How to start a moving company and how expensive it is in 2023?

Startups in the moving and removal industry can be highly profitable, especially in recent years. Considering the general market development, the figures you can make have a decent probability of paying off the investment you’ll make in the software and hardware, giving you 20% ROI. If you’ll look at the graph below, you’ll see that the industry is generally stable, and, even more, it grows compared to 2020.

In 2022, the moving companies' market size is approximately $19,000m. Only time will show how the industry will behave in the upcoming years, however, the prognosis is overall optimistic. Census data update states that nearly 8,4% of all US citizens moved in 2021 and the digits are rising with each year of post-covid reality.

However, despite the moving startup idea being highly profitable, there are still high costs that you need to invest in this business. In this article, we’ll share secrets on how to make this business as cost-effective as possible.

What do you need to start a moving business?

To start a moving business, you’ll need trucks and warehouses, personnel, including management, and software that’ll help you manage the whole company. Let’s talk about it in more detail.

Vehicles for moving companies

Develop a business plan and calculate the possible amounts of leads you expect to generate in the first period of your company’s existence. Start with small steps, buying the starting equipment like:

• moving dollies,
• ropes,
• furniture belts,
• moving blankets,
• wrapping materials for security,
• small truck.

A truck will be the best solution if you’re planning on a long-term business and can commit to it. Renting a truck might not be as good as it seems, since it’ll cost more from the long-term perspective rather than in the short-term income. But if you’re planning to attract investors to your business, you may start by using moving truck rental business services as well.

How many vehicles do you require for a moving company?

The short answer is – it all depends on the number of your potential customers. We’d advise you to plan the moving company’s scalability according to the size of the city you’re located in.

If your moving business is starting to operate in a town with 200,000 to 500,000 citizens, you’ll need two trucks of size 16 (or 26 feet (ca. 8 meters) trucks). If your city is bigger and the number of citizens reaches up to one million, consider having up to three or four trucks, in the beginning, depending on your moving company’s needs.

Small warehouse or storage

To start a moving company, you’ll need a small warehouse to store the needed equipment. Don’t bite more than you can chew, start with a storage room that is right for the amount of equipment you have.

Rent will be the best option here since you might need to scale your moving business in the future and adapt to the market changes. You might hire a business consultant agent to figure out what you need from the start if you’re determined to succeed.

Marketing needs

For marketing, you might take a look at your local sources and newspapers, and maybe launch a marketing campaign on social media. The best option for a moving company would be Facebook, as well as Google Ads, but you also need to take into account your target audience.

On average, a person who would like to move and use your moving company services would be 25-35 years old, so they will more likely see the advertisement on Google or Facebook during research. It is highly unlikely for your typical customers to look up your services on TikTok, but Instagram might work for them almost as well as any other Meta service.

How much does it cost to start a moving company?

Usually, it depends on the number of customers you’re planning to attract and your initial budget for advertising, software, and hardware needs. To launch a successful moving business, you also need to figure out how many people you need to hire and how busy you’ll be during the working days.

Typically, the wage for a moving company’s workers depends on their occupation and varies from city to city. On average, you should be expecting to pay your staff around $18 per hour if you’re based in the US. Per year, your workers might want to make about $4,500 overtime, but it will vary depending on hours of work and the city your moving company is operating in.

Consider that you’ll need six workers at the start of your moving business existence; about two drivers and three movers, and a manager if you’re not planning to occupy this position yourself.

We’d say that typically the ideal budget for a start of a moving company would range from $20,000 to $30,000.

What personnel do you need for a moving startup?

Here we are, talking in more detail about the staff that’ll help you achieve the best results. As we stated above, you’ll need drivers, movers, and a manager. Let’s see how they can help your moving business.

Software for moving company

You can buy ready-made software for moving companies, which will be cheaper in the short term but not as tailored to your business needs. Or it’s your call to order a custom software development for a moving business that’ll 100% contribute to the best operational capability of your company.

Whatever you choose, there are some features you should be looking for in the software. First of all, it has to be able to automate certain processes to untie your hands for more important tasks. The processes that can be automated are the following:

• Ordering: the software should be able to generate an order form and notify you about new customers,
• Paying: implement payment services to provide your customers with extra security and take this off your shoulders,
• Accountancy: automation of document flow will reduce manual mistakes and allow you to take on other duties in your company,
• Tasks distribution: make sure that the software is capable of distributing tasks between moving teams to make the workflow more seamless.

How to start a moving company quickly

You can launch a franchise as a quick start of a moving business. This will allow you to have benefits that’ll simplify the way you lead the business. For example, you’ll have moving business support from the start to help you with registration, accounting, and other legal issues.

You also can count on technical support and get help from the franchise to create a moving business software or improve the existing one. The benefits you get also include data security that can protect you from information leakage or hacking.

Among software solutions you can get from working with a moving business franchise are CRM for managers, moving mobile applications, and call center software.

Overall, to start a small moving company, you need to be devoted to your work and ready to take up any challenge. The market is stable but competitive, so it’s up to you to find your leverage and accentuate your fortes. But with the right technical and/or business consulting partners, you’ll be able to blaze your trail to the top.