Getting Your Small Business Organized

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PutALabelOnIt #CollectiveBias

Getting Your Small Business Organized

As many of you know, beyond my blog, I also have at etsy shop where I sell hand stamped jewelry and ornaments.  (You can take a look at my creations here.)  Several weeks ago my business received a huge custom order from a school.  The order was a huge opportunity for me, but I was rushed to get it out.  Luckily I had my trusty husband here to help me expedite the process!  We ordered some new tools and supplies to greatly improve our manufacturing process, our products, and our business, and now we are currently renovating a room on our property, which is going to serve as a new jewelry and business studio!

So right now I am extremely excited at the thoughts of getting all my jewelry supplies, photo props, and other items moved in to their new home!  (As soon as the new room is complete, I’ll have a full makeover post for you!)  Till then, I’m trying to get all my stuff ORGANIZED so that it will be ready to go, as soon as we’ve put the finishing touches on the room.  One new tool I’ve invested in is the DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Value Bundle Pack.

Dymo Labelwriter450 Bundle

This great bundle includes the DYMO LabelWriter® 450, plus 4 rolls of labels and everything you need to get started working with the label maker.

Staples Order Screen

I purchased it online at Staples.  (The machine is only available in select stores.  Check out the Staples link for availability in your area.)

Staples also has the DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Turbo available. It takes the LabelWriter® 450 to an even higher level with super fast print times of up to 71 labels a minute!  With it you can print everything from file folder labels to postage for your packages.  You can even print barcodes!  And the machine allows you to print as few or as many labels as you need!

Dymo Labelwriter 450

The DYMO LabelWriter® 450 fits very conveniently on your desk, and it is light weight and portable, making it perfect to use with a laptop or just pull out for use with your desk top whenever you need it.  And it has SO MANY applications for home and business use!

Aside from labeling my many containers and storage areas that I use for work and personal use, here are a few other ideas I have in mind for this machine:

  • Reorganizing and relabeling my personal and business file folders, binders, and file cabinet.
  • Making thank you stickers and other unique labels for the packages that I send out to customers.
  • Making product tags, coupons, and business cards.
  • Printing shipping labels.
  • Creating UPC barcode labels for items I could sell online or in local retailers.
  • Creating UPC barcodes for the purposes of keeping up with inventory.

Jewelry Supply Labels

Obviously I’m in the middle of organizing my jewelry supplies and items that I use for my shop and blog, so for my first project with the label maker, I have begun creating labels for my supplies.  I have a number of places where I keep supplies.  They include plastic drawers, boxes, plastic organizer containers with the little dividers, and more!

I started with a set of drawers where I keep the charms, jewelry findings, and other pieces I use most frequently.  Previously I had these labeled with little sticky notes, which weren’t as neat.  Plus, I’ve purchased new supplies and done some rearranging since then, so the sticky notes in place were not totally accurate.

Organizing in Progress

Above is a picture of one set of drawers that I have.  I went and put the first label on before taking this picture, just to show you a little contrast between hand written labels you make yourself and the professional labels you can print with the DYMO.

After the Labels

And HERE is that same cabinet with all new labels! Doesn’t it look a lot nicer?  I think so!

And the DYMO LabelWriter® 450 is actually very easy to use.

Dymo Tutorial

Start by placing the program cd in your computer and installing the DYMO software.  After the installation, you are free to plug up your machine.  You will receive a wall cord, as well as a USB connector for your computer.  (Your label maker will come pre-loaded with labels. You just need to pull the tape of the roll and follow the directions to ensure the labels will feed properly through the machine.)

Next click on the DYMO icon on your computer, and you will see the Welcome screen.

Dymo Printing Screen

Once you pull up the program, making labels is as easy 1. 2. 3.

Just select you label type (as shown on the left in the picture above).  And once you click the size/type you desire, a few formats will pop up for you to choose (ie – plain text, a blank label, barcode label, etc.)  Next just click on the box on the write and add your text.  What makes this label maker even greater is that you can format your text and use any text you want.

For my parts drawers, I used a label that measures 1 1/4 inches by 2 1/4 inches.  This turned out to be a perfect size for this particular project!  As for the font, I wanted to get something that would be clear and easy to read but would also fill up the labels, so I chose the Swiss 721 font in size 16.

After you type in your text, the only thing left to do is click the print button and voila! Your label prints out!

You are then free to pull the label off and go about your business, create multiple copies of the label, or create new labels.  You can even save labels you want to use again to your computer!

 6 Tips to Organize Your Small Business

Aside from clearly labeling your supplies and finished products, there is a lot you can do to keep your small business organized.  Here are just a few tips:

  1. Always have a clear and concise filing system in place for all of your paperwork, as well as organized systems on your computer for accounting, inventory, schedules, and yes, even email!
  2. Get rid of unnecessary clutter, including supplies you don’t use and products that don’t sell.
  3. When organizing supplies and products, you should “divide and conquer.” That is, use organizers with drawers and compartments so that you can separate items.
  4. If dealing with tiny pieces (like the jewelry supplies I have) come up with a good organizing system. (I organize charms by theme, you could also organize them alphabetically or by part number.)  And ALWAYS bag your small pieces, even if you only have one type of item in a particular drawer or compartment.
  5. Stay on task by keeping a to-do list and a physical (paper) planner/calendar, as well as an online calendar with alerts.
  6. If you have a business partner or employees, make sure everyone’s responsibilities and to-do’s are clearly laid out.

Be sure to go check back every week for Staples Daily Deals for special deals on your favorite DYMO LabelWriter® products including DYMO LabelWriter® 450 Bundle, LabelWriter® 450 Turbo, and LabelWriter® 4XL Turbo!

Do you have a small business How do you stay organized?

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Comments

  1. Forget the stickies being messy – my problem is they never stay where I stick them. Or someone “borrows” them. That is definitely a much more professional look, and how EXCITING to have a studio workspace being created! #client

  2. Not sure I could trust myself with one of these… I’d end up labeling everything in the house!

  3. I have a LabelWriter Twin Turbo. I love it!

  4. Laurie Nykaza says

    I would love to have one. I need it so much with all the items I have for scrap booking would make my life so much more organized .

  5. Oh that looks so neat! I really want to try to get organized in the new year!!

  6. Although I don’t have a small business, I do have a busy life and a messy desk. Getting both organized would surely take some of the day to day pressure off of me.

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