want, then finding the right one from the many relocation companies available will be easy.
25
Importance of Unpacking While Relocating
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
Unpacking is as tedious and time taking as is packing. It is an important process of home relocation. After you pack and move your entire household items, you need to unpack them to re-arrange them in new home. You cannot settle without unpacking. Unpacking is not as easy as it sounds. It is just reverse of packing and equally hectic. You need to have good skills to unpack all goods. Relocation agencies offer professional assistance to carefully unpack all goods. They can unpack all items without facing any difficulty. They also do not let your goods face any scratch and damage.
Unpacking is very important to as it allow us to get back to a normal routine after relocation. After unpacking you can quickly arrange all goods at your new place. Relocation staffs will unpack every box and help you in re-arranging. However, you can unpack goods yourself when you have small pile of things. But the service is useful when you have bulk of items. Especially if you have many fragile items and big appliances, then availing this service is mandatory for you. Such items need extra care and handling.
Unpacking service involves following activities:
- Unpacking boxes and cartons and taking out items from them smoothly.
- Unpacking fragile items with due care and placing all of them to the safe place.
- Open up furniture and assemble their parts. Now position them at destined location.
- Unpacking shelves and cabinet. Hang all shelves and cabinets at appropriate position in your home.
These all tasks are done by the trained professionals. You can ask for full or partial unpacking services all depending on your needs and demand. The staffs are ready to provide the services according to the need to the customers. If you want them to unpack only big cartons, they will do for you. If you want them to unpack cartons containing fragile items, they will open up all such cartons. Your all needs will be fulfilled. So, you should not worry about anything.
If you have to relocate recently, you can freely hire one of the Bangalore packers movers to accomplish the tasks. They will turn this tormenting affair of relocation into smooth activity. They provide all type of relocation services along with unpacking. Hire one of them and make your relocation safe and smooth. Packers and movers Bangalore based companies also provide customized services according to need and demand of the customers.
25
Boxes for Moving Helps Relocation
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
Boxes for moving have plenty of advantages. When it comes to relocating, you would need to be well planned and organized in the way you handle it. If you are planning to pack everything on your own then this is even more important. There are a few things which you can do in order to make the relocation easier. If you are particular about how you plan out the entire move, then moving to the new home would be easier. The tips that have been given here will make things easier for you:
Some Helpful Tips
* Make a list- begin by making a complete list of everything you own so that nothing gets lost or misplaced in the process. You can make a list of all the things as you place them in boxes for moving. Keeping a record of things will make it easier later when you unpack.
* Prepare yourself- things will be easier if you are well prepared for the move. Plan well ahead of time so that you would be completely ready. Do not underestimate the role that these boxes for moving can play since the right quality boxes will actually keep your precious belongings safe. They will also help you organize things better. If you have the right boxes and if you pack them well, you would need fewer boxes. There are quite a lot of good professional companies that can provide you with good quality professional boxes along with plenty of other related items like bubble wrap, special tape and filling paper. This will make things easier for your big moving day.
* Start early- do not wait till the last day to pack. Even though you might have very few belongings, it will actually take a very long time to pack them. If you plan ahead and start packing at the earliest, you would not be stressed out on the last day trying to pack everything in a hurry. Ideally, you should start planning your move at least one month before your moving date. A month would be enough time for you to get everything in place and have everything packed and ready for transport on the moving day. Though this might seem to be a tiny detail, this is quite essential. Planning ahead and packing early will solve most of your problems and would reduce the stress of moving for you.
These were just a few tips that will help you a lot when you relocate to another location. With just a little planning and organization, you can reduce the stress and tension involved in moving. Using good quality boxes for moving will make things even easier for you.
25
How to Plan Your Corporate Relocation
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Movers in Singapore, Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
Every move is unique; therefore, you need to plan each relocation accordingly. Regardless of the type of relocation you are organizing, one of the things that you want to do is to reduce stress levels as much as possible out of the moving process. You can accomplish this by making a list of what you are going to need during the relocation process. Therefore, before you start moving your business to a new city, state, or even into a new building, make sure you grab your pen and paper and start checking what needs to be done.
