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Built to Move 2025 Recap: Every Mover’s Wake-Up Call

Written by Anati Zubia | Oct 15, 2025 2:07:36 PM

If you were anywhere other than Wooster, Ohio this weekend, you missed the most useful event in the moving industry this year. Built to Move 2025 wasn’t about name tags and lukewarm coffee. It was about operational transformation disguised as an event. 

Thanks to Tim Krupp who somehow runs both Krupp Moving & Storage and Movebees without losing his mind, this gathering served up hard-earned tactics for scaling, hiring, pricing, and finally making real money without living at DEFCON 1. 

Here’s the download for anyone smart enough to open their ears and dumb enough to miss it in person.

1. Virtual assistants: Hire smarter or keep getting clobbered

Steven Reed of Big League Movers and Ready Roles came out swinging. His core message? If your business feels like a second full-time job, that’s not heroic. That’s mismanagement. 

He replaced three employees with one good virtual assistant who doesn’t take smoke breaks or show up with excuses. These aren’t Fiverr freelancers. These are trained professionals who run dispatch, estimates, billing, and customer comms—all from somewhere that isn’t your breakroom. 

👊Takeaway: If your biggest hire last year was “yourself but even more tired,” you’re doing it wrong.

2. Scaling isn’t growth if it’s built on chaos

Brian Slater scaled and sold New City Moving for real money because he focused on repeatable jobs and systems that didn’t rely on personal heroics. 

His rules: Fill the trucks you have before adding more. Don’t hire managers until you’ve replaced spreadsheets. Build systems like you’re going to franchise, even if you never will. Because investors don’t like your vibes. They like your margins. 

👊Takeaway: If your business only works because you micromanage everything, congratulations. You’ve built a very stressful job.

3. The profit is in the P&L, not the pep talk

Brock Hartzler from ProMover Accounting gave the financial version of a reality check and it hit like a shovel. Most movers don’t run businesses. They run tax write-offs with trucks. 

Brock’s benchmarks showed where the money actually goes, and how most owners are bleeding cash on bad pricing, overpaid crews, and “oh, I thought we canceled that software” expenses. 

👊Takeaway: You don’t need a better sales pitch. You need a calculator and some honesty.

4. A rebrand that fixed more than the logo

Eric Wirks rebuilt Wirks Moving & Storage not by updating his font, but by finally aligning his team, his trucks, and his customer experience. One $30K rebrand later and he added $40K in savings and over 200% growth in organic leads. 

Internally, people knew their roles. Externally, customers stopped saying “Oh, you guys do moving?” and started referring friends. 

👊Takeaway: Your brand isn’t what you think it is. It’s what people whisper about your company after the crew leaves.

5. Marketing without measurement is setting money on fire

Justin Queen of Sales Engine didn’t talk about marketing like it was magic. He talked about it like a budget line item with a job to do. 

You should know exactly how much you can spend to get a lead and what that lead is worth. If your CRM says every lead came from “the website,” that's not tracking. That's gambling. With your rent money. 

👊Takeaway: Stop saying “we’re trying some Google Ads” like it’s a side hustle. Track it or cut it.

6. Leadership without boundaries = burnout with payroll

Dan Owolabi came in with the reminder no one asked for but everyone needed. If your team can’t run the business for a day without you, you’re not leading. You’re clinging. 

He laid out a framework to delegate actual decisions, not leftovers. Owners need to stop being martyrs and start being multipliers. And yes, he said all of this without sounding like a motivational speaker in a rented suit. 

👊Takeaway: You’re not the only one who can do everything. You’re the only one who refuses to stop.

7. Tim Krupp brought the heat (and the receipts)

Tim Krupp shared his origin story... part survival tale, part financial glow-up. He talked about quoting by gut and running on fumes. Then he showed how better pricing, better people, and better tools turned everything around. 

His advice hit especially hard because he’s not selling anything you don’t need. He’s lived the problems. Now he solves them. 

👊Takeaway: If referrals and hustle got you here, data and systems will get you to the next level. 

Why Built to Move 2025 actually mattered 

  • Every speaker came from inside the industry. No consultants. No “growth hackers.” 
  • The energy? High. The ego? Low. 
  • And Wooster, Ohio? Surprisingly charming for a place where you can still get change for a $5 bill at breakfast. 

This wasn’t a conference. It was a correction. 

Missed it? Good news 

Tim Krupp confirmed a virtual Built to Move event is in the works. So if you skipped the trip to Wooster, don’t make the same mistake twice. 

In the meantime, follow Tim and maybe start building a business that doesn’t require you to personally fight every fire.