News/Blog

Jeff, an account manager at Armstrong Relocation is a proven    leader with six years international experience in management,    training and lean manufacturing. Connecting and building        relationships within Charlotte, utilizing leadership and skills as    a Captain in the Army has enabled Jeff to become a major    asset to companies and commercial real estate firms needing  office/commercial relocation and storage.

Jeff Wozencraft was born and raised in Oklahoma. Following college, he became an officer in the U.S. Army. Serving multiple deployments overseas as a Captain in the 82nd Airborne and Special Operations. He is fluent in Indonesian and Spanish. After a 7 year career on active duty, he transitioned to the Reserves where he serves as a Brigade Fire Support Officer for a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade.

Once leaving active duty, he became an operations manager for a global manufacturing facility where he honed his skills in six sigma, and process improvement. He then was offered a position as the commercial account executive for Armstrong Relocation Charlotte. His 8+ years as an installer working for a used office furniture company, along with his leadership experience in the military has given him a great advantage in the commercial relocation industry. He was also voted as top 30 under 30 leaders of Charlotte last year. He’s extremely involved in his community in numerous organizations, and still finds time to serve overseas as a military advisor to the Japanese Self-Defense Force, and the Vanuatu Government. His main passions are traveling and skydiving with over 500+ skydives in countries all over the world.

CRN is pleased to have Jeff as a new member.

Nigel Kelly is the Director of Commercial Services for Hilldrup Moving & Storage in Atlanta. He is responsible for nationwide commercial office relocations, logistics, warehousing, space layout planning and design, furniture procurement and installation. Nigel also has extensive managerial level experience with international shipping, supply chain management, and household goods relocations. He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including IFMA, MARC, ERC, and CoreNet…where he serves as the Chair of the University Outreach Committee.

Prior to joining Hilldrup, Nigel served as General Manager for international household goods forwarder: Crown Worldwide, where he managed their Atlanta, GA and Miami, FL operations. He has also held management and sales positions with Allied Van Lines, Bekins Van Lines, Wheaton Van Lines, and Atlas Van Lines. Notable is his 20 years of experience in the relocation industry.

Nigel is the husband of Atlanta native, Angela Kelly, and he is the proud father of four sons; Nicolas, Aaron, Alex, and Andrew. He is active in his church, Cascade United Methodist, where he serves on the Higher Education & Campus Ministry. Nigel is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., where he has servedas President, Director of New Member Intake, and Area Director. He is a native of Irvington, New Jersey, and a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. He enjoys spending time with his family, classic movies, playing the saxophone, and serving as the president of the Band Booster at Westlake High School.

CRN is proud to welcome Nigel as a new member. The Commercial Relocation Network is a membership organization made up of the largest and most successful office and industrial relocation companies in the country. The group is administered by an executive committee of industry professionals dedicated to having only the “Best in Class” service providers involved in the group.

What does your office say about your company? Can’t tell because you’ve been there so long and have gotten used to it? Ask some of your best customers that you trust for their honest opinion. Or, you could follow the tips in this guide and avoid any awkward interaction in the first place. Here’s what you should do: 1. It’s the Little Things that Count For just a few bucks, you can buy new plants or throw on a fresh coat of paint. That’s what AllBusiness.com recommends anyway. And why not do it? It’s a small investment and if it makes a better impression on your customers, that makes more sales for you. 2. Brand It, Just Like You Do Everything at Your company Ron Carson runs a financial planning company. Even though that’s a professional service, he makes some good points you should follow with your business, regardless of the kind it is:

• Have tasteful and comfortable furniture
• Use the right music to set the mood
• Fill the air with a pleasing aroma (in this case it was cookies)

If you offer a relaxing experience, you’ll have warmer, more receptive clients and customers when you actually start talking and conducting business with them. 3. Keep Adults and Kids Entertained You’ve heard of so many businesses that have play areas/daycares for young children. If your customer/client type will commonly have children with them, make sure you have an engaging play area ready. And here’s maybe the one you didn’t think of…keep your clients entertained too. Maybe you should have an iPad or two available so they can browse the web as they see fit. It could be as simple as having the types of magazines that your clients want to read. Adults can get as bored and impatient as your children, so make sure you have a way of keeping them entertained, says energycentral. 4. Use the Right Paint Color for the Effect You Want to Achieve This website notes these colors have these effects:

