Follow us to stay ahead of what’s working in the moving industry.

Buy or Build a Moving Company? A Practical Growth Playbook

Many moving company owners want to grow, but the hard question is how. Should you open a new location from scratch, or buy an existing moving business?

In this SmartMoving podcast episode, Austin Yarbrough shared why he chose acquisition instead of starting from zero when expanding from California into Arizona. His story gives moving company owners a useful framework for growth, risk, leadership, and execution.

When Should You Consider Buying Instead of Building?

Buying a moving company can make sense when you want to enter a market faster and avoid starting with no trucks, no team, no customer base, and no systems.

Austin described acquisition as getting onto a vehicle already moving 60 miles per hour, then trying to take it to 120. Building from scratch means buying trucks, warehouse space, pads, straps, and hiring people before momentum exists.

What Should You Fix First After Buying a Moving Company?

Do not try to fix everything at once. Austin used a “roadblocks and rockets” exercise from Cody Sanchez’s book Main Street Millionaire. The idea is simple: find what is blocking growth and find what could make the company take off faster.

For the Arizona acquisition, the early investments went into the basics: equipment, straps, moving pads, and other operational tools. Marketing was tested too, but the growth did not happen instantly.

First 90 Days After Acquisition

• 1. Inspect the operation: Look at trucks, equipment, pads, straps, warehouse needs, team quality, and customer experience.
• 2. Identify roadblocks: Ask where jobs are slowing down, where crews are under-equipped, and where customers are getting friction.
• 3. Identify rockets: Find the best growth opportunities, such as branding, sales, storage, pricing, or customer follow-up.
• 4. Invest in core tools: Fix the equipment gaps before chasing complicated marketing ideas.
• 5. Be patient with growth: Austin said the wheel took about nine months to really turn.

How Do You Grow Without Depending Only on Paid Leads?

Austin warned that growth is not only about hunting for leads or spending more on Google and Meta. He compared business growth to farming. Relationships, business development, branding, communication, and being top of mind matter.

This is important for any moving company owner who feels trapped on the “PPC drug” and thinks more ad spend is the only answer.

Marketing Growth Framework

• Paid leads: Use Google, Meta, and other paid channels, but do not make them your only plan.
• Relationships: Build local relationships that can create repeat and referral business.
• Branding: Make the company memorable in the market.
• Communication: Clearly explain how your moving company helps people.
• Content: Use platforms like Instagram to show team energy, customer service, and company culture.

What Leadership Changes When You Run Multiple Markets?

Growth forced Austin to change how he led. He talked about waking up earlier, getting an executive assistant, adding a general manager, and leaning on stronger operational leadership from his wife, Lauren.

The lesson is clear: a bigger moving business requires a different owner. You cannot lead a multi-location operation the same way you led one truck or one branch.

Leadership Upgrade Checklist

• Delegate faster: Add help when your time becomes the bottleneck.
• Install management: A strong general manager can create capacity and improve execution.
• Protect your focus: Spend more time on work that creates energy and growth.
• Train daily: Austin referenced regular sales and communication training.
• Build accountability: Surround yourself with people who challenge you to keep improving.

How Can Culture Help a Moving Company Scale?

The acquired company was rebranded as Lucky Day. Austin said the new name, website, wrapped trucks, social media, and team energy helped create pride inside the company.

Culture was not treated as a soft idea. It became a visible part of the business through team competition, push-ups, content, and shared standards between Central Coast Moving and Lucky Day.

Culture Questions to Ask Yourself

• Are your crews proud to wear your brand?
• Does your company have energy that customers can feel?
• Do your locations compete in a healthy way?
• Are your values clear enough to know who fits and who does not?
• Would your team describe the company the same way you do?

What Mistakes Should Moving Company Owners Avoid?

• Growing only because revenue is exciting: More trucks and managers can also mean more liability and lower margins.
• Keeping all risk in one market: Austin wanted to avoid having all his eggs in one basket.
• Expecting instant results: His acquisition did not immediately jump to the next revenue level.
• Ignoring brand fit: He changed the company name because he wanted to build something he felt connected to.
• Building alone: He emphasized the value of community, accountability, and feedback from other moving company owners.

Quick Win: Do This in 30 Minutes Today

Write down your next growth move and test it with this simple scorecard.

• Market: Do we understand this area?
• Money: Can we fund this without hurting cash flow?
• People: Do we have leaders who can run it?
• Systems: Can our sales, dispatch, and operations support it?
• Risk: Does this reduce risk or create a bigger mess?

If you cannot answer these clearly, you may not be ready to buy or build yet.

How to Apply This This Week

• 1. Pick your growth path: Decide whether your next move is a new branch, acquisition, or improving your current market.
• 2. Map your roadblocks: List the top five things slowing your moving business down right now.
• 3. Find your rockets: List the top five opportunities that could create faster growth if fixed or funded.
• 4. Review your leadership capacity: Identify one role you need to delegate, hire, or strengthen.
• 5. Build accountability: Find other moving company owners or a community that will challenge your standards.

For the full conversation, watch The Fastest Way to Grow a Moving Company? Buy vs. Build and visit the SmartMoving YouTube channel.