In this episode, Ed Katz (Reverend), of International Office Moving Institute (IOMI), discusses how he began within the industry nearly 50 years ago, starting at the very bottom as a mover/helper (porter) before starting his own company Peachtree Movers in 1976 based in Atlanta.
Ed sold Peachtree Movers in 2000, and in that 24-year period Peachtree Movers completed nearly 50,000 local office moves. During Ed’s time at Peachtree Movers, he created several inventions, the Space Gobbler being one, an inflatable device that filled the available space within desk drawers, and the Spider Crane being another, a hoist that allowed wide lateral file cabinets to be moved without the need to remove the contents.
Today Ed teaches (and preaches) his 3-day office moving seminar, which if you don’t catch in person, you can now watch online.
One of Ed’s challenges within the industry is trying to get people to think outside of the box to differentiate themselves from the marketplace.
The one thing Ed would like to change from his moving past is to have taken the kind of training Ed provides the industry today, as he had no industry mentor to learn from so everything was self-taught from the school of hard knocks.
Ed’s highpoint of being within the industry was going out on moves and listening to the customer reactions and seeing the appreciation for making the service more user friendly.
The one thing Ed would like to change within the industry is to ensure that new contractor businesses (those that never render the actual service) are certified.
The advice Ed would give himself just starting out within the industry again is get training, differentiate himself, listen to the customer and focus on one specific sector.
In the next 5 years god willing Ed will not be room temperature, but continues to see himself advising, coaching, consulting and teaching. Industry wise, Ed see’s people returning to the office and therefore a higher demand for commercial moves as current empty buildings begin to fill again.
Outside of the industry Ed spends an hour a day at the gym, but Ed just loves to coach, train, teach and consult as business is his hobby.
And as always, we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story, regarding a trip to the can.
Enjoy!
Links to IOMI:
Special Guest: Ed Katz.