Special Report: Women-Owned Businesses – Laura McHolm

Moving a household is among the most stressful events a family can endure.
“Everything is uprooted,” said Laura McHolm, the co-founder of NorthStar Moving Co. of Northridge. Moves typically are made amid “the chaotic backdrop of not being able to find your favorite pair of socks or the kids’ night light because everything is in boxes.”

What’s more, a move often is the result of some big life change: marriage, divorce, new baby, new job. And it typically involves the apprehension of new schools for the kids and finding new friends for the whole family.

“Let’s face it, it’s stressful and nobody enjoys it,” said McHolm. “It’s truly the time we could all use a little TLC. But the moving industry was a service industry that sorely lacked service.”

So, she set out to change that with her company by emphasizing service. And she believes she had an advantage.

“Being a woman has absolutely helped me have a fresh perspective in a traditionally male-dominated industry,” McHolm said. She had the freedom to think outside the proverbial box.

“Most people think of moving as burly guys carrying sofas and heavy boxes,” she said. “However, anyone who has moved knows it is much more than moving all the furniture. Even though the industry is male dominated, women, usually, select the moving company and orchestrate the move itself.”

So her goal was to turn moving into a true service business.