Some of the things that will need to be included in your corporate relocation to-do list are going to be based on the following:
1. The distance of your move. When you are planning a corporate relocation and want to be sure that you’re choosing the right tools to meet your needs, you need to be certain that you are approaching the moving companies with the right details – like whether you are going to move within the same town, out of state or even out of the country.
2. The size of your business. Regardless if the move is big or small, professional movers will be able to handle your relocation. Now, this will affect your moving budget. The size of your corporation will determine how much equipment or merchandise will be hauled during the move. The amount of moving services required for your move will have an impact on the cost of your move.
3. The schedule for your move. You will find that if you plan three to six months in advance for your move, you will have more options than if you were going to be moving next week.
If you take the time to identify the distance, time-schedule and size of your move, you will not only be reducing the stress involved in a move, but you will also be in a better position to compare moving companies that offer outstanding corporate relocation services at an affordable price. When your schedule is flexible, for example, you will find that you may be able to get a better rate for corporate relocation than if your dates are firm; sometimes, the difference of a couple of days will have a dramatic effect on the price of your move.
Likewise, because many corporate relocation services are priced based on the weight and distance of the move, it’s important for you to provide the moving companies with accurate information; that is the only way that you can be sure that the estimate that you receive will be close to the amount that you will actually pay for the corporate relocation.
Ideally, when you are ready to compare corporate relocation companies’ price quotes and the moving services they offer you, you won’t have to waist much of your precious time. Choosing to work with trustworthy, professional movers amongst the many moving companies that offer corporate relocation services in your area is not an easy decision to make. Based your choice by looking at the company’s history, their policies and what guarantee they provide you with that your belongings will be safely relocated.
If moving with your family is stressful; corporate relocation is even more stressful – especially when there is going to be a delay between the time you close down one location and open another. By comparing corporate relocation companies and the rates that they offer you, you will find that you will be able to minimize much of that stress. Having full service moving on your side has never been easier.
Worried about how you’re going to maneuver that big, lumpy moving truck rental through the snake-like highways of the nation? Unsure of where you’re going to turn to for the extra set of hands for your upcoming move? Well, worry no more; WeHaul has the uncanny ability to connect you with affordable self service moving and full service moving experts who will take the reigns of your relocation process at a rate that won’t make you dig deeply into your savings.
25
Quincy loses valuable resource with relocation
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Movers in Singapore, Singapore Mover, Singapore Moving
The relocation of the William B. Rice Eventide Home from its origin in Quincy to the SouthField development in Weymouth represents a major loss to the seniors and their families in the Quincy community.
This nursing home, unlike all others in Quincy, is a small nonprofit standalone facility, which has been available to the seniors of Quincy and the surrounding area for over 80 years.
It consistently has ranked among the highest quality-of-care nursing homes in the state and, I venture to say, in the nation.
In addition, it has provided jobs and health training for Quincy’s citizens.
It has been administered by qualified residents of Quincy, and its board of directors is composed of primarily Quincy residents who are the best the community has produced.
Of course, just as we must change our own homes to meet the needs of our families, Rice Eventide needed to change as well.
The proposed changes were needed to provide the best continuum of care for its residents and to remain fiscally viable into the future.
It is unfortunate that its neighbors and the political leaders of Quincy could not grasp this fact and chose to deny the needed expansion.
I am speaking as a healthcare professional, as well as a former neighbor, a former employee and the son of a former resident of this fine nursing home.
I am happy William B. Rice Eventide has found a new location that is welcoming and receptive to its needs.
I, and I’m sure the thousands of family members of current and former residents, wish it the very best for the future.
25
Moving To A New Country
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers
An ever-increasing number of people are buying a second home overseas that they don’t plan to live in full time – if you are going to rent your property out, you want it to be productive, so check out our top tips for maximizing your property’s rental potential…
Whatever your situation is – whether you are buying now for retirement five years down the line and you’d like to rent your place out when you’re not there, or perhaps you just want rental income, and won’t use the property personally, making the most of the rental potential is a no-brainer.
