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Moving Experiences
Relocating your company can be one of the best moves you ever made - or one of the worst
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Business New Haven
3/31/2003
By: M.H.
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Are you running out of room to store all those widgets your company can't make fast enough? Are your customers tired of dancing the two-step with each other every time they come in to browse? Perhaps it's time to make that inevitable move that all growing businesses must face - setting up shop in a new location.
But before you do, think about a few crucial aspects that should play a key role in your moving process.
"First and foremost," say Michael Ciaburri, president and CEO of the Bank of Southern Connecticut in New Haven, "is to look into the town you're thinking of moving to, and what it does for your bottom line in terms of getting any new business."
Ciaburri's commercial bank has been in operation for just 16 months now, but numbers in its arsenal the formidable experience of his father Joseph, who has been a banker since the early 1940s, as well as Ciaburri's own 20 years in the business. The bank employs 21 people, one of whom will always be on the other end of the phone when you call, the CEO promises.
"The second thing to look into is the employment base of the town," he continues. "Let's say 20 people resign from your company when you announce your move because it's just too far away [to commute]. Thirdly, how does this move affect your financial partnerships? And finally, what exactly is this municipality that you're thinking of moving into going to do to help you?"
Ciaburri refers to the reality that often in Connecticut, municipalities compete for corporate relocations.
"Every town wants jobs," he continues. "It's really all about job creation. If you say, 'I want to move into our town and I've got 75 jobs that will need to be filled,' that town will typically help with moving expenses, and that can be significant.
"Let's say you own a machine shop. Some of those machines can be very heavy to move and it can easily cost you a couple of hundred thousand dollars. There may also be just the right employee base for you in that town."
Ciaburri stresses that a business move involves care, consideration and common sense.
"You certainly don't just wake up one day and say, 'I'm moving.' Do your research and see who's offering what."
And, Ciaburri warns, to the greatest extent possible, your decision-making should be shared with other key people who will be affected by your move.
"It should not be a secret," he says. "It's a mistake not to consult with your employees - you want to bounce your ideas off them, and it also makes a lot of sense to consult your customers, too."
Ciaburri counsels all his clients to pave a smooth road by laying down a solid foundation of research.
"It's a whole combination of things," he says of considering how to make a move that makes the best business sense, "that you throw into the pot. You have to ask yourself, Do the pros outweigh the cons? and do that research. Talk to the towns, see what they're offering."
In other words, don't let fear of the unknown keep you from moving on to bigger and better things.
"You know, there's always inertia," allows Ciaburri, "when you talk about moving. Even, on a personal level, when you move into a new house. But the more informed you are, the more confident you'll be in your decision."
After doing quite a bit of research, Adler Travel Agency owner John Weinstein was ready to make what turned out be the first of two moves to address his growing business's needs.
"In my case," Weinstein explains, "the move was primarily based on necessity. We started out in a small space that was working for us because at that time it was just Tammy and me. But we grew, and added more people. I think it really came to me that we needed a bigger space when one of my agents was booking a very expensive vacation for someone - and using the water cooler as her desk."
In Weinstein's case, making a move and choosing the new site was based on two main considerations - the need for more desk space and the need to address an evolutionary change in the travel agency business.
"When I first bought the agency," he explains, "there was the question about whether a travel agency was a profession first and a retail business second. I only say that because back then the knowledge the agents had is just something you don't see anymore."
Weinstein describes an industry that changed so dramatically, that having a store-front location was becoming a survival necessity. Finding a spot that would provide that crucial new need played a major role in Weinstein's search.
"I wanted my business to grow," he says. "I knew I needed to be in a neighborhood where people can drive or walk by and see our store. I knew that, like any other retail business, my primary business would come from within a ten-mile radius - probably even less. In our new location, in Hamden, we are now very close to I-91, the Merritt Parkway, and on a busy intersection in town that 10,000 cars pass by every day."
Weinstein's careful research has paid dividends. His business grew so rapidly that he found himself facing the need for more space only five years after the first move. Luckily, after laying some carefully planned roots, he didn't have to disrupt them: the larger space next door was available.
Weinstein says he has recently been entertaining thoughts of a third move as well following Adler's merger with the former Singer Travel Agency. But his landlord suggested first having a professional interior designer evaluate his current location to see whether something could be done to create more useable workspace.
"It was a great idea," he describes, "we made some moves and were able to create more space. Now, we've kept our back office, we kept the conference room, and we added one more desk."
Weinstein concluded that his current space will address the business's needs for years to come now, especially because of the growing trend his industry and many others are seeing.
"In many professions," he states, "including ours, a lot of people are able to work from home. I believe this is a growing phenomenon. With the development of technology in our industry, we're able to hook people up to our mainframe computer from their home. They're able to access the same online direct links into all the airlines that we have here at the office.
"Most of our agents do at least some of their work from home, and this is better for the client. They can meet in their home, they can meet at the agent's home - it's a great service."
Enter an age where your exact business location can be spread into a number of satellite locations that include your employees' living rooms.
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