Two weeks ago, we made the move back “home” to New Hampshire. After surviving yet another round of packing up our entire life, I realized that the chaos of moving is basically a crash course in running a business.
Think about it. You’re managing timelines, coordinating people, dealing with unexpected problems, and trying not to lose your mind in the process. Sound familiar? As someone who runs a virtual assistant business, I see my small business clients struggling with some of these same challenges every day.
In this blog post, I’m sharing five lessons from our latest moving adventure that might help transform your business.
- Lists Are Your Lifeline (Seriously, Write Everything Down)
It’s no surprise, I’m obsessed with lists – always have been. During our move, I had lists for everything: what needed to be packed, who to call, what to schedule, errands to run, arrangements that needed to be made.
The business lesson: Your brain is for having ideas, not storing them. Get everything out of your head and onto paper (or your favorite app). Trust me on this one.
- Start with the Big Rocks
When packing, you learn pretty quickly that you can’t just throw stuff in boxes randomly. You pack the larger, more awkward items first, then fill in around it with smaller items.
The business lesson: Tackle your biggest, most important tasks first. I recommend blocking out morning time for your “big rocks” – the projects that really matter – and filling in the gaps with everything else.
- You Can’t Do Everything Yourself (And You Shouldn’t Try)
We hire professional movers every single time we move. Yes, it costs money, but after three moves in six and a half years, I’ve learned that some things are worth paying for. The movers handle the heavy lifting so we just need to focus on the packing/unpacking which is a big job in of itself.
The business lesson: Stop trying to be a one-person army. Yes, outsourcing costs money upfront, but it saves you time and sanity. As a virtual assistant, I see the relief on my clients’ faces when they finally delegate tasks like scheduling, basic admin work, or database management. Suddenly they have time to actually work ON their business instead of just IN it. Figure out what you’re good at, focus on that, and let people (like me!) handle the rest.
- Murphy’s Law Is Real (Plan for Things to Go Wrong)
Ten days before moving day, our internet provider cut our service without warning. Turns out our landlord had called to schedule her own service after we moved out, and somehow that triggered them to disconnect us early. As someone who runs an online business, losing internet is basically losing my lifeline.
After spending way too much time on hold, the cable company told me service would be restored “in about 4 hours.” Right. So I made the most of it – spent the afternoon packing boxes and made backup plans to work from the library the next day if needed. (Thankfully, service was restored by morning, but I was ready either way.)
The business lesson: Stuff happens. Clients change their minds, suppliers are late, technology breaks down. It’s important to build buffer time into all project deadlines and have a Plan B ready. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Your future self will thank you.
- The Real Work Starts After the Move
Here’s what nobody tells you about moving: getting your stuff from Point A to Point B is actually the easy part. The real challenge is unpacking everything and making your new place feel like home.
The business lesson: Launching your business (or a new product, or a new service) is just the beginning. The real work is in the follow-up, the refinement, the customer service, the continuous improvement. Success isn’t in the big, dramatic moments – it’s in showing up consistently after the excitement wears off.
The Bottom Line
Moving is rough, but it has taught me that good systems can turn chaos into manageable steps. Whether you’re packing boxes or building a business, the principles are the same: plan ahead, write everything down, ask for help, expect problems, and remember that the real work happens after the “grand opening.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have some unpacked boxes that I need to deal with!