Business

5 Simple Ways That a Storage Unit Can Help Your Business

Published

4 years ago

December 17, 2020

As a business owner, you’re always looking for that special something that will make daily tasks easier, boost your productivity or give you a leg up on the competition. A storage unit could be that special something. Take a look at four major ways that a single unit could help your business:

1. Surplus Inventory

One of the simplest perks of having a storage unit is that it gives you additional space for your surplus inventory. That inventory will be out of your hands until you need it.

Plus, the right storage facility will keep your inventory in top condition. A facility like Bluebird Self Storage offers year-round climate control in all of their units, which will make sure that even the most sensitive items stay damage-free during their stay. A clean, climate-controlled environment is an excellent investment for your business.

Shoving your supplies or merchandise into the wrong place could be a terrible — and expensive —mistake. If you’re a publisher and you leave your freshly printed paperbacks in a damp space, the moisture will ruin the book pages, ink and covers. If you’re a retailer specializing in gym equipment sales, and you leave a shipment of weights in a room that’s too cold, they could rust. The quality of your products hinges on your storage space.

2. Stashing Seasonal Supplies

Storage units are incredibly useful for businesses that offer seasonal products and services. Maybe you’re a contractor specializing in exterior renovations like roofing or concrete driveways. Maybe you’re a retailer that sometimes has boxes of holiday decorations leftover.

It will be a safe spot to put tools, supplies and merchandise that won’t be necessary for the upcoming months. When the relevant season approaches, you can pull the items back out.

3. Providing a Delivery Address

A storage facility can also help you handle shipments and deliveries without breaking a sweat. The facility can receive the items on your behalf and keep them safe until you arrive, or they can give the couriers a key to access the unit and drop it off directly inside.

This option is ideal for any small business that has had to move the majority of its operations away from its brick and mortar location.

If you’re working remotely because of COVID-19, receiving deliveries can be challenging. You shouldn’t feel compelled to drive to your business’s empty building just to wait for a courier to arrive. You shouldn’t have to ask couriers to leave packages on the doorstep and hope that they don’t get damaged or stolen by the time that you pick them up. And you shouldn’t feel obligated to give out your home address for convenience.

Using a storage unit for your delivery needs will be a safe and happy compromise.

4. Eliminating Clutter

A storage unit will also help you keep your business clean and clutter-free. One of the biggest problems with clutter is that it causes unnecessary stress and frustration. If you want your workspace to be productive and positive, you should make sure that it’s tidy.

Having a safe, secure and clean storage space could be perfect for your business. After getting your unit, you’ll wonder why it took you so long to find this solution.

Business

Carry On Canadian Business. Carry On!

Published

20 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Human Resources Officers must be very busy these days what with the general turnover of employees in our retail and business sectors. It is hard enough to find skilled people let alone potential employees willing to be trained. Then after the training, a few weeks go by then they come to you and ask for a raise. You refuse as there simply is no excess money in the budget and away they fly to wherever they come from, trained but not willing to put in the time to achieve that wanted raise.

I have had potentials come in and we give them a test to see if they do indeed know how to weld, polish or work with wood. 2-10 we hire, and one of those is gone in a week or two. Ask that they want overtime, and their laughter leaving the building is loud and unsettling. Housing starts are doing well but way behind because those trades needed to finish a project simply don’t come to the site, with delay after delay. Some people’s attitudes are just too funny. A recent graduate from a Ivy League university came in for an interview. The position was mid-management potential, but when we told them a three month period was needed and then they would make the big bucks they disappeared as fast as they arrived.

Government agencies are really no help, sending us people unsuited or unwilling to carry out the jobs we offer. Handing money over to staffing firms whose referrals are weak and ineffectual. Perhaps with the Fall and Winter upon us, these folks will have to find work and stop playing on the golf course or cottaging away. Tried to hire new arrivals in Canada but it is truly difficult to find someone who has a real identity card and is approved to live and work here. Who do we hire? Several years ago my father’s firm was rocking and rolling with all sorts of work. It was a summer day when the immigration officers arrived and 30+ employees hit the bricks almost immediately. The investigation that followed had threats of fines thrown at us by the officials. Good thing we kept excellent records, photos and digital copies. We had to prove the illegal documents given to us were as good as the real McCoy.

