Business Articles

Moving is a $7 billion/year industry and growing. Each year, about one-sixth of the U.S. population moves. That's more than 40 million people. As more and more baby boomers reach retirement age, they will begin moving too. What this means is there couldn't be a better time to dive into this category that Entrepreneur magazine rated as one of the top 10 industries for 2011.

People who are successful in this business often come from "Corporate America," says Don Six, of Ohio-based Move It Now. In a recent interview with the franchise lead generation site FranchisesForSale.com, Six said that successful franchisees "have enthusiasm, high energy, and want to follow a proven system. They are driven to be highly successful, not just earn wages."

A misconception is that when you own a moving business, you do all the "heavy lifting." For a local start-up, that may be true. A Move It Now franchise owner isn't necessarily "on the truck," although some are. The business model is designed so that the franchisee is mainly responsible for following the business and marketing plan, creating relationships in the community, hiring, training and managing drivers. And they follow a standard work week with little or no evening and weekend hours. In addition to a proven business model, a franchise business opportunity, such as Move It Now, offers a duplicatable marketing plan, exceptional training, as well as systems and operations support.

"It's a good husband and wife business for a couple that wants to work together," says Six. One can be out meeting people, networking and building the business. The other manages the office and day-to-day operations. They hire, train and manage the drivers and packers."It's a service business," says Six. He looks for candidates of all ages who "like working with people and are good at it both in sales and in management."

Prior experience in the industry is not required. "The training is outstanding," he says. "We teach them everything there is to know about the business, including how to get business, do estimates, pack, and follow through."But, Six cautions, franchisees "Can't be a maverick. They have to value being part of a system that will create long-term value in the investment." The industry is fairly stable -- around 37 million people move every year. "Moving can't be outsourced," says Six. "Technology is not going to impact the industry."  As one of only two nationally franchised moving services, Move It Now has a wide range of desirable territories still available.