Storage Solutions For Your Business

Whether you have a large warehouse or a small workspace in an office building, you need storage solutions for your business. But how do you determine what storage system is right for you? Today we’re going to break down some of the most popular storage solutions that you may want to use for your business.

Totes with Lids

Totes with lids are an easy, affordable way to store items. Totes with lids allow your containers to be stacked to help you save on space, and in general these containers are very easy to move around. Additionally these totes are very durable and stand up well to daily use. Totes are available in all sorts of sizes, so you should be able to find one that fits your needs fairly easily.

Space Age Totes

These lightweight containers are very easy to transport and extremely lightweight. Often they have die-cut handles for easy transport. These are excellent for storing documents and smaller items. They’re available in a lot of different colors, which makes it easy to organize by product. They even come in larger sizes.

Plastic Bins

There are tons of plastic bins out there in a large variety of sizes and styles. You can invest in individual bins, large, stackable plastic bins, and even entire bin organizers. You can use these bins strategically when you don’t have a lot of space, and they’re ideal for organizing smaller items. Plastic bins can come in various colors and clear plastic styles, depending on if you want to be able to see the contents of the bins or not.

Corrugated Bins

Corrugated bins are similar to plastic bins, except they are made from corrugated materials. More often than not these bins have an open top making them easy to sort through, plus the corrugated bins can be easily labeled anywhere on the bin using a marker. Corrugated bins are durable and easy to assemble, and even come in stackable options!

Carton Stands

An easy way to keep boxes organized is to invest in a carton stand. Carton stands come with dividers so boxes can be stored in an upright position and easily dispensed. Stands are mobile making it easy to move them across your facility. This can save you a lot of space when it comes to your shipping supplies.

Mixing and matching these different storage solutions to fit your specific facility space is a great way to get organized.

How to Make Your Business Blossom

It’s time to shake off the lethargy of winter and refresh your business for spring. Whether you’re a new business or well-established, it’s never a bad idea to take a look at your business and find ways to boost sales and improve customer service.

We’re bringing you our top ten ways, some big, some small, to help you boost your business this spring.

1.      Update Your Photography

Photography is more important than ever, so take the time to go through your product line and take note of what items need better photographs. Ideally you’ll have more than one photograph of each product. Some examples of additional photographs you’ll want besides the studio shot includes lifestyle shots, detail shots, and shots of the product from different angles.

You might also consider changing the feeling of your business by adjusting the tone of your photographs. It’s spring, so consider using more natural light with clean backgrounds. Some of your products can likely be re-branded for the season, so if you have the manpower test this out on a few items!

2.      Check Your Shop Stats

If you don’t have a routine in place to track your businesses analytics, now is the perfect time to start! If you’ve not set up analytics, do it. If you have, take a close look at those statistics. Make notes of what products are selling and which ones are not. How is traffic arriving to your website?

You may also want to check your business data across different timeframes. You can check out your shop stats by week, month, or even for a year. Pay attention to what times of year you are selling the most products. Knowing the busy and slow periods of your business can make it easier to build your business strategy.

3.      Update Your Copy

Your copy is important not only as a tool to convey information to your customers, but for search engine optimization. Your product descriptions should highlight the most important aspects of your items while also answering customer questions.

Don’t focus only on product copy, though. Take a look at your About section, as well as any other page on your website that you may not update often. There may be errors you never noticed, or there simply may be a better way to convey the message you want to put out to the world.

4.      Reflect On Your Brand

What makes your products and your brand unique? How does it stand out compared to the competition? What can it offer to your customers that other products or companies cannot? Take some time to reflect on these questions. Record your answers and use them to improve your marketing strategy.

Make sure your tone, graphics, packaging, and social media all reflect the answers to these questions. You want not only to do what your competitors are not, but to be true to your brand across all aspects of the company.