1) Price vs. Rent. The price you pay for your home determines your rental yield (gross yield is simply the annual rent, divided by the property price). You factor in running costs (maintenance, monthly fees, and taxes) to get the net yield. The less you pay for your property, the higher the yield. It’s that simple. This is where fire sales and distressed properties come into their own. You’ll pay less for these properties than your neighbour…and command similar rent levels.
Compare short-term versus long-term rentals too. For short-term, you’ll have higher running costs, from utilities to cleaning costs to management fees. In addition, you’ll have to fully furnish and equip the property. Conversely, in many markets, long-term rentals come unfurnished, and the renter usually covers utilities and cleaning costs.
If you plan to use your home as a vacation or retirement property, rental yield is not top of your list of priorities, but it’s crucial to get this right if you’re an investor. Remember though that a low property price isn’t everything. The other side of the equation is rental income. In a market with an over-supply of rental properties, you’ll face competition, and likely get a lower rental income. A $100,000 property can achieve very different yields, depending on location.
In general though, you should consider the rental income to be somewhat fixed, for your property type, in your location. Whether it’s better to rent short-term or long-term is usually a decision based on what’s in demand in your market…and whether you plan to use the property part of the year. So the best way to make sure your yield is high is to pay the lowest purchase price you can.
2) Location. I always stress the importance of having a property in the right location, and with a rental property, you need to pay even more attention. You need to have the right property in the right location for either the short-term or long-term market…and the location that’s best for those markets may be different.
Here in Panama City, there are 4 prime short-term rental locations, where you’ll do better with a 1 or 2-bed condo. Suburban areas, where you’ll rent long-term, favour larger condos, or houses. Ask property management companies what they rent, where, for what time periods, and for how much…and which units achieve the highest rent and highest occupancy.
Sometimes a property’s best rental potential is not one you’d think of yourself-professional offices and small businesses will rent large centrally located residential apartments in Montevideo, for example. Speaking with real estate agents and property management companies…and checking the local newspapers and online rental ads…will give you a good market overview.
3) Competition. Of course, you need a market with strong demand, and (ideally) little competition. For short-term rentals, that means a lack of hotel rooms and short-term rental condos. For long-term rentals, look for a shortage of rental condos or houses in an expanding area…or a gap in the market (a 3-bed home close to a good school or financial centre, for example).
Your short-term rental won’t do so well if it faces competition from 21,000 hotel rooms in the same city…with hoteliers slashing prices in the lean years and throwing in free nights, free meals, or free drinks…
Check not just the current number of hotel rooms and rental units in a market, but planned supply. In a slow market where owners can’t sell, many switch to renting. If that slow market has thousands of condos due for completion…or thousands of hotel beds in the pipeline…your rental yield will suffer.
A good way of checking out what kind of demand you’ll get for short-term lets is through hotel occupancy rates.
4) Occupancy. Don’t rely entirely on tourist numbers for this. Tourist numbers include locals returning home…cruise ship passengers…people visiting family and friends. These groups will never rent a property, but can make up half the tourist numbers in many countries. A better reflection is hotel occupancy rates. Produced by local tourism authorities and some global hospitality groups, the figures give you a feel for the market.
These figures will change though, as the market evolves. Panama City hit a hotel occupancy rate of 84.7% in 2007. Today, it’s around 50%, due to the economic slowdown in the US, and an increased number of hotel rooms.
5) Market. Widening your market of potential renters helps keep your rental yield up. If you focus on one particular segment, you’ll be vulnerable in a slowdown of that segment.
Locations that attract a combination of tourists and business travellers…or those that bring domestic and foreign tourists…will give you a more consistent short-term yield. For long-term rental, look to destinations where snowbirds stay for 3-6 months of the year-or where companies bring in business executives or embassy staff, for longer periods.
