It doesn’t take a degree in Economics to see what is happening to your business right now. In brief, the Federal Reserve has kept the interest rates at almost zero since the housing crash of 2008. They first needed to bail out the money center banks and then kept it low to fuel a robust economy. But then the Pandemic hit and the government needed to bail out the country as a whole and used PPP and EIDL, and that mass printing of money has led to huge inflation.
So now the Fed is escalating interest rates fast, and probably far faster than they need to, and your moving business is suffering. Many more than others, but all feel the constriction.
Some recommendations for your consideration:
- TAKE A REASONED LOOK: Besides comparing sales with 2021, compare with 2019. Let’s see how bad they REALLY are.
- ENJOY WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE A SALE: Since Moving & Storage is a zero-sum business, it is not promotable. We can’t decide to have a big sale as other businesses can. Well, the Pandemic did it for us and it was a Gold Rush. But 2020 and 2021 were a “one off”. It’s not reality. That kind of mass moving will probably never happen again unless there is a natural disaster like Ft. Myers.
- CONCENTRATE ON STORAGE: We have been recommending this for years. It is a huge and rapidly growing industry. Take advantage of it.
- MOVE OUT OF THE COMMODITY SPACE: If your website doesn’t show your business as anything more than a bunch of moving vans with some strong men, you’re going to face marketing pressure. Prospective buyers will see your business as nothing more than a commodity.
- INTEREST RATES ARE NOT GOING BACK TO 2%: Eventually, new home buyers will begin to understand this. 7% is not really that high as we look back over time. The mortgage business has been booming. Heck, there are probably four mortgage companies in my office building alone. But when a company like Rocket Mortgage, the country’s biggest, lays off over 200 employees, that says to me that this is the “new normal”. And, what happened to all those “all cash” buyers anyway?
Let’s plan for it together. Onward and upward!