5.      Share Your Story

People are craving personality, so make sure you show it. Corporate responses and posts are a thing of the past. Give your customers a look at work behind the scenes. Let them get a glimpse of the employee culture at your company.

While you don’t need to give an entire history of your business, customers like to see where you’ve come from. Show how you’re involved in the local community. Highlight the people behind the brand to inspire trust. This can be through social media, on your company website, or both!

6.      Create Social Media Routines

You likely already have a presence on social media, but if you don’t have a routine for social media posting, you’re missing out. A social media routine can save you a lot of time and stress. While some platforms benefit from spur-of-the-moment posts others, such as Facebook, are great for scheduling posts ahead of time.

Creating a social media routine can seem overwhelming. Start by breaking down the tasks you need to do daily, weekly, and monthly. Daily you should be checking each social media profile, replying to comments, and working on new content. Weekly you should be scheduling posts and checking your stats. Monthly you should be creating a social media strategy and coming up with new experiments. You can use these guidelines to build out a proper social media schedule.

Bonus: 5 Social Media Strategies For Small Businesses 

7.      Consider Customer Feedback

Take a look at reviews from your customers across various platforms including Google and your Facebook page. Take notes from these reviews to see what shop policies can be updated to better serve your customer base.

If you don’t have a lot of feedback, don’t be afraid to reach out to your customers requesting it. You can’t make improvements to your business if you don’t know what customers like and what they hate. When looking at feedback figure out what you can change, what you can’t, and how you can improve your business overall based on what your customers are saying.

8.      Meet With Your Employees

Your staff is another great way to get feedback on how your business is operating. Check in with specific projects and also the work your employees are doing on a daily basis. Brainstorm ways you can improve the business with them. Ask for their ideas, and don’t just ask, but put them into practice if you think it could work.

Not only will this help your sales, but it will have a huge impact on employee morale. The better your employees feel about their work, the harder they’re going to work, especially if their ideas are being tested.

9.      Get Your Workplace Organized

Whether you want to get your space, shipping area, or documents organized, now is the time to do it. Getting organized can take a lot of time, but it will make your business run more efficiently down the line.

It will probably feel overwhelming at first, and that’s okay. Break your list down into manageable tasks to make your given project easier to handle. Make sure you let your employees know when something is being re-organized so they’re not caught off-guard, and also so they’re prepared to be more patient with hiccups that may come up during the process.

10.   Celebrate Your Milestones

Take some time to celebrate the successes your company has had. Share good news not only with your family and friends, but across social media and with your employees. If your company reaches a big milestone, celebrate! Reward the hardworking members of your team!

You should be proud of your accomplishments. Think about those accomplishments and what that success means to you. What can you do to keep that momentum going? When you use this thought process it becomes easier to keep your business growing.



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Go Eco-Friendly With Your Shipping Supplies

Earth Day is just around the corner. While the rise of e-commerce has come with many benefits, one of the most concerning issues we face when it comes to e-commerce is the amount of waste it produces. Not only does shipping increase our carbon footprint, but packaging materials often end up in landfills.

But there are multiple ways to combat this problem, and even ways to do so without breaking the bank. While it is true that sustainable packaging is more expensive than standard packaging, there are ways to offset these costs.

One option is to allow customers to choose green shipping options when they place an order. This pushes some of the extra expenses of eco-friendly shipping supplies onto the consumer. And because your customers must choose this option, only customers who want to spend the extra money on sustainable practices will have to do so. You may also present customers with a delayed shipping option. With this option packages would be held for shipping until a larger number of products were being shipped to that area, decreasing the use of fuel.

You can also aim to decrease the amount of packaging used during shipping. Of course you need to abide by federal laws and use the right amount of packaging to protect your products, but take a look at your shipping practices and see if there’s any packaging that can be eliminated.

You can actually save money with this next tip – reduce the size of your shipping containers. Not only do you use fewer materials, but your package takes up less space, so your carbon footprint is improved. This helps you save money and helps the environment at the same time.

