Your Used Furniture

One of the keys to running a successful small business or home office is learning to control costs. Even the smallest expenses can quickly add up and cut into profits, leaving you with a business that won’t move forward.

Many small-business owners know where their money comes from, but are not as clear on where it goes. This can have a significant impact on their businesses’ cash flow.

It’s important to review your expenses regularly – every quarter if possible – so you can accurately manage your outgoing expenditures and look for ways to save.

Demos Parneros, president of U.S. stores at Staples Inc., provides the following suggestions to save your business money.

* Buy last year’s model. Furniture, computers, PDAs – there is always something new. This also means that there is always something old. If you wait until the end of the year or for sales throughout the year, you can save on your office needs.

* Buy in bulk and buy ahead. By buying commonly used items in large quantities, you can save a lot. Replenish your supplies before you run out. Thinking ahead, and thus buying ahead, gives you a chance to comparison shop and take advantage of sales.

* Buy products that save money. Consider quality alternatives to national brands. Staples ink and toner products, for example, offer consumers quality products at a 15 percent to 20 percent cost-savings per cartridge.

* Take advantage of discounts. Professional and trade associations often offer their members discounts on insurance, travel, shipping and other common expenses. Similarly, some credit cards, like the American Express Corporate Card for Small Business, may get you discounts as well.

* Save on mail costs. Mail costs for your business can add up fast. To save money, use postcards or consolidate shipping. You also can buy or lease a postage meter or get a mail scale to eliminate overpaying.

One of the keys to running a successful small business or home office is learning to control costs. Even the smallest expenses can quickly add up and cut into profits, leaving you with a business that won’t move forward.

Many small-business owners know where their money comes from, but are not as clear on where it goes. This can have a significant impact on their businesses’ cash flow.

It’s important to review your expenses regularly – every quarter if possible – so you can accurately manage your outgoing expenditures and look for ways to save.

Demos Parneros, president of U.S. stores at Staples Inc., provides the following suggestions to save your business money.

* Buy last year’s model. Furniture, computers, PDAs – there is always something new. This also means that there is always something old. If you wait until the end of the year or for sales throughout the year, you can save on your office needs.

* Buy in bulk and buy ahead. By buying commonly used items in large quantities, you can save a lot. Replenish your supplies before you run out. Thinking ahead, and thus buying ahead, gives you a chance to comparison shop and take advantage of sales.

* Buy products that save money. Consider quality alternatives to national brands. Staples ink and toner products, for example, offer consumers quality products at a 15 percent to 20 percent cost-savings per cartridge.

* Take advantage of discounts. Professional and trade associations often offer their members discounts on insurance, travel, shipping and other common expenses. Similarly, some credit cards, like the American Express Corporate Card for Small Business, may get you discounts as well.

* Save on mail costs. Mail costs for your business can add up fast. To save money, use postcards or consolidate shipping. You also can buy or lease a postage meter or get a mail scale to eliminate overpaying.

We make our living as guerillas not the bad kind, but more of a freedom fighter. By using the term guerilla I mean EMJ (now a division of SYNNEX) fights for business against big gorillas (other distributors) in the field. Our competitors are almost 100 times our size; EMJ is a Canadian-based, $165 million per year distributor. We have made an operating profit for the past 80 consecutive quarters. So even though we are up against the big gorillas as a distributor, we must be doing something right.

If you are in a business where some of the competitors are much larger, you may be able to benefit from using guerilla tactics. The principles of running a guerrilla organization differ from running a gorilla organization. As a guerrilla, we hide from our competitor; we do not try to crush them. I even go so far as to examine what they do well and let them do it. At the same time, I look for under-serviced markets and get to these markets fast.

A gorilla takes all competitors head on, trying to crush the competition. Sometimes this takes the form of a price war. Sometimes it takes major prolonged, drawn-out investment. This works as long as you are the same size, or larger than the competition. Even then, such a long battle can sap power and ultimately profits.

