THREE THINGS I LEARNED MOVING MY PRACTICE

This is the third office my practice has inhabited since I opened in 2015. Each time I move, I learn something that I wasn't expecting. Moving an office is different from moving your personal residence. There are companies whose sole service is managing corporate moves for a reason. I didn't use one of those, but I can appreciate and understand why companies choose to pay for such a service. Instead I asked for the help of friends, family and the therapists in the practice to help with the process. 

I did everything I could to not allow the move disrupt any of our client services. This was achieved through careful and thoughtful planning and lots of "Parden our Mess" signage on display. I want to share with you, the top three things I learned this time around. 

1. Create a Master Moving plan with workflows and dates. This means holding the big picture in mind throughout the transition process. Having a master plan helps keep all the moving parts flowing with consideration for how you need your office(s) to function throughout the transition process. It will help you identify which items can be boxed and/or moved over first, when to submit your order requests for transferring utilities and technology if applicable, and ensuring you are staying on top of any repairs or updates that need to be made before you move out and move in. 
2. Use a realtor who specializes in representing tenants. I interviewed Colin Carr of Carr Real Estate on Episode 22. His team represent tenants and buyers for medical practices. The realtor showing the property represents the landlord and can't ethically provide advice or help negotiate on your behalf. I ended up working with Jared Vandersluis to help me scout and schedule viewings for potential properties. In the end, I moved into another unit owned by the same landlord; however, Jared helped me to negotiate free rent for two months during the transition and a few other things to help ease the financial burden that comes with moving. Oh, and his commission is covered by the landlord. The other recommendation is to start your search sooner than you think you need to move. 
3. Have a back-up plan for internet during the transition. For whatever reason, I had the WORST luck getting the internet service transferred over to the new unit despite all of my preparation and advanced planning. The provider didn't show up for 3 scheduled installation appointments. Despite being a therapist, I was not doing a good job coping with my frustration about not having internet in our new space. It impacted our ability to provide telehealth services. I was worried it was going to impact a regularly scheduled online intensive training. I ended up having to switch internet providers. We went without internet for about a month. You don't realize just how much you rely on it to get things done until you don't have accessibility.