From HamletHub’s Small Business Spotlight:

Why Small Businesses Matter

Why Small Businesses Matter puts the spotlight on local business owners who donate so much time, talent, goods, and services to our wonderful community. A few questions with Tom Tuohy, lifelong Ridgefielder and founder of Ridgefield Moving:

Tom, what’s the story behind your business? I’ve lived in Ridgefield my entire life and like so many local start-up stories, it really was an accident. In my early twenties I began to help friends and neighbors move things. Here and there, small items, nothing too large. When their friends and neighbors needed something moved, my name came up again. And again. Soon I was getting calls to help people move bigger items, move furniture from one end of town to the other, pack and relocate rooms to nearby storage facilities during renovations—eventually I began moving entire homes in and out of town… and Ridgefield Moving ( and ridgefieldmoving.com) was born. More than 15 years later, here we are… proud to be “Ridgefield’s hometown moving partner.”

You seem so passionate about what you do. I really do love what I do, the town I work in and the wonderful people my team gets to help. Let’s be honest: Moving can be exciting. Moving can be scary. Most of the time, it can be both. Helping people open up a fresh chapter of their lives by getting them comfortably moved into a new home is a privilege, and I always strive to make the experience less scary and a whole lot more exciting. And as a member of the community—I live in town with my incredible wife and two young daughters—I’m always conscious that when I’m helping somebody move into Ridgefield, in a way I’m acting as an ambassador for the town.

What makes Ridgefield Moving different? That we truly are a 100% customer-first business. We’re focused on making moving easy and we promise our customers that we’ll provide the service they deserve. From our 24-hour service team to our easy scheduling process, from our professional and on-time team to our 48-hour turnaround of all estimates—I just want everything to be easy for our clients. I staff my team with experienced moving pros, trained on both moving and customer service. I want my staff to be a pleasure to work with, so we hold “pre-training” meetings before each project so the crew arrives on-site familiar with each customer’s specific needs. For me, we must exceed expectations. From our first conversation to the moment we say goodbye, our staff is focused on providing easy, hassle-free, no-stress service.

How much of your business takes place in Ridgefield and who are your typical customers? The majority of our work takes place in town either moving people into Ridgefield, out of Ridgefield—or in many cases from one house to another in Ridgefield. We work in small homes, big homes, offices and everything in between. We help young families move into their first homes, growing families upgrade to larger houses and seniors downgrade to more manageable accommodations. We see it all, and it certainly keeps things interesting.

Connecticut real estate has been booming over the last year. Are you busier than ever? We were very blessed to have been busy before the boom and are certainly even busier during it. But honestly, the real winner is Ridgefield. To have so many people from the tri-state area and across the country specifically seek out new homes here—to deliberately choose Ridgefield as the place they wish to live and raise their children—is a testament to how special this place is. As a lifelong Ridgefielder, it makes me proud to know that this town is as special to others… as it is to me.