Companies that die often believe they were gorillas. It is certain death for a business to fight gorillas unless they can withstand the siege. Any time we hire someone with a gorilla-company background, we watch and coach that person to make sure they are indoctrinated with the appropriate tactics. We have to make sure they understand out business model.

My 8 favourite guerilla tactics are:

1 Act fast. I use my companys size for my advantage. I can act lightning fast. In the computer business, this is a huge asset. Things change so rapidly that moving fast and being first to market is a huge advantage. Larger companies do not react quickly. Develop a reputation for being first it gets the attention of customers.

2 Welcome smaller opportunities. Gorillas tend to say no to manufacturers who dont think they can do significant volume with. But a small opportunity rejected by a gorilla can be a very profitable opportunity for a guerilla. For EMJ, a million dollar per product line is an opportunity big enough to get the attention of my first string. In your business, look for the right-sized opportunity for you. Frequently, it is the smaller opportunity that has the best promise. The gorillas will leave you alone. There is always a right-sized opportunity for a company of any size. Knowing your rightful place in the market can help you to thrive.

3 Get focussed. Higher focus means we know more, stock more, and sell more product of fewer manufacturers. The smaller our product listing, the more powerful we become. We know a lot about a little. That means we know the products we sell better than a gorilla, and we become a sales tool for the reseller, not just an order-taker. Could you become more focused and specialized in a business area by giving up on a part of your business?

4 Be more flexible. We can adapt more easily to our customers and suppliers. We try not to be ruled by policy. The bigger a company gets, the more likely they are to have policy and some of it is required. As a small distributor, we can be more flexible. Are there areas that your competition is ignoring that by being more entrepreneurial, you can capitalize on?

5 Be smarter. This sounds too simple, almost embarrassing to write. Since we are smaller, we can look at the business we do more carefully and make sure it makes good business sense. We dont pick up another manufacturer just to increase the size of our line card. Thats just not good business sense for us. Thats the way we have to think and so should you.

6 Lower your overhead. For some reason, most companies seem to choose more expensive offices and furnishings as they grow. This expectation tends to increase costs in all areas of the company that distribution, at current margin levels, can ill afford. At EMJ, we buy quality used furniture. We are on the outskirts of Guelph where the cost of land and taxes is less. Our capital base is even high enough that our cost of capital is less than some of the gorillas. Are there areas that you can be lower overhead than the gorillas in your field? Costs always add up on the bottom line.

7 Foster staff loyalty one major advantage guerillas have over gorillas is the ability to attract, motivate, and keep good people. Primarily this is because guerillas can be more flexible, easier to work for and give people more of a sense of accomplishment because what they do contributes more directly the companys bottom line. I have always found there to be great power by being smaller and treating my people with respect and not just as numbers. Gorillas can try to do this but it is tough for them to copy you.

8 Just BE a gorilla. We like to enter market areas that we can dominate and specialize in. We may not be the biggest but in certain specific niches, we dominate. As long as we are the biggest in an area, we can act the part. We can under-price and over-service the competition forever. Anyone who enters our markets learns that it is expensive and often impossible to unseat us.

9 Be personal. One thing a smaller organization can do is to be more personal. People buy from people. You can foster relationships that will help you sell. Part of the way we are personal is by showing our customers what markets and products ARE profitable. There is nothing that cements a customer relationship better than making them money, because youll be making money for them AND for you!

10 Be opportunistic to sum up guerilla strategy is simply to be opportunistic. Take advantage of opportunities that the gorillas cannot do. There are many companies that remain profitable by being opportunistic.

In summary, unless you are huge think guerilla. Appropriate guerilla tactics for your size will win any battle.

When selling a product to a customer, it is very important to find out as much as you can about your customer and their needs before you proceed with your sale.

This is commonly referred to as needs based selling.

The most effective way to find out about your customers needs, is to ask probing, open-ended questions.

