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When you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, it’s occasionally necessary to move fast in order to take advantage of an opportunity. Moreover, location has a significant effect on success. Therefore, you might not be able to remain in the same spot indefinitely. If you should decide relocating is necessary, you may have to do several essential things. Following are some suggestions to ensure a smooth transition for yourself and your family.
Seven Tips for Relocating Successfully
Most moves can be bittersweet. There’s an element of leaving behind what’s familiar and comfortable, and pushing toward something uncertain yet promising.
It’s not usually easy, but it’s certainly not a bad thing. The following seven tips should empower you to reap more of the good without falling victim to the fear and anxiety that can happen to a business owner who’s making a big transition.
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1. Talk It Through with Your Spouse
This should go without saying, but don’t make a decision to relocate without discussing it thoroughly with your spouse. Sure, it’s ultimately a business decision. However, it will inevitably pose massive repercussions for your family. Involving your spouse in the process will make it much more of a shared experience.
2. Nail Down the Details
As soon as you know where you’ll be relocating to, start figuring out the essential details. The more proactive you can be, the less stressful the process is likely to turn out.
For example, if you have young children, begin to research schools as soon as you can. Find out which neighborhoods are desirable and how the local zoning works. Any degree of certainty you can achieve before the move will help to calm everybody’s nerves (not least yours!).
3. Pitch Your Children
Use your business skills to plan and execute a “pitch” to your children. Perhaps you’ll have made up your mind already. However, it’s still helpful to get your kids to buy in as willing and excited participants.
As you deliver your pitch to the kids, build up the move as something to look forward to. Acknowledge what’s being left behind. On the other hand, try to shift their focus to the opportunities that exist at the other end of the move.
This can be easier with younger kids than with older ones who have well-established social groups and activities.
4. Set a Good Example
Your kids will feed off of your emotions. If you’re anxious and worried about the change, they’ll sense that. In turn, they will develop their own feelings of uncertainty.
If you’re excited and optimistic, however, they’ll feel confident that everything is going to be okay. Therefore, set a strong, positive example from the beginning.
5. Rent First, Buy Later
Though you may be tempted to buy a house before the move, renting might be a better approach—at least for now. “Rather than trying to find the perfect place to own immediately, take your time,” finance blogger Travis H. Brown suggests.
“Learn the neighborhoods. Decide what’s most important to you in a living arrangement, and keep it in mind for later. Renting buys you some time (six months to a year) to look around, figure out what really matters to your family, and then decide which housing purchase would work better for you in the long run.”
6. Help Your Kids Make Friends
“Younger kids make friends based on proximity, but school-age kids choose them based on similarities,” says Dr. Michele Borba, author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions. “We often expect our kids to make friends on their own, but we need to show them how.”
When you transition, put your kids in situations where they’re apt to rub shoulders with other children. (This means you’ll have to socialize with parents!)
Teach them how to introduce themselves and be kind. Good friends make a move easier.
7. Go with the Flow
Not everything will go according to plan. You can expect to encounter problems, speed bumps, hurdles, and points of friction.
Embrace these challenges and go with the flow. There’s only so much you can control. What’s more, it’s imperative that you don’t overextend yourself.
Let Time Work Its Magic When Relocating
When all’s said and done, time plays a crucial role in the success of relocating. Whether you’re thrilled at the prospect of a move or anxious about how it will all unfold, the process will take weeks, if not months, before life becomes something like normal again.
Try to stay patient and don’t miss your opportunities in the early days to set yourself up for long-term success.
