My Favorite Small Business Essentials How to Start a Small Business Pt. 2

[00:00:00]I recently shared a video all about how to start a small business, covering things that I wish I would have known before starting my own small business and 11 things you should do before getting started. In that video, I promised a part two where I would share tools and products I use every single day in my business, including my shipping setup, desk setup, how I organize and manage my inventory, and things that I think are completely necessary to function as a small business owner. So, as promised, that's exactly what I'll be sharing in today's video. I also have a few discount codes for you guys and everything I mention will be linked in the description below.

[00:00:31]And just a quick heads up that some of those links may be affiliate links, but I'll do my best to include every single thing I talk about so you can easily find what you're looking for. And if we've never met, I'm Emily and I have been running my small business full-time for the last 3 and 1/2 years. I started out making handmade products in a very small office in my house and within 4 months was able to turn my small business into my full-time job. Since then, I've packed over 23,000 orders, moved into a 12,200T warehouse, and have had so many amazing launch days and grown my social media accounts, all while learning basically everything through trial and error. Now, let's get into it.

[00:01:10]Today, I'm going to be focused on getting the shop put back in shape. I have a lot of things that I need to restock on the shipping station, including some thank you cards, some packaging, and some boxes. I also have some inventory that I need to restock on the shelves as well as just kind of getting everything put back together.

[00:01:23]So, I figured I would take you guys along with me and show you all of my favorite things that I have around the shop. Before we get into it though, I do want to remind you guys this is not where I started. My small business started in a very small office in my house 3 and 1/2 years ago where I was making handmade products and I gradually built my business over time. It wasn't like a get-richquick type thing. It was built brick by brick. And fast forward 3 and 1/2 years later, I am in a 12,200T warehouse. My intention for this video is to give you ideas or inspiration on how to organize your inventory or set up your packing station and just sharing the things that I truly love and couldn't live without as a small business owner. So, now that we have that out of the way, the first thing that I want to work on is my shipping station because we have some boxes that we need to restock as well as thank you cards and packaging. So, let's head over to the shipping station. I'm just going to be restocking some of my Cello bags, my thank you cards, my freebies, and things that I send with orders because I do have some orders to pack later, which you guys can do with me. So, you can just kind of see how I use all of my different packaging. I do get asked a lot where I get my custom stickers made, and I get them through Sticker Mule, which is linked below. Like, literally everything is linked below, so I probably don't need to keep saying that, but I do have a $10 off coupon linked in my my shop that you can use if you would like to save $10 on some custom stickers. I also have the corkboards and the organizers linked in my shop as well so that you guys can check those out. I get asked all the time where my corkboards are from. They're literally just from Amazon. So, if you want the exact link, that's where you can find them. Or if you want a different color, a different style, Amazon has a really great selection. But the other thing I wanted to mention, too, is my tape dispenser. So, I do have water activated tape that I use for all of my packages.

[00:03:01]I just think it's quicker, it's faster, and it looks really nice to have branded packaging. I just love the integrity of the water activated tape because it's so sturdy and I can trust that it's going to keep the box closed. But this is the water activated tape dispenser that I have been using literally since I started my business. I do have to say they are kind of spendy, but it is so worth it because it keeps the order packing process so efficient. And I should mention that I also get my water activated tape from Sticker Mule as well.

[00:03:35]Now that all my boxes are restocked, I'm really excited to open a package that I got from Munin. And this is not a paid sponsorship. It's a gifted collab. So, they just sent me the box and I get to open it and try it out. And I'm really excited to show you guys because I actually use their label printer as my main printer when I'm printing shipping labels and packing slips. So, I'm really excited to try their scale. And then they also sent me a sticker holder shelf situation. So, I'm excited to see what that looks like, too. So, we're going to go open that right now. The first thing I'm opening are the complimentary labels that Mun Bin sent to me, which I was not expecting. So, thank you, Mun Bin. So generous. I've actually used these in the past, and I absolutely love them.

[00:04:13]When I first started my business, I used to make all my packaging stickers myself using my thermal label printer. So, having ready to use labels like these saves a ton of time. This next thing I am the most excited to open. One of the most important tools in any shipping setup is a reliable postal scale.

[00:04:27]Whether you're shipping a few orders a week or hundreds of orders a month, accurately weighing your packages helps ensure that you're purchasing the correct postage and avoiding unexpected shipping adjustments later. It also gives you a better understanding of your shipping costs, helps you price products more accurately, and makes the entire fulfillment process more efficient. The last thing that they sent to me is super cute, and it's their label organizer. I was honestly impressed at how easy this was to assemble. Like, I really didn't even need to use the instructions, although they did send them, but this thing is super sturdy. After setting it up, I think it's a really great option if you're looking for a simple way to keep labels organized and easy to access while you're packing orders. Okay, and just a reminder that I am not being paid to say any of this. So, this is truly how I feel about Munin, but if you know me, you know I am not the most tech-savvy person in the world, so I'm constantly having printer issues. But one thing I appreciate about Munin is their customer service. Anytime I need help troubleshooting something, they're so fast to respond and always so helpful. I've tried a lot of different thermal label printers in the last three and a half years. And I will say that my Munin thermal label printer is the one that has lasted the longest in my shop, mainly because of its features, but I rarely have issues printing with this printer and it just does what it's supposed to do and I feel really grateful for the opportunity to partner with Mun. So, if you do want to check anything out, I do have a 10% discount code for you and everything is linked below through my my shop page. I cannot begin to tell you guys how excited I am about this scale situation. So, this is the scale that I have been using for the last 3 and 1/2 years. It is a kitchen scale. It still works perfectly, so I'm not getting rid of it. But the problem with this scale is that it doesn't weigh anything over 10 lb. So, I kind of just have to guess if the package is over 10 lb, but this scale has a 66 lb limit.

