Free Consulting
Score, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a nonprofit partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration that provides free online counseling on everything from accounting to workflow analysis, provided by a volunteer corps of working and retired business owners and executives. Score also offers free one-on-one and team business counseling at 389 locations around the country; find the one closest to you at score.org.
Copy, Right
Mid-level business copiers can cost $5,000 and up. Because of the high entry cost, and the near certainty that the "latest technology" will be outdated in a year (if not six months), leasing--which often includes an option to upgrade and can cost as little as $50 a month--is usually more attractive. When signing a lease, make sure to clarify the service and repairs included, and what the response time will be. Beware of contracts that require a minimum or maximum monthly number of copies; work out pay-as-you-go terms instead. And remember, you don't have to buy paper and toner from your copier supplier--you can usually save money by buying these from an office-supply source. And if you don't expect to make more than 700 copies a month, you probably don't need a "business" copier at all--you can get by with a combination printer-copier that costs a few hundred bucks.
Ink & Toner
Deals abound on generic, remanufactured, and even name-brand cartridges. There are numerous online office supply and ink specialty stores--InkSell.com, 4inkjets, Databazaar.com, and InkjetSuperstore.com--that often have better prices than the superstores and printer manufacturers. For example, in a recent search on comparison site NexTag, we found an HP Laserjet 2400 cartridge for $120; the same product retails for $206 at Office Depot. If you're willing to use refurbished cartridges, you can pay as little as $70. Meanwhile, OfficeMax recently launched a nationwide refill program for inkjet cartridges, which could translate into cost savings of up to 50 percent.
Best for Blogging
Wordpress.org provides a free, easy-to-use tool for adding an easy-to-update blog to your company's existing website. If you want to go cheap--and skip a formal website altogether--blogger.com (owned by Google) and wordpress.com (not wordpress.org) will host your blog for free. The only drawback: The generic domain name (blogspot.com or wordpress.com) can look unprofessional.
Office Furniture
Check out dealer show rooms and keep tabs on any floor models you like. Come June, when NeoCon, the huge convention of office furniture manufacturers, takes place, dealers want to get new stuff on the floor--which can translate into good deals on old merchandise. Discounts of 20 percent or more are not uncommon. For general office furniture, check the lower-cost subsidiaries of the big manufacturers, such as Steelcase's Turnstone line. And don't forget eBay, where bargains on durable workplace basics abound. Here are some recent examples: 34 Steelcase telemarketing cubicles: $6,700; eight Herman Miller workstations: $3,995; 12 Steelcase office desks: $1,500.
Paper, envelopes, pencils, staples and the rest
Rather than buying different items from different vendors, consolidate your office-supplies shopping in one place. The big office superstores all offer online order management, free delivery for orders over $50, and loyalty rewards programs. In addition, OfficeMax Commercial Solutions and Staples Business Advantage are free programs that work like managed-travel programs, helping customers track and reduce total office-supply spending through more efficient ordering and discounts for volume buying. Office Depot offers similar services through its Business Services Division.
Negotiating an Iron-Clad Shipping Contract
The major package delivery companies--FedEx, UPS, DHL--are all competing for the small-business market. It's up to you to meet with their reps and determine what services you need, which company best meets those needs, and which one offers the best deal. Beware of add-on charges for things like sending packages to nonurban areas and shipping fragile items; shippers today have more than 100 such charges, compared with about 30 five years ago. Many of these fees are negotiable, though it helps if you have what the shippers call "good shipping characteristics"--high volume, packages that tend to fall in the same size category (say, more than 100 pounds), and lots of deliveries to urban Zip codes (which are less expensive to deliver). Smart negotiating can shave 10 to 20 percent off your shipping bill, says Mike Erickson, president and CEO of AFMS, a consulting firm that specializes in evaluating and negotiating business shipping contracts. Indeed, if you do a lot of shipping, it makes sense to hire a consultant, as shipping contracts are often difficult for laypeople to decipher.