Restauranteurs, builders, manufacturers, finishers, trades-based firms, and warehousing are all suspect in hiring illegals, yet that becomes secondary as Toronto increases its minimum wage again bringing our payroll up another $120,000. Survival in Canada’s financial and business sectors is questionable for many. Good luck Chuck!. at least your carbon tax refund check should be arriving soon.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Imperial to cut prices in NWT community after low river prevented resupply by barges

Published

23 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

NORMAN WELLS, N.W.T. – Imperial Oil says it will temporarily reduce its fuel prices in a Northwest Territories community that has seen costs skyrocket due to low water on the Mackenzie River forcing the cancellation of the summer barge resupply season.

Imperial says in a Facebook post it will cut the air transportation portion that’s included in its wholesale price in Norman Wells for diesel fuel, or heating oil, from $3.38 per litre to $1.69 per litre, starting Tuesday.

The air transportation increase, it further states, will be implemented over a longer period.

It says Imperial is closely monitoring how much fuel needs to be airlifted to the Norman Wells area to prevent runouts until the winter road season begins and supplies can be replenished.

Gasoline and heating fuel prices approached $5 a litre at the start of this month.

Norman Wells’ town council declared a local emergency on humanitarian grounds last week as some of its 700 residents said they were facing monthly fuel bills coming to more than $5,000.

“The wholesale price increase that Imperial has applied is strictly to cover the air transportation costs. There is no Imperial profit margin included on the wholesale price. Imperial does not set prices at the retail level,” Imperial’s statement on Monday said.

The statement further said Imperial is working closely with the Northwest Territories government on ways to help residents in the near term.

“Imperial Oil’s decision to lower the price of home heating fuel offers immediate relief to residents facing financial pressures. This step reflects a swift response by Imperial Oil to discussions with the GNWT and will help ease short-term financial burdens on residents,” Caroline Wawzonek, Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance and Infrastructure, said in a news release Monday.

Wawzonek also noted the Territories government has supported the community with implementation of a fund supporting businesses and communities impacted by barge cancellations. She said there have also been increases to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy in Norman Wells, and continued support for heating costs for eligible Income Assistance recipients.

Additionally, she said the government has donated $150,000 to the Norman Wells food bank.

In its declaration of a state of emergency, the town said the mayor and council recognized the recent hike in fuel prices has strained household budgets, raised transportation costs, and affected local businesses.

It added that for the next three months, water and sewer service fees will be waived for all residents and businesses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

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Business

U.S. vote has Canadian business leaders worried about protectionist policies: KPMG

Published

23 hours ago

October 22, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – A new report says many Canadian business leaders are worried about economic uncertainties related to the looming U.S. election.

The survey by KPMG in Canada of 735 small- and medium-sized businesses says 87 per cent fear the Canadian economy could become “collateral damage” from American protectionist policies that lead to less favourable trade deals and increased tariffs

It says that due to those concerns, 85 per cent of business leaders in Canada polled are reviewing their business strategies to prepare for a change in leadership.

The concerns are primarily being felt by larger Canadian companies and sectors that are highly integrated with the U.S. economy, such as manufacturing, automotive, transportation and warehousing, energy and natural resources, as well as technology, media and telecommunications.

Shaira Nanji, a KPMG Law partner in its tax practice, says the prospect of further changes to economic and trade policies in the U.S. means some Canadian firms will need to look for ways to mitigate added costs and take advantage of potential trade relief provisions to remain competitive.

Both presidential candidates have campaigned on protectionist policies that could cause uncertainty for Canadian trade, and whoever takes the White House will be in charge during the review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

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