An open-ended question does not allow your customer to give you a yes or no answer, it makes them explain to you what their needs are, and why they would need a particular product.

Here is an example, if you were a sales associate at a furniture store, and a customer walked in looking for a dining room set, an open-ended question you might ask would be:

Tell me about the particular type of pattern you are looking for, or simply put, tell me more about what you are looking for

This puts your customer in a situation where they cannot say yes or no, they must go into detail.

On a personal note . . .

Not to long ago, my wife and I were in a department store looking for a coat for me.

I spotted one that I like hanging on a discount rack. It was brown, with a removable liner, and a zipper that ran the length of the collar, to protect your neck.

I liked it so much, I took it from the rack and tried it on.

As I stood admiring myself in the mirror, a sales associate came over and complimented me on my appearance in this jacket.

I smiled politely and thanked her. She than proceeded to tell me that the best part about the jacket was that it smelled like real leather.

Taking her word for it, I put my nose to the sleeve, took a whiff, and sure enough, it smelled like real leather.

The only problem was . . .

I dont like the smell of leather.

Needless to say, I put the coat back on the rack, and the friendly sales person lost the sale and the commission.

The mistake the sales person made was assuming that I liked the smell of leather. It was a safe assumption on the part of the sales person, because most people like the smell of leather. This doesnt mean it should be taken for granted.

The point I am trying to make, is that it is essential that you ask probing and open-ended questions, find out as much as you possibly can about your customer before you present them with a product. Youll end up with a lot more sales. Believe me!

Finding a bargain on a great piece is part of the joy of collecting miniatures for many enthusiasts. Its not everyday that you stumble across a dollhouse furniture sale in your own neighborhood, so you have to know where to look. It may not seem like it when you first get started and are only looking at the catalogues of major suppliers since everything that you find there will be full price, but with a little practice and a few inside leads, you can find ways to make dollhouses affordable.

Surfing the web is the perfect place to find deals or discounted dollhouse furniture. While many manufacturers have a print catalogue you can browse and order from, they often also have a website where they may put items on sale. Older models of furniture, overstocks, and clearance items can go for far less than the original asking price. Some miniature collectible sellers offer a price-match guarantee for mass-produced items. You may be able to accumulate a nice discount by visiting several sites and using the price-match guarantee to your advantage.

Auction sites such as Ebay are perfect for finding dollhouse furniture pieces. Finding rarer pieces might be easier on these sites, or you can take advantage of someone selling off their own collection to jump-start your own. Ebay and other similar sites also often have brand new kits at lower prices than manufacturers. If bidding gets too expensive for your tastes, you always have control over what you spend and can stop bidding at any time.

If you’re lucky enough to find a garage sale that offers dollhouse furniture or a collection of miniatures, you could find some real rock bottom prices. If there is one or two items you want out of the whole batch, you may find that you’ll get a better price for taking the lot of furniture off the seller’s hands. They may be anxious to clear off their table and get rid of what they consider junk, which leaves you fortunate and getting a real bargain.

Estate sales are another place where you can find discount dollhouse furniture. Generally, these collections are auctioned off in lots, and occasionally as entire collections. Regardless, most estate sales open their doors to the public for a period before the actually auction begins. This will give you the opportunity to peruse the collection and to get a good idea of what it is worth, and in turn, determine what you are willing to spend. Estate sales can be a great way to increase the size of your collection in one days worth of shopping.

If you are looking for great gift ideas for those who seem to have everything, there are many places to draw inspiration from. Web sites, nature, television, furniture, and books can give you ideas that you can build on when creating great gifts. The first thing to do is to think about the person you want to buy for. What are their tastes, hobbies, and other personality quirks that you can think of? Brainstorming will give you some good ideas to start from. Hobbies such as gardening, walking, and refinishing old furniture can yield many ideas. You may want to buy walking shoes, home interior gifts, or unusual gifts that represent one of their hobbies.