• Corporations – Use natural colors like cream and beige (makes you look sophisticated)
• Blue – Honesty loyalty, security, and confidence
• Green – Calming, growth, money (dark green indicates wealth and prestige)
• Navy blue/burgundy – Control, responsibility, and confidence

The brighter the color you choose, the more casual you come across. Choose the right one for the impression you want to make. Decorate to Please Your Employees and Target Customers Your employees spend most of their adult lives at your office, so it makes sense that it’s a pleasant space for both them and your customers. Don’t try to please everyone – because you most certainly won’t. Instead, think of the ideal customer you want to attract, and cater to their needs exclusively. Every detail of your business, including your front office, should be tailored to match their tastes. Do that sand your business will make a powerful impact on all visitors.

Moving your business is a big deal so you will want to be sure you hire the appropriate business movers for the job. Success in the world of business is expected and nothing less can be tolerated. How do you differentiate the right movers for the successful job you’ll be paying for? Read the following tips to find out.

First and most important, do your research. Even if someone you know and respect refers a professional commercial mover to you and from his or her own successful experience, you need to research the mover. Not all jobs are equal and that applies to moving jobs as well. Just because Dick or Jane had a great moving experience doesn’t mean you will. You need to get online and research your movers in consideration.

Reviews! Get online and search for your movers on Google and other search engines. Read the reviews left by prior customers. Listen to what they have to say about their experience and if any reviews raise a brow, make a note of it and inquire the mover about it to see what they have to say. You are entitled to know because it could be you writing the next negative review. Check other review sites as well for example, Yelp, yahoo reviews and others.

Second, call and speak with the commercial movers. You can read a lot of people through a phone call. Make a note of how you were treated and if you felt like they listened to and took your needs seriously. Ask yourself; did they have a pleasant, professional and sincere attitude? When customer service is important to a company you be assured that you are important to the company.

Continue to inquire them about their ability to service your precise needs. Can they offer you a crew and equipment that will be sufficient for your moving needs? Is the moving company safety-trained, code-compliant and customer-service focused? Are they knowledgeable and experienced? If so ask them to show you testimonials. You may even consider making a trip to see their facility, meet the crew and check out their equipment.

Finally, moving your business will only be as successful as the movers are capable of being. After you do your research and choose your relocation experts make sure they provide you with both a cost estimate and a schedule, and make sure they stick to it as closely as possible. The more involved you are with your move from the customer standpoint, the more the movers will know how to be most effective in helping yo

Unless you have an amazingly high degree of trust in the other party, you should. But what exactly do you need a commercial real estate attorney for? Well, let’s hear it from a few practicing commercial real estate attorneys themselves (Remember we do not endorse any particular attorney or legal practice. These are their professional opinions.): 

1. You Can “Destroy Your Business“ 

This is what Alexander Powhida says for the Albany, New York area. He goes farther to say that “disputes about commercial property can destroy a successful business even before it gets off the ground.” Sounds fairly alarming, doesn’t it? 

2. If It Goes Wrong, It Costs a Lot to Fix It 

This is the perspective of Cornetet, Meyer, Rush, & Kirzner. So it’s best to make sure you’ve got everything right in the first place. A sound contract protects your interests from the get-go so you don’t have to deal with any problems in the long-run. 

3. They Resolve Disputes Quickly 

Waukesha, Wisconsin-based Walden, Schuster, & Vaklyes talk about the complexity of real estate disputes. They even take care of disputes you may have with your broker. When you need to make that big move, there’s no such thing as being “too safe.” 

4. Give You All the Information So You Know What Path to Take 

That’s what Leo T. White of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania says. Because commercial real estate law’s so complex, you need a helpful guide who gives you all the most accurate information possible so you can make a good decision. Best of all? You get to stay in full control of the choice you make. 

5. You Need Help with all the Contract Clauses and Fine Print 

So says the SBA. They also note you might want to add clauses in your contract regarding subleasing, exclusivity (prevents your landlord from renting to your direct competitors), and co-tenancy (allows you to move to another property if another tenant breaks their lease and your landlord doesn’t find another tenant within a specified timeframe). 

6. You Can Save Yourself from Hidden Fees 

For example, the SBA says, some landlords sneakily hide the costs of utilities from you. They may apportion those costs by square footage of the building, rather than the readings on your meters. Your lease should also contain language specifying who’s responsible for what maintenance and repair. Do you have caps? Are you responsible for the whole thing? That’s where the help of an attorney comes in handy. That’s why a commercial real estate attorney is imperative. Now you have more detailed information that shows the exact help they offer. Hire a good one, and you get many more times your investment in return.