6) Property Management. Unless you plan on living close to your overseas property (and by close, I mean within a couple of hours drive, tops), don’t attempt to do this yourself. Find a good, bilingual, local property manager. Find out what their rates are. For short-term, expect to pay anything from 15%-40% in fees. Check what that covers-whether they will find tenants, do check-in and check-out, pay utilities, or deal with 3am plumbing emergencies. (And yes, it is worth paying more for that…unless you like the phone waking you at 3am to sort out a problem thousands of miles away).
Long-term, management fees usually run to 50% of the first month’s rent, and then a low monthly charge thereafter (5%-15%, on average).
A good management company makes all the difference to your occupancy, and rental income. Ask how many units they currently manage…how many staff they have…what systems they have for handling reservations, queries, and reporting problems. Do they have a large client base already-or are they a start-up with no track record?
Some managers are much better than others with marketing and advertising their properties, online and in print. Ask their occupancy rates for your type of property, in your area, and the rental income.
That gives you an indication of what you can achieve. Ask for referrals from owners using the company, and get feedback from them.
Make sure the manager uses legally-binding rental contracts-have your attorney check that out.
Many managers have separate fee structures for “rental management” (the finding of tenants) and “property management”, including the services above. This arrangement works to your advantage if you are finding the renters, or if the renters are coming from multiple sources. If a company only finds you a tenant they normally charge the equivalent of one month’s rent for their services.
7) Can you Rent? Have your attorney check if you can actually rent your property out. Some countries (Colombia, for example) restrict short-term rentals of 30 days or less in residential buildings, by law.
If you’re in a condo building, or a private community, check out the bylaws-they may not allow you to rent your property out. In Brazil, many condo blocks are set up for rental-with social areas, restaurant space, and a reception area in the lobby…but it’s up to the owners as a group to decide if they want to allow rentals in the block…and the majority decision rules.
Taxes. Investigate your tax liabilities. Tax on rental income varies widely in Latin America, from zero in some Caribbean tax havens, to 30% in Costa Rica. Find out if you can offset some overhead against that tax in the form of deductions. Ask your attorney about property tax rates (again, they vary from zero to 3% on average of the official value of the property). Find out if there are any other taxes-wealth tax, or luxury tax, or school tax-that apply to you.
If you plan on sending the rental income back to your home country, ask if you’ll incur any extra retention or withholding taxes associated with those transfers.
Remember, you may still have tax obligations in your home country.
This isn’t an exhaustive run-down of everything you need to check before renting a property out-but it gives you a good starting point. Investigate a market carefully before deciding on the best type of property for rental yield, and the best location.
Investors: first find the market that’s producing the best returns…then find the right property to give you the best performance in that market;
Retirees, or those who want to rent pending retirement or relocation: Decide where you want to live in retirement and the property you want to own…then pick the rental market that will perform best for your property type.
Get an attorney to analyze the fine print of contracts, local legal requirements, and taxes. Hire the best property manager you can afford.
Most importantly, don’t rely on rental income to cover a mortgage on the property or your own daily living costs-that’s a sure-fire recipe for stress. Instead, think of rental income as a bonus…a way to cover your costs of ownership or help to fund your overseas dreams.
25
Relocation Tips That Reduces Anxiety
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers
Relocation tips that can help you
You are about to move into a different place, maybe going off to college or moving into your dream house either way you need to plan for some bumps in the road that you might not be prepared for if you don’t really plan.
Decide now if you are going to need a truck to take your items from one place to another. Maybe your friends have a truck and you are thinking to yourself: “I can just use their truck ”. Because you can use their truck you need to judge the size of it. Will the help their truck take more than three tips to get all your things from the old place to the new place? Will it be a lot of gas if each trip is a 1 or 2 hour drive? You maybe be thinking it will save you money if you plan on using their truck instead of renting a bigger moving truck but it will also take a lot longer to get your stuff moved in if you have to go back and forth between the two homes over a number of days.
Decide how you plan to pack. Everyone has things they don’t want, and many times those things can actually be donated. If you plan to move in one day you might want to have a thrift store pick up all the items you won’t be needed anymore. You can also give the unwanted items to other places such as homeless shelters and places for abused woman. Even when you’re stressed out while planning a move you can still help those around you.
