https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/ Wed, 28 Oct 2026 23:30:51 +0000 Notes on starting and running a moving company, from two operators. en-us https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-arizona https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-arizona Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Arizona is one of the few states with no household goods mover license at all. What governs you instead is a 2017 consumer statute on contracts and hostage loads, ADOT's commercial registration and weight fees, and the ordinary rules on insurance, tax and employees. What each one requires, what it costs, and the work you can take this week. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-georgia https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-georgia Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Georgia licenses movers through the Department of Public Safety and publishes the maximum rate every mover may charge. What the household goods certificate costs, the insurance it requires, the state's hourly ceilings and minimums, the paperwork every Georgia move needs, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-illinois https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-illinois Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Illinois licenses movers through the Illinois Commerce Commission, and it is one of the few states that makes you prove a public need at a hearing, pass a written exam and file a rate tariff before the first paid move. What the license costs, the insurance it requires, the rules on estimates and liability, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-north-carolina https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-north-carolina Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 North Carolina licenses movers through the Utilities Commission and publishes the maximum hourly rate every mover may charge. What the certificate of exemption costs, the insurance it requires, the state's rate ceilings and estimate rules, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-ohio https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-ohio Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Ohio licenses movers through the Public Utilities Commission, and the certificate is cheap, online and quick. What it costs, the insurance it requires, the tariff you write yourself, the paperwork every Ohio move needs, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-washington https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-washington Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Washington licenses movers through the Utilities and Transportation Commission, and it is the one state that sets both a floor and a ceiling on what you may charge. What the household goods permit costs, the insurance it requires, how Tariff 15-C prices a local move, the paperwork every Washington move needs, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/junk-removal-or-moving-company https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/junk-removal-or-moving-company Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Junk removal is the side business everyone online is recommending. Here is how it compares to moving on skill, risk, reviews and how many jobs it takes to make a living, including the numbers junk owners sent back when we got it wrong. Liam M. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/rental-truck-for-moving-business https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/rental-truck-for-moving-business Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Most start-a-moving-company advice says to rent a truck for your first jobs. Before you do, read the rental agreement. Here is what U-Haul's terms say, which rental desks are set up for moving businesses, and the insurance questions to ask before the first paid move. Liam M. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/do-you-need-a-license-to-start-a-moving-company https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/do-you-need-a-license-to-start-a-moving-company Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Which moving jobs need a USDOT number, federal operating authority or a state household goods permit, which ones need nothing, and what each one costs, from a licensed carrier that started with none of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/hiring-your-first-mover https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/hiring-your-first-mover Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 When a new moving company should hire, what to pay a helper and a foreman, why the first real hire is a foreman and not a helper, and the four things to have in place before anyone starts. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-get-moving-leads https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-get-moving-leads Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Where a new moving company's first customers actually come from, in the order to set them up: Google Business Profile, Craigslist, twenty texts, then the paid platforms, and what each one costs. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-california https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-california Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 California requires a Bureau of Household Goods and Services permit for every paid move, with fingerprints, $600,000 in liability coverage and $20,000 in cargo coverage. What it costs, how long it takes, and what you can do while you wait. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-florida https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-florida Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Florida registers movers through the Department of Agriculture, not the DOT, and its definition of a mover includes loading. What the registration costs, the insurance it requires, the IM number rule, and what you can do this week. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-texas https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company-in-texas Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Texas requires every household goods mover to register with TxDMV, even with a pickup. What the certificate costs, the insurance it requires, the paperwork every Texas move needs, and the work you can take before any of it. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-start-a-moving-company Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 How to start a moving company without buying a truck first. Twelve steps in the order that works, what each one costs, and the numbers from our own company in upstate New York. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/labor-only-moving-business https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/labor-only-moving-business Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 What labor-only moving is, why it is the first job most new movers can take this week, how to price it from your own costs, and where the customers who already have a truck go looking for help. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/moving-company-insurance https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/moving-company-insurance Sun, 11 Oct 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The insurance a new moving company actually needs, in the order to buy it: general liability, cargo, commercial auto and workers' comp, with real monthly costs and how we handle damage when it happens. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/flat-rate-or-hourly https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/flat-rate-or-hourly Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 When to quote a moving job flat and when to quote it hourly, portal to portal. The two-part rule we use, four real jobs from one August that show it working, and the one time the rule failed. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-much-do-movers-make https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-much-do-movers-make Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 What we pay our movers, what a helper on your first jobs should cost, and what the owner of a two-man moving company actually keeps on a $900 job. Real numbers from upstate New York, not a salary website. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-price-a-single-item-move https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/how-to-price-a-single-item-move Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Single-item jobs are how most moving companies get their first customers and how many lose money. How we price a couch across town, a 321-pound wood stove, a hot tub, and why the same item can be pure margin at the end of another move. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/the-deposit https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/the-deposit Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Why a moving company should take a deposit on every booked job, how much (ours is 20 percent of the low end), how to ask for it without sounding pushy, and what happened in one August to the jobs that had one versus the jobs that did not. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/what-to-charge-for-a-two-bedroom-move https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/what-to-charge-for-a-two-bedroom-move Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 The most common job you will ever quote, priced two ways. What we charged for one in August, what you should charge on your first one, and how to know which number to say on the phone. Jacob K. https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/the-truck-is-the-last-thing-you-buy https://startamovingcompany.com/blog/the-truck-is-the-last-thing-you-buy Mon, 14 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 Everybody thinks they need $30,000 for a truck before they can take a single job. That belief is the only thing standing between most people and their first paid move. Jacob K.