Consider leaving a note in the shipment asking your customers to recycle the packaging materials. If paper documents are already included with your shipments, it is simple enough to include a message about recycling on that document.

We have eco information about our shipping supplies on our website in an easy to scan chart. While all the terms are explained in detail on the website, we’re breaking them down here in quicker terms as well.

Made From:

Recycled Content – Materials created from items that were purposefully sorted to be re-used.

Post Consumer Waste – Waste that is produced by a consumer after using a product that is then re-used for new manufacturing.

Conventional Product – Products are new with no recycled content, or very little.

After You Are Done:

100% Recyclable – Item can be recycled in its entirety.

Biodegradable/Compostable – Products are able to be broken down naturally by living organisms, eliminating waste.

If you’re looking for some specific eco-friendly products, we published a post last year listing some of them on our website.

How to Get More Done in Less Time

No matter the size of your business, everyone is looking for ways to improve the efficiency of their workplace. When you’re running a business there is always something to do and never enough time to do it. Today we’re here to teach you how to get more done, and how to spend less time doing it.

Re-Asses Your To Do Lists

This takes a lot of time initially, but it will save you a lot of time down the road. Look at all the things you need to do and break them down into different categories. From there, create a monthly to do list, a weekly to do list, and a daily to do list. This makes all of the tasks seem more manageable. With everything organized you don’t waste time trying to figure out how to balance all your tasks.

Track Your Hours

For one week, write down each task you do in a spreadsheet along with an estimate of how much time you spent on that task. Once you’ve done that you have physical evidence of what tasks are taking up most of your time. More often than not, people discover that they are spending too much time on tasks that are not essential. With this information you can make changes to your work habits to improve efficiency.

Create a Routine

For businesses where the tasks are constantly changing, this may seem impossible. What we mean by a routine is not to do the same tasks at the same time each day. What your routine looks like each day is up to you, but what you should be doing is creating a basic formula for your day. Get to work at a set time and check your email. Review your to do list. Take your lunch break at the same time each day (or try to). By setting some basic routines you will better time your tasks.

Spend Less Time on Daily Tasks

Speaking of routines, one thing you want to avoid is spending too much time on daily tasks. These tasks make it challenging for you to make any headway in your to do list. It is important to find ways to accomplish these tasks more quickly. Take a look at your daily tasks and break them down into specific steps. How can the amount of steps be reduced? Which of these tasks could you train other employees in so you have more time on your hands for other tasks?

Set Boundaries

This includes boundaries when it comes to your working hours, taking on additional tasks, and answering questions from your co-workers. If you answer emails at two in the morning, people will always expect you to be available via email. If someone asks you to complete a task, ask about how urgent it is so you can add it into your schedule appropriately. And while you shouldn’t brush off all requests or questions from your co-workers, sometimes you simply won’t have time to assist them. Let them know this, kindly, and offer an alternative point of contact for the issue.

Determine Your Working Habits

Are you sluggish in the morning or do you find yourself getting burned out near the end of your shift? Arranging tasks so that you are working on the most challenging items when you are most productive makes a world of difference. Schedule your day so your more tedious, simple tasks are being done when you are at your lowest point of productivity.

Be Patient

The fact is that all of us go home at the end of the day with things at work we’ve still got to finish, and that’s okay. If you had everything done you’d show up at work with nothing to do. Tackle the mindset that you must get all your work completed immediately. It’s simply not possible, and realizing that can eliminate a lot of stress.

Getting Started Using Amazon FBA

Starting an online Amazon FBA business presents less of a time commitment than fulfilling orders on your own. Maybe you’re working on building a business, or maybe you’re just hoping to get some extra income. Either way utilizing Amazon FBA can bring you huge benefits.

Selling on Amazon is fairly simple and straightforward. You can use it to build your own brand or resell products that people all over the world are looking for. Either way, Amazon is the largest online retail market making it the ideal place to sell products on.

