Introduction
How do you take a moving company from a single truck and $5,000 cash to a fleet of 138 trucks generating $25 million a year? For many, it sounds like a dream. But for Brian Slater, founder and CEO of New City Moving in Chicago, it’s reality—and a story full of lessons for movers everywhere.
In this episode of the Movified Podcast, host Mark Hirschi sat down with Brian to unpack how he built one of Chicago’s most successful moving companies from scratch.
This Part 1 blog post covers the early days, marketing foundations, and culture-building lessons that set the stage for New City Moving’s remarkable growth.
Key Takeaways
What You’ll Learn:
- How New City Moving Chicago grew from one truck to $25M in revenue.
- Why bootstrapping and reinvesting every dollar created long-term scalability.
- The role of SEO, digital marketing, and reviews in driving 70% repeat/referral business.
- How Brian built loyalty and culture through real support, not slogans.
Table of Contents
The Story Behind New City Moving Chicago
Brian Slater’s entrepreneurial journey started with a GED at 16 and a newspaper ad promising “unlimited earning potential in moving company sales.” By 17, he was selling moves for a company in Skokie, Illinois, and by 23, managing a sales team.
But the service wasn’t what he believed it should be. That frustration became the seed for his own business.
Bootstrapping: From One Truck to a Fleet
In 2009, with $10,000 saved, Brian decided to start his own company. Instead of borrowing, he bought a used truck with cash—$5,000 handed directly to a seller in Indiana who needed surgery money.
That first truck became the start of New City Moving Chicago.
Growth followed a simple but powerful formula:
- One truck’s revenue funded another.
- Two trucks became four.
- Four became eight.
For a decade, Brian lived lean—studio apartment, ramen noodles, $600 van—while reinvesting every dollar into the fleet.
Today, the company runs 138 trucks in peak season, generating nearly $25 million annually.
Scaling with Marketing, Reviews, and Customer Experience
Brian separated New City from competitors through digital marketing and relentless customer focus.
- He dove deep into SEO and SEM before most movers were online.
- Passed out flyers at DePaul University to capture small moves.
- Spent 2–3 hours nightly studying marketing forums and tactics.
But the secret wasn’t just marketing—it was customer service.
“If 3% of clients had a bad experience, I personally called them. No feedback was beneath me,” Brian said.
This customer-first approach built a 70% repeat and referral rate, with more than 1,000+ authentic reviews on Google and Yelp. Unlike others, New City never paid for reviews—crews simply asked satisfied customers to share their experience.
Systems, Software, and Scaling Smarter
To manage growth, Brian implemented MovingPro CRM—a SQL database system. While not flashy, it allowed him to create custom modules for:
- Dispatch
- Claims
- Truck check-in/check-out
- Scheduling
Early on, whiteboards caused chaos—jobs were literally erased by accident. Brian then modeled scheduling after a salon appointment book, bucketing jobs into “small cuts,” “colors,” and “full foils.” That analogy made it easier to manage different move sizes.
💡 Lesson: Don’t chase shiny software. Build systems that solve your company’s real bottlenecks.
Culture, Leadership, and Employee Loyalty
Brian believes culture is built through actions, not slogans.
Examples include:
- Paying for a plane ticket so a driver could see his dying mother.
- Covering medical costs for employees’ families abroad.
- Empowering crews to lead and resolve customer issues on-site.
“Culture isn’t rah-rah slogans. It’s knowing that if something happens to your family, I’ve got your back,” Brian said.
This authentic approach created employee loyalty so strong that, as Brian described, “at least one guy on every truck would take a bullet for me.”
Why Choose Movified
Movified isn’t just another podcast—it’s the insider hub for moving industry growth.
Hosted by Mark Hirschi, owner of Salmon’s Moving & Storage, the podcast delivers:
- Growth strategies from top movers like Brian Slater.
- Leadership insights rooted in real experience.
Actionable lessons you can apply immediately in your business.
Conclusion
The story of New City Moving Chicago is more than a tale of trucks and revenue—it’s proof that success comes from grit, customer-first leadership, and building authentic culture.
Brian’s journey shows movers everywhere:
- Own your market before chasing others.
- Invest in marketing and systems that scale.
- Treat employees and customers with respect, and growth will follow.
🎧 Want the rest of the story? Stay tuned for Part 2, where Brian reveals how he’s scaling beyond $25M with private equity support, tackling recruiting challenges, and planning for the future of New City Moving Chicago.
Meet The Host
Mark Hirschi is the founder and host of Movified. With over a decade in the moving and storage industry, Mark combines real-world leadership experience with a passion for mentorship and elevating industry standards.
