Going Green - More Benefits

We are in the Technology business. We have about 30 computers that are used on the regular basis. Over the years we have collected a whole grave yard of old computers. Many years ago, it made sense to upgrade computers. Not anymore! Now-a-days it is cheaper to buy a new computer than to go through the hassle of upgrading. So we asked ourselves, how can we get rid of these computers without having a small landfill named after us? We looked around and found that less than 3 miles away from our offices is a computer recycling company. We found out that the company was willing to pay for our junk computers - they pay by the pound. We certainly did not have enough computer equipment to make any substantial amount of money. Instead we reached an agreement that has been working very well for both of us: we give them the old computers and they give us equipment. The equipment is usually pretty good and is perfect for the testing we need to do for our label software applications. I love going over there. It is like being a kid in a candy store. They have equipment that originally cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars. The best part - we can just pick it up and go. We have expanded our computer equipment recycling program to include all of our customers and friends, neighbors and family. We collect the old equipment and every once in a while make the trip to the recycling company and leave it there.
Over the years we have established such good relationship with the owner and his family that we are now good friends. They have become our customers. They have used our expertise in warehouse and inventory management to reorganize their warehouse, find the appropriate software for them (had to connect to QuickBooks) and help them in the implementation process. Some of the old computers we have had over the years, have been re-done and donated to local non-profit organizations, local needy families. I am just amazed by how recycling and community involvement are so tightly connected. That is one aspect of recycling I never knew about. We just love recycling, reusing and reducing.

Marketing Plan for SMB on shoe string budget (part 1)

Marketing has always scared me. I envisioned graphic artists and copy editors PR companies and money, money, money!!!
How can a small company like ours afford to compete with the big companies? What is the best approach? Who should we market to? How should we market our products and services? What is the most effective way to market? Can we afford to market? Can we afford NOT to market? So again, we are going to the drawing board.
Let us start at the beginning: Who are we targeting? Businesses that need to print labels. (New industries, new markets) Chemical manufacturers (established base.) Complementary companies - Companies that already service the industries we are targeting.
Our goal is to team with them, offering customers a more complete solution. Vendors - Hardware or software companies that will let us sell their products as part of our package. It surprised us when we realized that we needed to market our abilities to companies that were not potential customers in the traditional sense of the word. What is our message?
Our basic message is the same to all targets: We want to communicate to them our experience in label printing. Our capabilities: software design, need assessment, designing solutions that work, implementing solutions, working with in a budget, Project management, technical support and maybe the most important of all: our work ethics: Superb customer service and support. Education. And finally our basic belief that one size does NOT FIT ALL.

Why it is good to be a Small Business in Bad Economy

Seeing the big guys go to beg in Washington fills me with both anger and frustration. Our bottom line probably just looks like one little line item in their balance sheet. Yet, here we are - we the small business owners, are not begging for the government to save us. While the big business and investment bankers are figuring out how to get money from the government, we are sitting here thinking how we can improve business to serve our customers better.
The big advantage to being a small business is our ability to work quickly and adapt very fast to new situations. We do not have to devote hours to office politics and getting through committees and other cut throat practices. We are noticing a slow down. Companies are taking longer than usual to make purchasing decisions. The story is the same: budgets were cut or frozen mid-year.
The six million dollar question is: what can we do about it? Our plan is simple: assess our current situation, come up with a plan and execute.
Time Line: Assessment - 1 week Plan: 2 days Preparation to implement: 2 months Execution:On-going.