Business At A Glance
Startup Costs: Under $2,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Online Operation? No
Business Overview
We live in a mobile society. The average American moves about onceevery two years–but nobody likes the nitty-gritty of it. Even worse,in today’s two-income families, nobody has the time to do all thiswork.
But if you’ve got a penchant for boxing things up and you’reorganized and efficient, you can ease the process with apacking/unpacking service.
You can supply packing materials as well asmuscle and, if you’re doing the packing, you’ll neatly and carefullylabel everything so your customers can easily locate items at the otherend of the line.
The advantages to this business are that you can starton a shoestring, part-time if you like, you’re always on the moveyourself, and you get a peek at lots of different residences andlifestyles.
For this business, you’ll need to be organized, efficientand fairly detail-oriented. You should have the people skills to dealwith customers in a stressful situation (what move isn’t stressful?)and enough experience to know how to safely pack items that canpotentially spill, ooze or break.
The Market
Your clients will be homeowners, apartment renters and businesses whoare moving in or out. Post fliers at apartment and condominiumcomplexes, office complex leasing offices, laundromats, supermarkets,and ask moving truck rental firms like U-Haul and professional movingcompanies to refer you–be sure to give them supplies of your businesscards.
You might consider paying them a small commission or finder’sfee for referrals. Introduce yourself to real estate, rental andinsurance agents and give them your cards as well.
Needed Equipment
This is truly a shoestring start-up. All you really need is yourself.If you like–and it’s a nice touch–you can also provide packing boxesand materials, but if you do, be sure to figure these costs into yourprice.