9 Holiday Packaging & Shipping Tips for Small Businesses
Editor's Note: This guest post is written by Shayna Burns for Pitney Bowes, a leading supplier of mail meters, online postage tools, and mailing equipment.
There are a number of ways small businesses can overpay for postage throughout the year. If the holidays bring in more sales for your business, now is the time to become a more cost-efficient mailer. Follow the holiday packaging and shipping tips below to save time and money.
Which Office 365 Plan is the Best for Small Businesses? (Hint: It’s not the “Small Business Plan”)
We recently finished our migration to the new Office 365 service from Microsoft, and we’re very, very excited to offer it to our clients. Very briefly, Office 365 is a cloud-based suite of services comprised of Exchange Online (for e-mail, calendaring, and tasks), SharePoint Online (for document sharing and collaboration), and Lync Online (for instant messaging, voice calls, and more). It’s a monthly subscription service, meaning that companies no longer need to pay for costly on-premise servers. Read my past post We Switched to Microsoft Exchange Online and Your Small Business Should, Too to see why we’re big advocates of Exchange Online, which is a huge part of Office 365.
Should Your Small Business Be Using Windows 7 64bit?
Two questions that our small business clients often ask us are: “What is Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit?” and “Should my business be using it?” In this post, I’ll answer the first question and help you make an informed decision about the second, because it’s not an obvious answer.
What’s the difference between a 32-bit operating system (OS) and a 64-bit operating system?
Simply put, a 64-bit computer (comprised of 64-bit-capable hardware components and a 64-bit operating system) that is running 64-bit-aware application software provides greater processing ability and allows the use of considerably more random access memory (RAM) than does a computer running a 32-bit OS with 32-bit-aware software.
We Switched to Microsoft Exchange Online and Your Small Business Should, Too
We’re longtime proponents of the enormous value of using Microsoft Exchange Server, but the major drawback has always been that Exchange required an on-site file server and often considerable time and attention. The short of it is that it wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t easy to setup or maintain. Nevertheless, the costs, the complexities, and the hassle of running an in-house Exchange server were justified because Exchange simply was (and still is, in my opinion) the best platform for centralized and shared e-mail, contacts, calendars, and tasks. But, now there’s a better way.
Hosted Exchange: The Basics
6 Easy Ways to Make Your Small Business Technology Last Longer
I cringe at the thought of a computer or a printer or any tech item in our office suddenly failing. We all know that this occurs from time to time, so around here we do everything that we can to make sure that it rarely happens. We strive to get the longest life that we can out of every single tech product that we buy—and so should you.
Here are 6 easy ways to keep your critical office technology products—your work tools—alive and kicking for many years:
Why I Ditched the Desktop & Switched to a Laptop to Help Me Run My Small Business
As a small business owner, I manage many of our day-to-day activities, and for the last few years, I’ve used a business-grade laptop as my only work computer. My old T-series IBM ThinkPad (yes, pre-Lenovo) was retired from active duty last year, although it’s still used frequently here as a test machine, and I moved on to a newer laptop, an HP EliteBook 6930p. At the office, I keep the laptop on a docking station; connected to it are a full-size keyboard, an optical mouse, a wired high-speed network cable, and most importantly, a glorious 24’’ widescreen LCD monitor. Here’s the point: I don’t need a separate desktop computer for the office, and I’m part of a growing number of business people who are realizing that they don’t, either.
Buying Business-Grade Technology: Where to Buy, What to Look For, and Exceptions to the Rule
In 5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Buy Only Business-Grade Technology, I outlined a handful of reasons why it’s a big mistake to buy anything but business-grade technology for your business. In this post, I’ll talk about where to buy, what to look for, and exceptions to the rule when it comes to business-grade tech.
Where to buy business-grade tech products
As a general rule, it’s unlikely that you’ll find any true business-grade equipment at your local office supply stores (Staples/Office Depot/Best Buy, etc.) or big box stores (Costco, Sam’s, etc.). Fortunately, the Internet makes it easy. Any number of online retailers, including sellers on eBay, Amazon.com, and Jackrabbit.com (that’s us!), sell these items direct. In some cases, you can also buy directly from the manufacturer.
Why is Buying Factory-Refurbished Technology for Your Business a Smart Move?
Simple answer—they’re a great value! You'll save a bunch of money and get a product that’s as good, if not better, than you would get if you bought a brand new one!
What’s a refurb? Throughout the year, high-end office-grade products such as computers and printers from HP, Xerox, and many others are returned to their respective manufacturers for any number of reasons—some were dealer or distributor demo units, some might have been sent out as “seeds” to major corporations, some came back from customers because they were dead-on-arrival. For whatever the reason, when a unit comes back, the manufacturer runs it through a very special, very rigorous, factory process where it is, essentially, remanufactured.
YOU MUST BACK UP YOUR HARD DRIVES: Part 1—An essential need that no small business can ignore!
This is the first in a series of posts on this vitally important, and often ignored, issue. This is a wake up call to those of you who don’t know why it’s crucial that you back up your data and to those of you who know why you should and don’t. Ignoring this issue is not in your best interest.
5 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Buy Only Business-Grade Technology
Many small business owners and managers shop for new technology the way they shop for groceries. They go to the nearest store, usually an office supply or big box store, and buy whatever’s on sale. This seems like a great idea in the short term; it’s cheap and convenient, but invariably—it’s a big mistake.
Here are 5 reasons why buying only business-grade technology for your small business is the right move.
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- 9 Holiday Packaging & Shipping Tips for Small Businesses
- Which Office 365 Plan is the Best for Small Businesses? (Hint: It’s not the “Small Business Plan”)
- Should Your Small Business Be Using Windows 7 64bit?
- We Switched to Microsoft Exchange Online and Your Small Business Should, Too
- 6 Easy Ways to Make Your Small Business Technology Last Longer
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