If you own a small business in Seattle, Washington, you might already have a leg up in the game. Seattle was named the number one best city for business and careers, after all, and with its many small business programs, small businesses in and around the city are thriving.
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle provides many benefits and resources to help small businesses get back on their feet. Business giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and even Starbucks had their humble origins in Seattle, and if your business does well enough, your own little business could become the next big thing.
Finding a good location for your business and building a local reputation is all well and good, but sometimes your business could do better. While your business might be doing well in its current location, if you find yourself needing or wanting more for it, then it might be time to expand and relocate.
But how do you know if the time is right for it? Here are some signs to look out for and tips to get you started on moving your business to a newer, better location. If you find yourself noticing these signs in your current workplace, then it might be time to call your local movers and relocate.
Reaching a bigger audience
Whether you’re looking to expand your audience, get your business’ name out there, or even if you’ve already got a substantial following of customers, it’s always good to broaden your horizons. If you know of a place where you could be getting more advertising, gets more foot traffic, or where your business can stand out, relocating might be a good choice.
Are you worried about losing the customers you already have? You might already have a batch of regular customers, or at least people who can speak highly of your business, who will follow you if you ever switch locations. If that’s not enough, you can offer discounts or benefits to loyal customers to ensure that they keep coming back.
Living costs
Sometimes it’s cheaper to buy or lease in certain areas than others. If you want to cut back on your lease costs, or if you can no longer afford the rising cost of rent, looking for a cheaper location would be best. Similar to how you would move apartments for more affordable rent, your business could benefit from finding a more reasonable lease or lot.
Running out of space
When you’ve started to notice how cramped your current workspace is, or if you need more space for more equipment, storage, or new employees, then it might be time to move out. You can either renovate your current workspace to expand it or move to a larger workspace entirely.
Note that for this case, relocation might not be the answer, as you can always buy or rent other vacant spaces and use that while still keeping your current location. Or, if you have enough, renovate instead of relocating.
Working conditions
If your business is in a very old building or has been around for a long time, chances are you will have noticed some signs of decay or wear on the place. This could include anything from a lot of dust, mold, mildew, leaking ceilings, cracked paint, pests, and so on.
A little maintenance might do the job, but if you’re facing damages that can’t be fixed with some care, then you might need to find a better place. Not only is it unpleasant to look at said damages, but it could potentially be unhealthy and harmful to you and your employees.
A bigger change
Even if you love your job and love what you do, routine tends to get monotonous and boring after a particular time. You might be able to survive by changing it up once in a while, but if you feel like the time is right for a bigger change and a new step on your entrepreneurial journey, changing locations could be just the right amount of change that you need.
Not only is it refreshing to start somewhere completely new, but it also provides the opportunity to expand your business and brings you one step closer to your grand vision. As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side, and finding a brand new location might be the breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.
