Running A Business While Moving House

If you’ve seen some of my recent posts on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you will probably know that I’ve been in the middle of moving home. As it wasn’t a local move and that I’ve been working full time, things have been a bit hectic but now I’m finally settled and most of the boxes have been unpacked and the office set up yay!

My new home.

My move was from Leicester to Manchester so EVERYTHING needed to be moved in terms of personal things such as bills, appointment etc as well as business things like letting HMRC know, addresses for the website, Paypal and suppliers I didn’t think it was too bad I did prepare myself with like 20 million gazillion lists in my notebook. Running a business while moving can be stressful and it probably would have been if my business was bigger but I think as long as you’re prepared and planned in advance, anything can be done.

After some consideration, I decided to keep my shops on Etsy, RedBubble, Society6 and my own website open – this probably would have been a huge mistake if there was a busy calendar event such as Mother’s/Father’s Day, Valentine’s or Diwali but there was nothing major and stock was going to be packed last so all was OK. I made sure I labelled all the boxes I packed so they’re easier to find and unpack later. You can also sort these boxes into the rooms which they belong in your new home. Any stock, along with computer and printer, was packed at the very last minute but were the first to be unpacked so it was easy when orders came through and they could be easily fulfilled and sent out without delay.

I did try to post on social media but was lost for a few days with no internet – what did we do without this! I had some data on my phone which I used to check orders and reply to emails and messages. The best way to overcome this would have been to pre-prepare a lot more posts than I originally did. There’s not much left to do now, a few boxes here and there and finalise some utilities which I can’t do until the end of the month.

If any of you are moving in the future, I’ve made a list of things you would need to do / change. Hope it helps!
Personal Stuff!

• Pack things you won’t need or can do without for a bit – things like clothes/shoes, kitchen items, bedroom stuff can all be packed in advance – also make sure you label boxes to help when you unpack.
• Banking – you don’t want any important documents in the wrong hands or going elsewhere.
• Home/contents insurance company – you will need to provide new address
• Doctors / dentist / opticians / pet insurance / pet chipping – All these people need to know you’re moving and don’t forget you need to register to these in your new area asap so it’s a good idea to look into registering asap.
• Driving license will need updating.
• Store / points cards will need your address updating if they send out vouchers or updates via post.
• Magazine subscriptions
• Meter readings – on the last day take reading of water / electric / gas,let them know you are moving and your new address to forward any final bills to.
• Motor insurance
• Phone / internet / TV license

Business Stuff!

• HMRC – you will definitely need to let them know so all your paperwork goes to the correct place
• Accountants – So they know where to send letters to or contact you
• Business Insurance – don’t forget to move your insurance
• Magazine subscriptions, catalogues etc –  if you get any work related magazines just drop them an email or call
• Business cards, postal stickers and anything else if it has your address on it!
• Business website address – make sure address on your website is correct if customers need to get in touch
• Suppliers – I sent one email to all my suppliers into one email letting them all know I was moving with new address and to update my details on their system – easy!
• Paypal – if you take online payments via Paypal, or any other method, this will need to be updated.
• Bank – most important one it’s a good idea to have this as one of your first tasks
• Royal Mail – Offer a redirection service so it might be an idea to register if you have lots of post.
• Electric / Gas / Water –  if you have your own office away from home you will need to take all the meter readings and let them know you are moving.
• Phone / internet / TV license

Office set up, whose artwork can you spot on my wall?

I’m excited to start this new adventure in Manchester and see what this place holds. I can’t wait to visit all the art shops and galleries and see what quirkyness I can find here. AND, I can’t wait to find new food places but I must admit, I will miss ALOT of the restaurants in Leicester so a few visits may have to be made if the cravings get bad. If there’s anywhere you think I should see then do leave your comments below…

Dina x