Author Archives: Andrej Zivor

Organizing your Warehouse or Closet with Boxes

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The world is becoming a little more complicated and sometimes we are all needing more space for less cost.  This can be from a business or a personal finance perspective but with the new covid-19 pandemic the whole world is changing.  From an economic standpoint, we are moving in the United States into a more e-commerce centric shopping environment.  Then on a personal level, we are finding that many of us are legally being forced to work from home due to Covid-19 regulations.  So the need for more space in our own homes has been paramount in allowing people to find a place to work from.  Not all homes have the space for an office or even have the space for a desk in a room.  So the idea that warehouses are bing expanded and organized with whatever is possible for the least amount possible has been huge.  One secret is that people have been taking all the cardboard boxes they are getting from all these online orders and putting them to use in making extra room in all aspects of life. 

This has been seen most in the brick and mortar stores.  They are finding that the market demands them to be an eCommerce company or to give up more room for backend shipping.  This means that many stores are literally taking space from their show floor and converting it into warehouse room.  This is because they are only allowed 30 to 50% capacity in the store and online is booming. It really makes sense for them to expand the shipping and storage facilities and using inexpensive ways to do it is wise.  The use of cardboard boxes has been the answer for tons of people and they are creating whole warehouses from it. 

The use of bin boxes is the answer for many stores in that they can take lots of small products and stack them safely all over their warehouse.  They are taking orders in great quantity now and are also expanding their staff in the shipping locations.  this means that they are storing tons of more products in the store and need the space for storage.  The key to these stores success is in planning. They are expanding smarty and without much extra cost due to the products they have chosen to expand with.  The best part of this is it can make up for the losses of COvid-19 and foot traffic. Now at home, it has been a bit different.

Homeowners and people working at home due to the pandemic are storing more in order to make space.  Luckily all of their online orders have given them lots of places to store their goods. A nice orderly system at home can create lots of extra space and room to make a workspace with. Many people are actually taking all the boxes and creating their literal workspace.

It has been a trend to make your entire desk and work area from nothing but packaging supplies that have come in from online orders.  This is actually a cheap way to not lose money on making your home office.  I suggest looking up some plans that are already online and give lots of tips for doing this economically.  It is only wise if it saves you room, time, and money in my opinion. 

Corporate Gifting Candy

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One major trend that has happened over the last few years is a little bit generous.  The idea of being thankful and showing it with a gift is nothing new to the world.  Gifting has been a sign of goodwill since before we could write, but this year it has taken off into a new level.  Corporate gifting is a new trend that has gone from small to massive.  It can be seen as not only gifting from an eCommerce company, but many companies are sending gifts for closed deals and sales proposals.  It certainly has been a new trend and who doesn’t want to get a cool set of tickets to an NFL game or a custom candy boxes for the boardroom after a deal just closed.  It really is a great way to make goodwill known and to also make friends.

So why has this trend taken off and who has been responsible for it.  Surprisingly I saw that one of the biggest companies in corporate gifting was a candy company that split apart.  It began with a one person who wanted to make candy for adults and the other partner wanted to make artistry.  Now they both compete in a different candy world and that is corporate gifting.  One company makes candy boxes that are elegant and filled with class.  The other company actually makes slightly perverted or more adult-themed candy. Each company is wildly successful, but they are working on two different ends of the spectrum.  I am very happy to see that both can succeed in the same market and I am happy that they split without much animosity. 

Each one of these companies specializes in different holidays and occasions. They each have vast products that in corporate lots of other brands besides themselves.  Now Corporate gifting is vast and includes many companies in each gift.  Candy and champaign could be in one gift or gummy bears and beer in another.  They may have t-shirts and pro sports tickets in them and they can be customized until your heart is content.  This allows companies to be able to reach out to other businesses and show that they are interested and care.  As a sales tactic, it is fun to receive cool gifts and it also shows intent.  If a company spends 10 thousand dollars on gifts just to talk to you, it means they really care. 

On the other end of the spectrum, many companies are giving corporate gifts for holiday parties and they can be wonderful. If you have a holiday party and you want to go overboard, this is a great way to do it.  Custom gifts for different departments or board members are a nice touch to show your employees that you really care.  I am fairly certain that I would personally love a corporate gift and even my company has started to send them to each of our clients after we partner up.  It is a great experience and once we were even gifted something back and we loved it.  It went to show us how much these gifts matter and that our business was on the right track for success and building lasting relationships.

So the next time your company closes a really big deal or is thinking about throwing a party remembers about these gift packages.  It could be a great addition to your occasion.

So many Boxes

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It really is amazing how many styles of boxes there are and how they end up piling up at our home.  It is 2020 and we are just passed our state lockdown laws.  Work has mostly gone back to normal but it is still stressful to out and shop.  There are many rules and regulations that have happened and that are still in place.  This means that with it being so crazy outside we are buying more through online retailers.  E-commerce is becoming our main shopping center and it has caused some extra areas of stress that we didn’t have before.

The first thing that has happened is that if we are not home lots of packages are getting delivered to the door.  This means that our goods are sitting outside in the heat and weather and even open to people simply walking up and taking them.  This leaves me and my wife with lots of stress.  It is hard to think about 300 dollars of items getting delivered and sitting unsafe outside our home for hours on end.  Really it does bother me and causes me a large amount of anxiety which makes working harder.  It is the little things like this that really make the whole situation simply awful.  I don’t like the regulations or being forced to purchase online. It has also left us with another big issue that we never saw coming.