Moving office furniture can be a big deal and it really depends on a range of factors to determine the complexity of the job. Such factors can include the number of furniture items needing to be moved, workstation disassembly and re-installation, floor levels needing to be cleared, general access to and from the building and other variables. Regardless, there are things that you can do to help make your office relocation easier.

Begin by taking an inventory of your items that need to be moved. You want to make sure all of your employees receive their correct assets at destination and all other items are properly placed where they belong. Monitors, computers, peripherals and even chairs can easily end up misplaced or in departments and work areas they shouldn’t be. At the end of the move that will only lead to a longer and more costly day and confusion amongst your employees. How do you avoid this? Use labels.

Using labels is a great way to keep things moving seamlessly however keep in mind that incorrectly labeling items is the most common reason pieces end up misplaced. Make sure all labels list the floor level the piece is destined for and the office number or employee’s name. If there are going to be different departments where items will go then consider using multi-colored labels to represent separate areas or departments. Red labels may represent a main lobby for example and blue labels for a supply room. Don’t forget that pieces without labels become problematic and generally end up misplaced.

Labeling is a great way to ensure pieces go where they’re supposed to at destination but what about exact placement? You can use labels to instruct your movers where pieces go precisely in any given area. Take filing cabinets for example; by numerically labeling a set of six filing cabinets in a certain order, your movers will now how to place them in their correct positions and therefore help make things even easier for you and more efficient.

No matter how small or large your office move may be there is always the potential for increased stress if you don’t take the time to prepare. Your movers will do the best they can to alleviate all of your stress but you need to properly prepare as well in order to be more effective on your end.

It’s actually not as hard as you think to get your offices and staff ready to move. Simply follow the plan your move consultant will provide you with and be sure to make a checklist to get started on pre-move organizing. There are plenty of things to do so it’s most helpful to designate someone to assist your staff with staying on track to ensure their individual spaces, workstations and departments are prepared before moving day.

To make a useful checklist, ask yourself the following questions;

• Have all desks been cleared and emptied? Loaded drawers can lead to some unsightly messes during handling and some items can be misplaced end up lost altogether.
• Have file cabinets been secured and are there spare keys available if original keys are lost?
• Have tall supply cabinets and shelving units been emptied? These items will most likely be laid on their sides during handling to clear doorways. You wouldn’t want anything to fall over or end up lost.
• Have all electrical assets such as computers, printers, monitors, peripherals and phones been disconnected and labeled properly? Have all printers been serviced and ink cartridges removed if required?
• Are all pictures and dry erase boards off the walls and ready to move?
• Did you empty and disconnect the break room refrigerator if you have one? Is all perishable trash emptied?
• Don’t forget to schedule appropriate services providers such as IT professionals to service your networks both at origin and destination, and remember to designate a trash clean up crew or hire professionals.

Having a checklist will help you with preparing for you move. Choosing the right office movers to begin with however will ensure you the greatest moving experience with the least amount of stress. When you work with CRN you will get the best movers in the industry, while your checklist ensures you’re ready for the move to begin.

You never know what’s going to come up with your office move, but with smart budgeting you can prepare for the worst case scenario.

How do you know if you’ve budgeted for that scenario?  Follow these tips to ensure your budget keeps the stress and hassle of moving in check:

• Create a template - …or download one online.  It’s easiest to budget if you have a line-item template to use.
• Add in the moving company expenses – Include the moving company fee.  Get estimates from at least three companies and put the highest quote on your budget. Additional insurance – If you think your items are worth more than they’re currently insured for, get three quotes for this and add the highest one in.
• Extra services – what does it cost to have my moving company pack our files, perform computer disconnect/re-connects, decommission my old office.
• Extra charges – Consider this for items such as expedited services or moving over a holiday.
• New office costs – Include factors such as rent, the amount of the security deposit, legal fees, building insurance, office design, new office furniture, new phone systems, new IT infrastructure, and archiving and storage.
• Existing office repairs – Are these your responsibility or the landlord’s?  Check your lease to be sure and budget for the repairs.
• Special transportation costs – haz-mat, dedicated trucks, security escorts, temperature control trucks, these are all items/services available to you however they typically come at a higher cost than traditional moving vans.
• Staff hours – Don’t forget to budget for the employee hours that will be spent helping with the move.
• Advising fees – If you need a tenant representative broker, lawyer, office designer, general contractor, project manager or telecom consultant, budget for these as necessary.
• Marketing costs – You’re going to have to tell all your clients and customers about your new location.  Devise a marketing/PR strategy and estimate the costs.
• Early lease termination penalty – If you decided to just pay the penalty so you can move, make sure you include it in your budget.
• Taxes – Usually they’re included in your rent, but if for some reason they’re not, create a separate item for them.