Some people have exciting careers that may help you when you are looking for gift ideas. You may want to ask what they need for their job or what they may want that will help them perform their job even better. Items such as Totes shoes, organizers, and massagers, may be the perfect gifts. Other gifts include briefcases, computer equipment and supplies, and a cozy pair of slippers. You can also learn more about what they do and find books and other items that they may enjoy.

As seen on TV products are usually clever gadgets that people need for daily chores, food preparation, and other activities. If the person who has everything likes tv products, you should find out which ones they have and which ones they need. Buying a few small items and putting them together into a gift box is another gift idea. You can fill these boxes with unique gifts for housewares, gifts for men, and health and beauty aids. You can order these products online or by phone. You will not have to spend hours shopping and you will end up with some great gifts.

If you receive GIF catalog in the mail, you should flip through it to find gifts for your friends and family. Practical gifts including laundry bags, gifts for women, furniture covers, and discount clothing can all be found in catalogs such as carol wright gifts. Catalogs are also great ways to get ideas for items that you want to purchase for yourself. If you need hair removal products, sexual aids, weight loss pills, cortislim, and health aids they can be found in catalogs.

Gifts for holidays, birthdays, and special occasions do not have to difficult to find. By shopping in stores, web sites, and catalogs, you will find gifts to give to others. You will also find coral calcium, gator grip, weight loss products, chair covers, hair remover, draperies, and rugs. When you find sales on bedspreads and curtains, you should take advantage of them. Furniture slip covers are also items that you should purchase when you find a sale. When buying gifts for others, you may find yourself buying gifts that you can use also. If you have a rooster themed kitchen or gopher problems in your yard, what better time to look for these items then when you are buying items for others? Contour pillows and orthotics are items you should not pass up when you find them.

The home is supposed to be a representation of ones taste and style. You take pride in what you buy for your home, making sure the furniture, curtains and decorations are exactly what you want. This is especially true when it comes time to decorate for a holiday.

But for individuals who enjoy building and collecting dollhouses or miniatures, adding flare opens up a whole new library of ideas. And it makes perfect sense too. If you are going to put as much pride in a large-scale version of your home, why not do the same for the smaller replica? No one ever claimed dollhouses had to fit a specific mold, right?

Decorating a dollhouse for a specific holiday is not difficult to do. There are kits widely available that can help you accomplish your goal. If your dollhouse or miniature resembles a particular period in history, such as the Victorian Era, you can find decorations that will go along with the dcor of the home. Just by surfing the Internet, one can purchase kits for Halloween, Easter or even Christmas.

Perhaps the Internet is not your favorite way of shopping for items to put in your dollhouse. If you enjoy seeing and touching dollhouse decorations, you can easily find kits and accessories at specialty shops, antique stores or local craft stores. Even hitting garage sales and estate sales can turn up some beautiful and timeless pieces to add to your dcor.

Because manufacturers make an endless array of dollhouse decorations and accessories, you need to have a good idea of what you want to accomplish before you start buying. Depending on what you need, there may be the chance you could save a little money and make decorations from left-over materials you used for your own home. All you need is some glue, a little paint and a lot of patience to make beautiful re-creations for your dollhouse.

If you want to get into more intricate detail, a kit would be a better choice for you. These kits can help you make a dollhouse or miniature resemble your own home down to the packages under the tree. For example, if you are looking into holiday decorations, you can buy Christmas trees with tiny lights, stockings that let you write family names on them and miniature packages with personalized name tags. In fact, decorating dollhouses for various holidays has become so popular that avid collectors even enjoy re-creating their own village or town.

One thing to keep in mind when you are decorating your dollhouse or miniature is to keep the dcor personal. The possibilities are endless, and all a person needs to do is use a little creativity and imagination. You want people to pick up on your own style, just as they do for your real home. Personalization is easy to achieve, especially with all the choices you have in miniature accessories. Friends and family will enjoy seeing all your hard work and effort turned into a beautiful display.

