Celebrate Your Town – It’s Not as Boring as You Might Think

The Waco Tribune Herald posted an online poll today that asks, “What retail chain do you think should come to town next?”

The question might as well have asked: “Which other city along I-35 do you want your town to look, feel and taste just like?” Chain stores and restaurants help make a town virtually indistinguishable from the next town down the road.

Do we want Waco to be Waco, or to be just like Round Rock? Should Belton look like Belton or should it look just like Hillsboro? Those are all great towns with something unique to share – and it’s not necessarily a chain store.

Children are encouraged to admire and look up to heroes and successful people, but most parents would readily encourage their kids to be themselves because they are a unique individual with something to offer. Just as people would be boring if we all looked and acted the same, how boring would our towns become and how little community pride could we boast if each town looked and offered the same options and flavor as the next? Local independent businesses contribute to their community’s character and quality of life. By preserving what is unique about your city, you can avoid becoming “Anywhere, USA.”

Remember: Every time you spend a dollar at local, independent businesses you not only impact the cultural vitality of your community, but you also help build a stronger local economy.

Perhaps we should stop wishing for new chain stores and restaurants and start celebrating what is great about our community. When you step into a locally owned, independent business for your next purchase, you may discover a unique, locally made product or a hometown guy or gal who is working hard to run their business and has a vested interest in serving you like family.

Our vote in this poll: We’re not anti-chain. We encourage everyone to supporting the INDEPENDENT and LOCAL businesses that keep their city vibrant, unique, and competitive!

Panel Systems: Divide & Conquer

Office furniture is not most people’s idea of a fun way to spend their time. HON has developed a furniture-buying basics guide to help in the process. Here is an excerpt on Panel Systems.

2 (of 100) Ideas for Better Organization

Here are two of the 100 Ideas for Better Organization, from SMEAD:

23. AVOIDING INTERRUPTIONS
Ever feel like your work day is fueled by a string of interruptions? Urgent or not, these time bandits can make it difficult to get work done.

• When interrupted, assess right away if the issue can be handled within five minutes. If so, go ahead and deal with the interruption. If not (and if it isn’t urgent), schedule a time in your calendar later in the day to discuss the issue.
• Set regular times in your calendar to meet with colleagues, supervisors and subordinates. This way multiple questions and problems can be discussed at one time.
• Send out a weekly project update electronically to avoid repeating the same conversation with co-workers and teammates.

* * * *

32. ACTIVE PAPERWORK

While creating a To Do list will make sure you take action on important tasks, you still need a home for holding the paperwork, so you can find it easily when needed.

• Sort active papers into piles that reflect the action you need to take. Examples include: To Do, Pending, Waiting for Follow-up, To Pay, To Call, To Write, To Read, To Enter and To File.
• Place either a wire step file or a Smead Premium Expanding File off to one corner of your desk. For the step file, label long-lasting Smead Colored Folders for your action categories. For the desktop file, label the tabbed sections for the action categories you will use. File the papers from your categorized piles into the appropriate folder or section, until the related task pops up on your To Do list.

Click here to download 100 Ideas for Better Organization (PDF).

Show Off Your Sharpie-tude

Sharpie-decorated Lunch Baggie

This week, Sharpie kicked off a new campaign taglined “Uncap What’s Inside”. You should be seeing print and TV ads soon, but the coolest part of this campaign is online at sharpieuncapped.com, where the power of the Sharpie as a tool for self-expression is really unleashed.

Visitors can share their artistic Sharpie-inspired creations by submitting images and videos of everyday items that they’ve designed or decorated using Sharpie markers. Each month one of the items will be featured in the Gallery. How-to videos and other avenues for interaction between visitors are available, too.

In a press release, the company says, “The goal is to empower people to connect with one another and express themselves by uncapping their creativity with Sharpie. The site is designed to be a creative destination and community meeting place for people seeking inspirational ideas on how to personalize their lives with Sharpie markers.”

You can also check out the Sharpie blog for cool ways Sharpies are being used around the globe. A really fun one is the Book Art by John Clark.

Ultra-Fine Retractable Sharpies are on sale at Perry Office Plus:

List: $2.64
SALE: $1.39 ea

SAN 1735790 – Black
SAN 1735791 – Red
SAN 1735792 – Blue

Call or order online!