Why Amazon FBA?

The Fulfillment by Amazon program handles the most difficult and time consuming parts of online selling. You find and list your products and ship them to Amazon warehouses. From there, they do everything. They store your products, process orders, and package and ship your products to the customer.

Amazon ensures the product reaches the customer. All you have to do now is watch your inventory levels.

Create Your Amazon Seller Account

Before you start selling you’ll need to create an Amazon seller account. You can use your personal information and don’t need some type of “official” business to start your account.

Whether you sign up for an individual seller account or a professional seller account depends on your business. If you’re just testing out Amazon, you may want to sign up as an individual. However, if you plan on selling 40 or more items a month, pay the monthly fee to be a professional seller. Using a professional account gets you many other benefits as well, so we’d recommend going with that instead of an individual account.

List Products on Amazon

When you add a product you’ll either search from an existing product database or enter brand new products, and this simply depends on your business. No matter the type of business there are several fields you will have to fill out. You’ll need to list a price, your item condition, and whether or not you want Amazon to ship your product or not.

Once you’ve listed your items, navigate to your inventory. Under actions make sure “fulfilled by Amazon” is highlighted. Now you’ll be able to select your Amazon FBA preferences.

Create a Shipping Plan

Are you shipping a case of products or individual items? Either way you need to create a shipping plan so you can get your items from your location to an Amazon warehouse.

You’ll be asked how many units of each item you will be sending. You are able to select if you want Amazon to label your product or not. You will need to properly package and ship your items to get them to Amazon, though.

Our Amazon FBA Supplies page has been designed to give you all the details on the supplies you need for shipping to Amazon. Make sure all your products are properly packed before you ship them to avoid item damage and time delays.

Additional Resources

Getting started with Amazon FBA may seem simple, but there are many layers to it depending on your business. Here are some additional resources to give you more detailed information.

Amazon Tutorials

FBA Fee Calculator

FBA Toolkit

Amazon Restricted Brands List

Freight Calculator

Choose The Right Mailer

There are many shipping options out there, and mailers are no exception. How do you pick the right mailer for your product? We’re breaking it down for you today.

Corrugated Mailers

Corrugated mailers are made from the strong material you’re used to from boxes, but are smaller and lightweight to help you save on shipping. Choose corrugated mailers for lightweight items. You can buy corrugated mailers for specific products such as literary mailers or audio mailers. These could cost you a bit more in terms of shipping than some of our other mailers, but they do offer a lot of protection for your products.

Bubble Mailers

Bubble mailers combine a simple mailer with bubble technology to cushion your products during shipment. These are perfect for a range of semi-fragile objects. Use bubble mailers for small electronics, jewelry, DVDs, and other similar items. They come in a variety of sizes, though you usually use bubble mailers for smaller items. Bubble mailers are going to be a little bit more rigid than poly mailers, so that can make a difference when choosing which to use.

Poly Mailers

Poly mailers are strong, though they provide very little cushioning for your product. This makes them ideal for items that require protection but aren’t very fragile. They’re great for clothes, literature, and media products. Poly mailers are difficult to puncture or tear, and they’re ideal for keeping out moisture. Poly mailers are also a more eco-friendly option, as they’re easy to recycle. Poly mailers will reduce freight costs as they take up less space than some of the other mailer options.

Kraft Padded Mailers

Padded mailers use expandable fiber padding to keep products safe from damage due to punctures, moisture, and tears. The padding expands as the package is handled to absorb shock. You won’t need any additional padding when using a mailer like this. Padded mailers are more Earth friendly than some of the other options.

Kraft Flat Mailers

Use Kraft flat mailers for photos and documents. You won’t need any additional stiffeners when you use these, just slip your product in, seal it, and send it. The mailers are flat and rigid, keeping products from bending during transit. These are the easiest way to mail documents or photos out there, so we highly recommend them.