Does your firewood rack need filled? You could, of course, split the logs by hand with a mallet and wedge. Isnt the old saying true that cutting your own fire wood warms you twice? But, if you would rather be warmed by the wood burning rather than the work of cutting it, a log splitter is a tool that you definitely want to consider.

Log splitters are measured in ton capacity. The question of how many tons is a two-fold question. A professional grade splitter is at least twenty tons and those for personal, home use range from two to five tons. The ton size also determines the engines horsepower. Keep in mind that a stronger engine is needed to not burn out after hundreds of logs. The first thing to consider in determining the best size for you is whether it is for personal firewood consumption, furniture making, or commercial building or firewood sales.

Obviously, the main benefit of a log splitter is that it makes the job of splitting firewood so much easier and less time consuming. However, log splitters have more uses than just cutting firewood. For example, forestry suppliers use log splitters as the first step in making wood planking or preparing logs for paper making. This king of logging equipment can be used at the forest site to manage trees for transport and prepare wood for particular uses. Following log splitter plans, this step is an important step as it save time and money.

A hydraulic log splitter can not only stock you firewood rack, but it can also be used as valuable log furniture tool. There is quite a high demand for the rustic look for cabin and outdoor, nature dcor.

Log splitters range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars, even including used splitters. Thus, the next thing to consider is how valuable your time is. If you can manually split ten logs per hour and you earn fifty dollars per hour at your day job, you have hired yourself an extremely well paid log splitter. On the contrary, a hydraulic log splitter of approximately four tons can split ten times the number of logs per hour which results in much cheaper help.

Finally, the issue of safety must also be considered. Self-lubricating and maintaning capabilities of log splitters keep them operating as safely as possible. An axe needs regular sharpening since it becomes dull when it hits the dirt.

The three main things to consider are safety, time and convenience. They are all worth more than any attempt to warm yourself the old fashioned way by splitting the logs yourself. Even a homeowner who lights a fire in the fireplace for effect more than heat will benefit from the ability to quickly stock the firewood rack using a gas powered hydraulic log splitter.

It isn’t uncommon to make use of carpet cleaners to clean upholstery also as carpets. Actually, numerous carpet cleaning machines are utilized for detailing automobile interiors. But an essential element to think about when purchasing commercial carpet extractors as well as other cleaning equipment will be the quantity of water utilized for cleaning. An excessive amount of water outcomes in lengthy drying occasions for carpets and upholstery. In turn, this increases the danger of mold or mildew growth, reduces productivity, and may really harm the material. As such, investing in industrial carpet extractors that use much less water is important.

Just how much Moisture?

Cleaning upholstery provides slightly various challenges to ordinary carpet cleaning. When utilizing carpet shampooers on locations with medium to low visitors, there’s frequently ample time for the carpet to dry. If the region is naturally warm, dry and well-aerated, the carpets will dry out fairly rapidly. But upholstery poses a various issue. Simply because sofas and automobile interiors are a lot thicker than carpet, the moisture tends to sink deeper into the material. This poses a difficulty with regards to drying. It isn’t uncommon for freshly-cleaned upholstery to begin emitting a stale or perhaps sour odor in time.

What makes this scenario worse will be the reality that the clogged moisture also offers a hotbed for germs, mold and bacteria to grow. If there’s inadequate aeration, it becomes that a lot simpler for dangerous germs to take root and grow inside the upholstery. When utilizing conventional carpet cleaners for auto detailing, this really is frequently an issue as drying out a car may be a challenging because of restricted airflow. The very best method to clean upholstery with out getting to be concerned about dampness would be to use machines that use much less water.