No-calorie P.o.P. at work!

Our email newsletter has a new look with plenty of personality…

Here is the May 7th newsletter… Join the mailing list today!

What Would We Do Without Admins?

This week is Administrative Professionals week and the International Association of Administrative Professionals has posted the video entries in their “Office Without Admins” contest.

They are a cute and humorous reminder of how vital the services of the office administrative professionals really are.

http://www.administrativeprofessionalsweek.org

Have you showed your appreciation for the admin professionals in your office recently? Are you an administrative professional — treat yourself this week! You keep business going!

5 Ways to “Green” Your Break Room

As the first official day of Spring approaches and green begins sprouting out all over, it’s a great time to do some “greening” of another kind!

The break room is one of the easiest places to conserve energy, reduce waste and be a little more environmentally friendly. There are great products and ideas that can help. Here are five:

1. Buy recycled or recyclable. Nowadays, there are recycled alternatives to just about every paper product out there, including paper towels, napkins, facial tissue, and toilet paper.

2. Get natural. Use cleaning products made from safe, natural and not-toxic ingredients to prevent exposure to the hazardous synthetic chemicals conventional cleaners often contain. Seventh Generation’s environmentally responsible line of cleaning products have been sought out by green-conscious consumers for nearly 20 years. Most items in your office products catalog will identify their recycled content.

3. Dust with a damp cloth to ensure that dust, which can collect toxins, is removed from surfaces and not stirred back into the air.

4. Literally add green with plants. Modern office buildings spew out hundreds of chemicals from the new carpets, paints, upholstery, computers and plastics. Many studies have confirmed the advantages of having plants around because they make our environment a healthier place in which to work. Researchers have found that one potted plant per 100 square feet of floor space can help clean the air. The best plants for this use? Palms, lillies, rubber plant, ficus, english ivy and the ever-popular spider plant. Plants also help regulate office humidity, which can prolong the life of your office furniture and other expensive materials.

5. Add a reycling bin for plastic bottles and/or aluminum cans. Then all you have to do is get it to the recycling facility occasionally and the work is done.

Don’t forget to take our “Green Office Challenge”. The first 75 entrants who send in the correct answers will receive a recycled tote bag filled with “green” goodies!

Have a great green Spring!

Women’s History Month: How to Succeed as a Woman Business Leader

There are a lot of great woman-owned companies in the world. Did you know Perry Office Plus is woman-owned?

When $1 equals $14: 5 Reasons to Buy (& Refer) Local

Studies in Maine and Austin, Texas demonstrate that locally-owned businesses generate 3.5 times the local economic activity as chains.

When does $1 equal $14? When you spend it with a locally-owned business. That dollar is usually spent 6 to 15 times before it leaves the community. *

Independent businesses are more likely to:

• Spend money with other local businesses.
• Make decisions locally with our customers in mind.
• Place importance on community service and promoting goodwill.
• Have a commitment to a safe, clean community.
• Contribute more to local and state taxes.

Need more reasons to buy local? Here’s five more:

1.    Support your family. Studies have shown  that when you buy from a locally owned business up to 3 times more of your dollars are re-circulated in the local economy, compared to a chain.

2.    Support your community. Local non-profit organizations receive 250%  more support from locally owned businesses. Independents also contribute more to local and state taxes, since most chain stores get big tax incentives to bring their name to town.

3.    Create more good jobs. Locally owned businesses spend on average 28% of revenue on labor compared to 23% for chains, providing the most jobs to residents of the community.

4.    Get better service. Locally owned businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers. Our commitment to trust and complete customer satisfaction is unparalleled in our industry.

5.    Buy what you want, not what they want you to buy. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices. We present our customers with the best value for their money, not just the products that bring in the most dollars.

You hold the key to true “economic stimulus“.
These days, we are all very concerned about how we are spending our hard-earned dollars — and how our tax dollars are being spent by lawmakers. Next time you shop, consider the benefits of choosing a locally-owned business. And when referring friends and colleagues, refer a reputable local business and keep their dollars local, too!
*Tim Mitchell in Northwest Earth Institute’s Choices for Sustainable Living

Tired of Doom & Gloom? Join us in Make-A-Referral Week!

This is a great way to help create our own stimulus package — make a referral — all week March 9-13!