What surprised us the most is the excess of cardboard boxes that we now have.  The purchasing habits that we now have are really unfortunate.  It costs extra in our neighborhood to recycle.  This is because our trash is private and not government-run.  The cost to recycle means extra money per month and also I have to purchase a 200 dollar trashcan or rent one.  Either way, it costs a lot of extra money and I simply do not want to pay it.  With the economy the way it is I am simply unable to pay for it.  So now our garage is filled with cardboard boxes because I am only allowed to use so many trash bags per month.  So they keep stacking up.

The solution has been time-consuming as well.  Now I have to take extra time each week to go and break down the boxes.  It is partially unsafe because I am not able to do it by hand.  Some of them are very hard and simply I don’t want to strain myself.  This has led me to use knives in order to break them down and make them small enough to fit them into the bags.  I first used scissors but they dulled quickly and left blisters on my hand.  This was not a long term solution and so I started using my fishing knives to break them down.  I had to be careful due to the safety issues involved and I didn’t want to slice myself at all.

It is unfortunate that I am forced into these measures and the fact that I am not recycling also hurts me.  I know it is simply a waste to trash all these paper products and I am contributing to the waste our society is so well known for.  I hope the regulations in our State end soon because they seem to be just making the whole situation worse.

What is the Best Candy Design

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Growing up as a child in the midwest gave me my own perspective on what I deemed the best candy.  In many ways, I am certain that my location actually played a roll in what I liked and what I didn’t.  It turns out that the look and design of candy actually play one of the largest roles in the choice of candy according to children and study groups.  So I want to go over some of what I believe helped me create my love of the candy that I love today. It may be a little different for everyone because we all have defining moments in our past and I think mine was a long long time ago.

I am fairly certain my love of candy all started back when I was around 5 years old. I can remember fondly when my family would travel down to visit our family in Alabama.  One of the best parts of this was when my grandfather would take me and my siblings to the candy store.  Now this was a huge deal in that time and especially in that location.  Luckily, the gas station that had what seemed like an endless supply of candy was two miles down the road.  My grandfather would give us between 5 and 25 cents each trip and let us pick whatever we wanted.  Back then and in that location, candy was so inexpensive and somehow it was one of my favorite memories.  My siblings and I would run into the store and start counting out what we could get and for how much.  Now surprisingly the cost made a difference in what we would get.

It was indeed a big time and then candy boxes and their designs called to me.  The first thing I would do would be to pick out the coolest and most bright-looking candy.  This would always seem to happen and in reality, the best looking design ended up usually being the most expensive.  So even though I wanted the best candy boxes designs due to the way they looked I didn’t actually end up purchasing them. Now that is something to think about because even if the candy catches the most attention it may not be the best if it costs too much.  So designing candy that is not only attractive but cost effective is very important. 

Now on the other hand cost is also a big part of why something may seem so cool. If you see a great looking piece of candy and yet see something else that looks similar and costs more it may actually drive more demand.  It truly depends on the location.  In a lower-income area the cost-effective piece may be the best choice but word will spread due to the higher cost and unattainability.  This is a consideration to take when working on your own candy product or if you have a store.  Make sure to test the difference and see what works and sells the most in your location. I find that where you grew up makes a big difference and also the preferences that come from a good experience.  So make sure to test well and make a design that fits the cost well. Enjoy a wonderful candy career!

Shopping for the right corporate gift

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Our business has fundamentally changed due to COVID-19 and we have started to move into a brand new area of marketing.  We wanted our clients to know that they really matter and that we are happily here to help them whenever we can.  So we have not only started to give out gifts for our marketing efforts but also move into corporate gifting for other companies as well. This has been a huge change and something that I wanted to share about.  The little nuances that we never thought of ended up saving lots of money for our company and I figured I would talk about it. 

The first area that took us by surprise was the fact that looks really matter.  The whole feel of a gift is based on the package in which it arrives.  It was really no surprise I guess but working on how to actually make a brown cardboard box look good was a process.  It turns out that even if the tape is perfect and the label is strait that it can still look a bit sloppy.  The angles of the corners and even the way they fold ended up making a huge difference in how they looked.  It wa all of these small things that added up to us needing to make changes.  But where do you go to get custom boxes that don’t cost a fortune.  Etsy is the first thing that always comes up on google for the first few pages and then the answer finally came to us.

Finding a good packaging supplies company was the answer to our problems.  It turns out that these companies end up doing the packaging and presentation for all the major big box stores.  They deal with custom work and do them in big batches at really low prices.  Just simple things like cardboard boxes can be purchased in big quantities and with that we were able to get custom work, colors, and looks for the same price as what we were paying for plain jain brown.

So that is really the big kicker for the whole ordeal and that is to get down to the makers of the products you want direct.  Going through middlemen who simply order for you sounds great and you feel like you will save time, but in realty dealing direct with the manufacturer  was really just as easy.  The customer service agents had already delt with all of our issues.  They had some really awesome advice and ask all the questions that we should have.  The amazing take away is that dealing with them was fast, easy, and super informative.  This was how we ended up taking a idea to a full blow section of our company within a few months.

They also were able to take our costs down in other areas as well.  When it came to sending the boxes they turned us on to using sticky labels instead of taping mailing labels on.  It ended up costing less in the long run and saved time on putting the packages together.  It was also a help to find a tape that only took one strip and not 3 to do a box.  The cost on tape went down because of this too.  Find a good online store and get your gifting on!