Score, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a nonprofit partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration that provides free online counseling on everything from accounting to workflow analysis, provided by a volunteer corps of working and retired business owners and executives. Score also offers free one-on-one and team business counseling at 389 locations around the country; find the one closest to you at score.org.
Copy, Right
Mid-level business copiers can cost $5,000 and up. Because of the high entry cost, and the near certainty that the "latest technology" will be outdated in a year (if not six months), leasing--which often includes an option to upgrade and can cost as little as $50 a month--is usually more attractive. When signing a lease, make sure to clarify the service and repairs included, and what the response time will be. Beware of contracts that require a minimum or maximum monthly number of copies; work out pay-as-you-go terms instead. And remember, you don't have to buy paper and toner from your copier supplier--you can usually save money by buying these from an office-supply source. And if you don't expect to make more than 700 copies a month, you probably don't need a "business" copier at all--you can get by with a combination printer-copier that costs a few hundred bucks.
Ink & Toner
Deals abound on generic, remanufactured, and even name-brand cartridges. There are numerous online office supply and ink specialty stores--InkSell.com, 4inkjets, Databazaar.com, and InkjetSuperstore.com--that often have better prices than the superstores and printer manufacturers. For example, in a recent search on comparison site NexTag, we found an HP Laserjet 2400 cartridge for $120; the same product retails for $206 at Office Depot. If you're willing to use refurbished cartridges, you can pay as little as $70. Meanwhile, OfficeMax recently launched a nationwide refill program for inkjet cartridges, which could translate into cost savings of up to 50 percent.
Best for Blogging
Wordpress.org provides a free, easy-to-use tool for adding an easy-to-update blog to your company's existing website. If you want to go cheap--and skip a formal website altogether--blogger.com (owned by Google) and wordpress.com (not wordpress.org) will host your blog for free. The only drawback: The generic domain name (blogspot.com or wordpress.com) can look unprofessional.
Office Furniture
Check out dealer show rooms and keep tabs on any floor models you like. Come June, when NeoCon, the huge convention of office furniture manufacturers, takes place, dealers want to get new stuff on the floor--which can translate into good deals on old merchandise. Discounts of 20 percent or more are not uncommon. For general office furniture, check the lower-cost subsidiaries of the big manufacturers, such as Steelcase's Turnstone line. And don't forget eBay, where bargains on durable workplace basics abound. Here are some recent examples: 34 Steelcase telemarketing cubicles: $6,700; eight Herman Miller workstations: $3,995; 12 Steelcase office desks: $1,500.
Paper, envelopes, pencils, staples and the rest
Rather than buying different items from different vendors, consolidate your office-supplies shopping in one place. The big office superstores all offer online order management, free delivery for orders over $50, and loyalty rewards programs. In addition, OfficeMax Commercial Solutions and Staples Business Advantage are free programs that work like managed-travel programs, helping customers track and reduce total office-supply spending through more efficient ordering and discounts for volume buying. Office Depot offers similar services through its Business Services Division.
Negotiating an Iron-Clad Shipping Contract
The major package delivery companies--FedEx, UPS, DHL--are all competing for the small-business market. It's up to you to meet with their reps and determine what services you need, which company best meets those needs, and which one offers the best deal. Beware of add-on charges for things like sending packages to nonurban areas and shipping fragile items; shippers today have more than 100 such charges, compared with about 30 five years ago. Many of these fees are negotiable, though it helps if you have what the shippers call "good shipping characteristics"--high volume, packages that tend to fall in the same size category (say, more than 100 pounds), and lots of deliveries to urban Zip codes (which are less expensive to deliver). Smart negotiating can shave 10 to 20 percent off your shipping bill, says Mike Erickson, president and CEO of AFMS, a consulting firm that specializes in evaluating and negotiating business shipping contracts. Indeed, if you do a lot of shipping, it makes sense to hire a consultant, as shipping contracts are often difficult for laypeople to decipher.
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