Carpet cleaning is an essential routine which you should by no means miss. Dirt hides within the deepest fiber with the supplies and is an essential contributor within the shelf life of one’s investment. Simply because continuous altering of one’s carpet is costly, you need to take care of it to save cash. Numerous producers suggest various methods of cleaning it. You are able to select to make use of the vacuum kind or use chemical agents. What’s essential is you maintain it clean all the time. Listed here are the advantages you get in carpet cleaning.

Prevents Mold Formation

Carpet is really a great breeding website for mold as well as other fungal components. The warmth with the material is extremely conducive for their growth. This really is a typical scenario in cold and humid locations. When molds form, they are able to trigger skin allergies, particularly to kids with sensitive skin. The irritation may be severe and result in skin infections. With carpet cleaning, you discourage the formation of molds within the material. The chemical substances you use destroy the feasible sources of fungal contamination.

Further Applications

Carpet cleaners that use much less water are advantageous in commercial and industrial settings also. These machines use fairly small water to eliminate deep-seated grime and dirt. It might seem that decreased water usage indicates much less cleaning power. This merely is not accurate. Actually, low-flow carpet cleaning machines are much more effective than conventional systems because of high pressure levels, effective extraction capabilities, and high steam temperatures (in heated units).

To add to user convenience, leading suppliers provide numerous commercial carpet extractors with various drying occasions. For example, you will find carpet cleaners that may leave an auto interior clean and dry in as small as 6 hours. For all those who cope with auto detailing on a expert level and have to total cleaning jobs rapidly and successfully, you will find carpet cleaning units which have drying occasions of about two hours.

Within the finish, even rigorous use of carpet shampooers will not do a lot great if the carpet or upholstery cannot dry out correctly. In these instances, it is greatest to opt for industrial carpet extractors that use low water flow.

Ready to fill that firewood rack? You could go out there with the mallet and wedge and split those logs by hand. After all, doesnt the old saying about cutting your own fire wood warming you twice ring true? If you would rather be warmed by burning the wood instead of the exertion of cutting it, then a log splitter is a tool that should be at the top of your list.

How Many Tons?

Ton size is a question that is two fold. Log splitters are measured in ton capacity. A professional grade splitter is at least 20 tons, and those for home and personal use generally are in the 2-5 ton range. This also determines the horsepower of the engine. A much stronger engine is needed in order to not burn out after hundreds of logs.

The first question then to address is will your log splitter be used for personal firewood consumption or furniture making, or are you splitting logs for commercial building or firewood sales. That will determine the horsepower and ton size you need.

What Else Can I Do With A Log Splitter?

A log splitter makes the job of splitting firewood easier. Thats quite obvious. But log splitters have more uses than just getting firewood ready.

Forestry suppliers for example will use the log splitter as the first step into making wood planking or even getting logs ready for paper making. This kind of logging equipment can be used right at the forest site to manage trees for transport and prepare the wood for specific end uses. Following log splitter plans, this on site step is an important time saver which translates into monetary savings, of course.

So other than stocking your firewood rack, a hydraulic log splitter can become an important log furniture tool. There is a high demand for the rustic look of cabin furnishings and back-to-nature dcor.

Log splitters, even a used log splitter can range in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousands of dollars. So the next determination is how valuable is your time? If you can split 10 logs an hour the old fashioned way and your time at your day job is paid at a rate of $50 per hour, you have just hired yourself a very well paid log splitter! On the other hand, a hydraulic log splitter in the 4 ton range is capable of splitting ten times the number of logs per hour. Now thats what Id call cheap help!

Then there is the issue of safety. The self lubricating and maintaining capabilities of these log splitters keep them operating safely. An axe needs regular sharpening as it can get dull hitting the dirt, or get dangerously close to hitting legs!

What it all comes down to it that safety, time, and convenience are all worth more than a stoic attempt to warm yourself the old fashioned way. Even the average homeowner who lights a fire in the fireplace for aesthetics more than heat, will benefit from quickly stocking the wood pile using a gas powered hydraulic log splitter.