Jiffy Rigi Bag Mailers

Use these mailers for additional corner and edge protection. The laminated fiberboard construction stops your products from moving around and also resists bending and folding. You won’t need additional stiffeners with this mailer, though we still recommend using flat mailers for photos and paper documents.

Getting Discovered As A New Business

Whether you’ve started a website, began to sell on Amazon, or just opened an Etsy shop, one of the toughest parts of starting a new business venture is getting found by your target audience. Plus once you are found by your audience, you need to get them to stick around long enough to learn more about you.

A lot of this work begins before you even launch your business, though it is never too late to go back and make changes. Today we’ll cover some of the basics of getting discovered as a new business.

1.      Focus On SEO

Search engine optimization is extremely important when it comes to getting your online business found. Most of the time when any of us are searching for a product or service, we’re heading to a search engine, not a specific website.

This is why organic search is so important, and luckily you don’t have to be a big business with a big budget to get your website noticed.

You want to focus on creating unique content through your product titles and descriptions. Craft an interesting About Page that tells your unique story. Use internal links on your website and blog (but don’t go overboard). Do keyword research, not only into what your customers are searching for, but into what sort of keywords your competitors are using.

Be patient, because SEO is a constantly evolving process and it can take time for you to see the results. The more you work at it, the better at it you’ll get.

2.      Build Trust

When you’re first starting out you don’t have a reputation yet, which means customers may be wary of trusting you. It’s your job to show them that you are a trustworthy business.

You’ll want to make sure your shop is well stocked with plenty of quality products. You’re not likely to buy from a shop only selling  a handful of products, are you? If you’re still working on adding more products consider listing item variations as separate products for the time being.

You’ll also want your company policies, including information on privacy and returns, to be easy to find and easy to understand. This is very important for a new business without a reputation. Not having clear policies is a great way for customers to leave your site.

And, this is important, always reply to your customers and do so quickly. It builds additional trust and your new customers will be impressed at your turnaround time.

3.      Make Sure Your Products Look Professional

No one is going to pay for a product that looks like it has been poorly made, and if your product pages aren’t up to snuff that’s exactly what your customers will think.

The last thing you want is for a customer to make it to a product page only to turn away because you didn’t put the work in to make it look great.

This starts with excellent product photography. Images should be clear, crisp, and show exactly what the product is. It’s even better if you have multiple shots of the item including it assembled and photographed from different angles.

It’s also important that you present your customer with excellent item descriptions. Your words are what will lead the customer to make a final purchase. You should always present the most important information about your item in the first couple lines. Use bullet points and make it easy to find key information throughout the description.

4.      Market, Market, Market

Like it or not, marketing is a huge part of any business, and yours isn’t the exception. There’s no way to go into great detail about marketing in a couple of paragraphs, but we’ll give you a snapshot.

Use word of mouth. Tell your friends and family about your new business and ask them to tell the people they know. Your loved ones want you to succeed so this is a great place to start.

Social media is essential in this growing digital age, so start building your brand by getting company profiles on a couple social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We go into greater detail about social media in our social media strategies post, so check that out for more detailed information.

If you have some money to spend, consider online advertising. This could be through social media ads, Google Adwords, and a whole host of other options.

5.      Use Analytics

The only way to improve is to study the results. Whether you’re using Google Analytics or whatever statistics tool is available to you, make sure you check it often.

You can use analytics tools to track sales, keyword performance, what products your customers are most interested in, how your website is being found, and so much more. You should also do this across your social media channels. Pay attention to what posts have greater engagement and pay attention to what times of the day is getting your largest social reach.

Use these analytics to make changes to your website and SEO. It is helpful to generate reports and keep track of the changes in your stats. This can also be helpful for discovering what times of year you are busier and when business is slow.

Growing your business is a long, ongoing process. It is important that you don’t let yourself get discouraged if the growth is slower than you’d like. Keep working hard to build your business one step at a time.