Interview: Jennifer Morehead of Moveboxer

-1The Matt Baier team has helped many people through the home transition process from getting ready to put the home on the market all the way through to unpacking at the new house. I interviewed Moveboxer CEO Jennifer Morehead about the challenges of moving.

1. Besides the obvious, what are reasons moving is so stressful?

Change is really hard for people. Change is such a natural part of life, but yet it’s something that we don’t like to think about. When we’re in the process of moving, that change is right in front of us, which is hard. Plus it’s just tough to see all of your belongings boxed up and moving from one place to another. It makes you feel a little less than human.

2. What are some of the common mistakes people make when moving?

The mistakes that people make when moving usually center around making a short-term decision that can cost a lot in the long term. For example, most of the moving companies out there do a nice job. However, there are some movers that are not licensed or insured. When you let them into your house, you are most likely distracted, overwhelmed, and vulnerable. If these unscrupulous movers take advantage of the situation, it will be a long-term cost to you in stolen or broken items. Mistakes are made during moving because you are usually pressed for time and a bit desperate. The people around you, whether they are helping you move, renting you a truck, or coordinating your storage, can take advantage of the situation.

3. What is Moveboxer?

Moveboxer is the home base to people during their move. Moveboxer acts as an online moving tool to provide budget planning, customized to-d lists, calendars, and an easy way to cancel utilities. Moveboxer helps people calculate moving expenses, do a mover comparison, and connect with up to three reputable local or long distance movers. People can also use Moveboxer to connect with reputable sources for storage, moving boxes, moving insurance, a handyman, and home security for their new home.

4. What inspired you to start Moveboxer?

Moving is, and continues to be, really tough for people. There seems to be a lot of pain around the moving process. My partners and I believed there was room for a solution that combined technology with research around the best moving providers to help make moving easier for people.

5. Moving is especially challenging for children, any advice to make things smoother?

I have personally done a move with three young kids and it is definitely a challenging experience. I would recommend being really proactive in your communication with kids. As much as you can, try to involve them in conversations about the change that will be happening in advance of the move and the change that is happening during a move. Help kids to buy into the situation by talking with them a lot about why you are moving from one home to another. Let them pick out their room in the next home and actively help with things like a yard sale, to make them a part of the experience. Then there are the logistics of moving with kids. In advance of the move, you’ll want to research schools and preschools, pull their current school records and transfer them, and make sure doctors are all lined up near the new home. You will also want to take extra care during the actual move time, which may mean coordinating a babysitter or family member to take care of your kids and having a safe place for you to stay while your items are in transit.

Jennifer Morehead Bio:

Jennifer Morehead is the CEO and founder of Moveboxer, a website that is the home base to people during their move. Moveboxer connects people with the tools and services for their move, like movers, mortgage, storage, and home security. Jennifer is mom to three young boys and her company is based in Evanston, IL. Jennifer started the business because she had personally gone through so many moves (Washington DC, San Francisco, Chicago) and felt there was a need for a service that researches all of these companies in advance and puts together an easy solution. Jennifer has spoken at Chicago’s Technori Pitch and been featured as an expert at TechWeek. Jennifer is also an active fundraiser for multiple organizations. Connect with Jennifer and check out Moveboxer online or connect with Moveboxer on Twitter or Facebook.