You should have a clip board and check list with you as you pack your things along with a range of colorful markers, tape and labels. Make sure you mark where things should go and how many of each thing there is. You don’t want to be surprised when you discover you placed your beauty supplies in the very back of the truck, and it will take another three hours to get them out. Keep the things you need often in the front of the truck or place them into your car.
If you have kids, it will be twice as stressful for them during a day or weekend of moving. Instead of having them stressed out , have them do something more fun instead. Your kids can instead spend time with a relative or even their best friend. This is a great excuse for a sleep over at the distant neighbors house. It’s always a win win.
Are you going to have someone help you unpack? It might take you a day or two to move all your items from one home to another but it can take weeks to unpack all your stuff. If you have the money it’s a great idea to hire a few people to help you unpack or to hire people to move the items inside so that you can unpack yourself. Friends and family can only help so much.
Once moving in day comes around you will be ready for it and your stress level won’t be as high as it could have been without a bit of extra planning.
24
Tips for Relocating Your Business
0 Comments | Posted by Singapore Movers in Movers in Singapore, Singapore Mover, Singapore Movers, Singapore Moving
Businesses often have to move in order to stay viable. Whether downsizing to survive the troubled economy or expanding in anticipation of better times, a company cannot always stay at the same location. Other factors also come into play that forces a business to move: locating closer to a customer base or to a place with a larger pool of skilled, available workers. Retail business may need to move as the center of business moves, or to evade higher taxes.
Moving a business usually presents a daunting challenge, but you can make it easy and fun. Read the following 8 tips for relocating your business that will help you have a successful move.
1. Understand why you are moving: Without a clear purpose, you could be leading your business into a big mistake. By clearly documenting why you are moving and what you expect to happen as a result of the move, you can make sure that the time, expense, and effort required for the move is worth it.
2. Planning is essential: Finding the time to plan a major while managing your regular responsibility is not easy. Still, you must make the time to think through the moving process from start to finish or else you will lose even more time and money in the process. Document your plans that include the type of facilities you need and whether you will lease or buy those facilities are good starting topics. With resources in place, you will have an efficient move.
3. Pay attention to expenses: Do your research on your planned new location. Find out if there are any tax surprises lurking in the shadows that could turn your move into a disaster. Similarly, find out if there are tax incentives to move into your new area. Often cities and states will offer incredible incentives just to get more business within their borders
4. Talk to your employees: Moving time offers a great teambuilding opportunity, by getting your employees to participate in every stage of the process. This makes good business sense too because your employees probably know a lot more about what features your new location needs and factors to consider while moving merchandise and equipment. Feedback about location is important too: you don’t want to make your business inaccessible to any employees you want to keep.
5. Talk to your customers: You know you have to move your business, but how your move will impact your customer base is important. The feedback you get from your customers will help you plan the move.
6. Clean house: Over the years, businesses develop inordinate piles of junk. Moving time will let you part ways with that stuff you thought you would use someday but never have. Cleaning out the junk will save money and time during the move and help you get started with a clean slate at your new location.
7. Have fun: Moving is a drag, so do some things to keep everyone focused on the mission. Make competitions to see who can move the most stuff, make special moving t-shirts, offer extra pay for extra effort, buy a special lunch for the staff, etc. Get creative and you will actually have a good time while moving your business.
8. Get some advice: Especially if you’ve never moved a business before, you should talk to people experienced with relocation. Whether you talk to local business people or hire relocation experts, the additional input will be invaluable to making a successful move.
9. Tie off the loose ends: With all the activity during the move you can easily forget details such as closing your current lease and recovering your deposits, filing a change of address with the Post Office, putting a sign at your old location with a map to your new location, and updating your Web site with your new address, phone number, and facilities, are easy to forget about, but shouldn’t be overlooked.
Moving can become a costly, time consuming ordeal unless you take some time to prepare for it first. Take these 9 tips for relocating your business and you will be on your way to a good move.