Now that you’ve got the nitty gritty of the budgeting out of the way, it’s time to enjoy your move!

It’s common knowledge that in most cases quality and reputation are determining factors when considering a purchase of any kind. Whether it’s a product or a service, people like to see that there’s some sort of guarantee or proof, even if unspoken, that whatever it is they want will bring satisfaction. This is true when you’re considering the services of riggers and industrial movers as well.

Riggers often face complex tasks and many projects require their specific services. Some projects can be simple and will only require a single fork truck and a couple riggers, but even if that is the case there might be substantial obstacles to work through. Some parts of the machine might need to be dismantled or machine may have to be maneuvered through limited clearances. Such things require skillful and experienced riggers.

Large projects can require crane rigging of heavy industrial machines from multi story buildings or even the total decommissioning of facilities. Whatever size task you need be sure to understand the entire scope of your project so that you can choose the appropriate riggers and industrial movers to handle the job. Not all riggers and machinery movers are equally skilled, experienced or safety minded. In fact some may not even possess the proper certifications and skillsets that might be required to handle a specific job.

It is important to discuss all of your concerns while interviewing your riggers. Ask about their experience, safety training, certifications and equipment. These are things that you need to know to be sure your riggers and movers are qualified to provide the services you need. There’s more satisfying to know you’re in good hands. That will reduce loads of stress that you don’t need.

Choosing to work with CRN will give you the riggers and industrial movers you’re looking for. Get the job done right the first time with the best professionals in the industry. Your experience with CRN will be more satisfying, less stressful and you’ll get the successful job you need.

So, you’ve finally made the leap from the planning stage to the point where you’ve hired a broker to tour what’s going to be your next office location. Now all you have to do is narrow that selection down and begin negotiations on rates and terms with each. You’re almost ready to begin your move and your company’s next big expansion. Here are the first steps to making it a safe and beneficial move for your company: 

1. Check the Area for Safety & Accessibility 

Quickbooks advises your broker to do this. Your new property should be safe at all times of the day. Your broker should do a drive-by during the day and night. Make sure your broker also checks the crime rate statistics for the area. The parking area should have both handicap and adequate parking for people of all abilities. 

2. How Much Storage and Filing Space is Available? 

You should have enough for your current needs and some growth. If you and your broker agree the office space is a perfect fit otherwise, you can always get offsite storage for a reasonable price. If you do move in, use every space-saving storage technique you can think of, like mail organizers, hanging file systems, plastic totes, and shelving units. 

3. Evaluate the Landlord’s Company Representative 

While you’re renting based on price, location, safety, and ability to serve your current customers, you also want a good relationship with your future landlord. It saves you stress, hassle, and money down the road. What could be worse than finding the ideal office location at a great price, only to have a landlord that sticks you with as much of the maintenance bill as possible? REJournals.com notes that having an experienced broker is huge for your business. Good ones know many fellow brokers, building owners, and real estate reps. In some cases, they can help you find deals before they’re even listed online. That means you get a good deal - and you can work with a good landlord too. 

4. Check the Condition of the Property 

This is the obvious one. Your broker should do this briefly now in addition to doing more when it’s time for them to do due diligence. Basically, your broker should look for any obvious damage to the roof, walls, and floor. And of course include the mechanicals like the fire suppression sprinkler, HVAC system, plumbing, and electric. You will have these all checked later by an inspector. But if the landlord can’t present his property well to new tenants, he certainly won’t be any better when you move in to the property later on. 

There’s Nothing Better than Doing Your Homework! 

Having your broker touring offices in person is hugely important. In fact, here’s an entire list for due diligence once your broker enters that phase of the process. Even the most thorough due diligence can fail to reveal all problems with the property or landlord. In that event, your broker acts as your first line of defense with the landlord, which often saves you from more disputes and awkward exchanges. If your broker follows the tips above, you’ll save yourself from wasting any time whatsoever on landlords and properties that are just not a good fit.