How to Lead a Growing Moving Company Without Losing Control

A growing moving company needs more than hard work. It needs reputation, leadership, backup systems, and the willingness to make uncomfortable decisions.

In a SmartMoving interview, Mariel Hoffman of Solomon and Sons shared what it takes to help lead a $15 million moving company with about 30 trucks and 75 employees. The lesson is simple: if you want to scale, you cannot let comfort run the business.

What Should a Moving Company Owner Protect First?

Protect your reputation before you chase growth. Mariel explained that the moving industry can be seen as “sketchy,” and that reputation must be built from the beginning, not added later.

Your brand is not only your trucks, website, or logo. Your real brand is what customers say after the move is finished.

Reputation Checklist for Moving Company Owners

• Make reputation a daily topic, not a once-a-year project.
• Teach every department that customer trust affects company growth.
• Do not grow by accepting every move if it damages service quality.
• Make ethics and customer care part of training.
• Look for ways to show the community your company is reliable.

How Do You Know When Comfort Is Hurting the Business?

One major leadership lesson from the interview was this: growth requires discomfort. Mariel shared that Solomon and Sons made a major CRM change after passing the $10 million mark. They moved to SmartMoving cold turkey on January 1.

That kind of change is uncomfortable. But staying with weak systems can be more dangerous than changing them.

Decision Guide: Is It Time to Make a Hard Change?

• Is one department slowing down the whole company? If yes, inspect it closely.
• Are you avoiding a decision because it feels stressful? That may be the exact decision needed.
• Would the next 10 years be weaker if nothing changed? If yes, act now.
• Are you keeping a person, process, or system only because it is familiar? Comfort may be costing you growth.

What Should You Do When One Employee Has Too Much Power?

Mariel shared a painful lesson from when payroll depended too much on one person. That employee tried to use the timing of her maternity leave as leverage. Mariel still made sure payroll was completed, but the bigger lesson was clear: the SOP was weak.

If one person leaving can break payroll, dispatch, customer service, or sales, the problem is not only the person. The problem is the system.

The 3-Person Backup Rule

• Person 1: The main person responsible for the task.
• Person 2: A trained backup who can step in quickly.
• Person 3: A second backup who understands the process enough to prevent panic.

Use this for payroll, dispatch, customer service, marketing, sales, and any department where one absence could create chaos.

Which SOPs Should a Growing Moving Company Build First?

SOPs give the owner peace of mind. But they are not permanent documents. Mariel said they continue to change SOPs, including rebuilding the customer service SOP.

A moving business that wants to scale should treat SOPs as living systems, not dusty files.

First SOPs to Create or Review

• Payroll SOP: Who runs payroll, who checks it, and who backs it up?
• Dispatch SOP: What happens if the dispatcher is out?
• Customer Service SOP: How are complaints, updates, and follow-ups handled?
• Sales SOP: How are moving leads, estimates, and follow-ups managed?
• Marketing SOP: Who handles campaigns, community outreach, and reputation activity?

How Can Leadership Meetings Fix Department Problems?

Solomon and Sons holds mandatory monthly leadership meetings at 7 a.m. Each meeting is built around one word, such as communication or leadership. Then the team discusses how that topic affects customer service, operations, sales, and other departments.

This helps leaders bring problems to the surface instead of letting the owner catch random issues during the day.

Monthly Leadership Meeting Template

• Pick one theme: Communication, leadership, accountability, customer service, or another key issue.
• Ask each department what is working.
• Ask each department what is breaking.
• Identify where departments are not aligned.
• Assign one improvement before the next meeting.

What Mistakes Should Moving Company Owners Avoid?

• Waiting too long to protect reputation. Reputation must start early.
• Relying on one key employee. Every critical role needs backup.
• Avoiding uncomfortable decisions. Delayed action can block growth.
• Letting departments lead separately. Leadership must work together.
• Treating SOPs as finished forever. Processes need to change as the company grows.

Quick Win: Find One Dangerous Dependency Today

In the next 30 minutes, write down the one task in your moving company that only one person knows how to do. It may be payroll, dispatch, claims, estimates, storage, or customer service.

Then choose one backup person and schedule time for training this week. Do not wait for an emergency to discover the weakness.

How to Apply This This Week

1. Choose one department that feels too dependent on one person.

2. Write a simple SOP for one critical task in that department.

3. Train one backup person on that task.

4. Schedule a monthly leadership meeting with your department leaders.

5. Pick one reputation-building activity your moving company can do in the community.

The Main Leadership Lesson

If you want to grow a moving company, you must be willing to get uncomfortable. That may mean changing software, removing the wrong leader, rebuilding SOPs, or admitting that the current system depends too much on you.

Growth is not just more moving sales, more trucks, or more moving estimates. Real growth means the company can keep its promises without the owner holding every piece together.

To hear the full conversation, watch What It Really Takes to Lead a $15M Moving Company: Grit + Guts and visit the SmartMoving YouTube channel.