[00:06:06]So, this one is going to really be able to weigh any of our packages. I don't think I've ever sent a package that was more than 15 lbs. So, this one is going to do a really great job, and I'm so excited about it. We have two shipping stations cuz my sister comes and helps me pack orders every once in a while.

[00:06:20]So, I'm going to put this one at her shipping station since she's not here very often. And I'm going to keep this one at my packing station. I am going to make myself a coffee and show you guys some more of the things that I could not live without as a small business owner.

[00:06:32]Obviously, you might have a different opinion for whether or not this is essential, but in my world, an ice maker is absolutely essential because where I have my warehouse, there really isn't like a break room. I literally just rent out a 12,200 ft room. So having this ice maker is a gamecher for me because I drink a lot of iced coffee and I also like to drink my water ice cold. So it is a win-win for both situations. Like I just mentioned, I'm a huge coffee drinker. So having my espresso machine is also a must because I definitely drink two or three coffees a day. And sometimes I drink four, but I did get some decaf espresso pods just for the afternoon because I'm trying to cut back slightly on my caffeine, although that's not going very well. The other thing I couldn't live without is my mini fridge.

[00:07:13]It's where I keep my sparkling water, some snacks, and I usually try to bring a lunch to work every day. So, I like to keep that in the fridge as well. And then, of course, that is also where I put my milk. Another thing I couldn't live without is my little microwave because sometimes I bring lunch to work that needs to be heated up. So, I love having this little mini microwave in the shop so that I can heat up my leftovers.

[00:07:31]Another thing I couldn't live without in my shop is my bunny. So, I do have a little bunny. His name is Winston. And a few videos ago, I did a complete shop reset where I rearranged everything and made it Winston proof. So, I covered my cords and I made sure everything was picked up and I created him his own little bunny castle so that he can hang out with me here at work. So, he does travel back and forth from home to the shop with me pretty much every single day and it has made working alone so much more fun. Next, let's move on to my desk setup. This is probably one of the most important areas in the shop because it's where I handle pretty much everything behind the scenes. I have my iMac, which I use for editing videos, answering emails, managing orders, pretty much anything that you would do on the computer. And then as far as my actual desk goes, I have the Flexis Spot L-shaped standing desk, and I've been absolutely loving it. This was actually gifted to me from Flexispot when I first moved into the shop almost 3 years ago.

[00:08:22]I love how much space it gives me, especially when I have like 50 projects going on at once. And being able to switch from standing and sitting throughout the day is also really nice, especially on the longer work days. And then at the same time, they also sent me this cabinet that I still use to this day. It's actually being used right now to hold a lot of Winston's essentials, but I've used it for a lot of different things over the last 3 years. And one of the newest additions to my office is the Flexis Spot standing desk. This one, I believe, is called the Flexispot E6 standing desk. And I put this together a couple videos ago, but it was so incredibly easy to put this together. As you guys can see, I love Flexis Spot.

[00:08:57]And again, I am not being paid to say any of this, but I will mention that I did just see an email that they are having a sale right now. So, if you've been thinking about upgrading your workspace, it's probably a good time to do it. I will leave Flexis Spots links directly in my description so it's easy to find cuz I'm not exactly sure how long the sale lasts, but that way you can at least go check it out. All right, so now that I've had my lunch, as you guys would have seen, I am going to move on to restocking some of the things that are getting low as far as inventory on the shelves. And I will show you guys my shelves. Um, you can probably see them behind me. They're called muscle racks and they're from Home Depot. I think they're called muscle racks. Don't quote me on that, but they are from Home Depot. And I think I maybe started with like six or seven of them. And obviously over the last 3 years, we've continued to add shelving and had to rearrange just to make the best use of the space that we have. But they're really sturdy and they can hold a lot of weight. So just depending on what you're selling, they might be a really good option for you. But I feel like I've been talking for most of the video, so I'm going to make the restocking of the shelves a little bit more of like ASMR type vibe.

[00:09:56]And I guess the only other thing that I'll mention before we restock the shelves is just that a lot of the containers that I use to organize my inventory are either from Amazon or Target. So I'll do my best to link those in my shop my link for you guys. But that's definitely a hobby of mine is finding certain containers that fit my products perfectly. And sometimes it's hit or miss, but I love shopping at Target and Amazon for those things because they're easy to return if I don't get it right. So yeah, let's start getting some of this inventory restocked.

[00:10:36]Hey, hey, hey.

[00:11:34]Hey everybody.

[00:12:08]I got all of the shelves restocked and I feel like the shop is starting to look a lot more put together. The only other thing I want to say about inventory are these bins up here and the system that I use for storing extra inventory. So, a lot of times when you're working with manufacturers, they have anq, which stands for minimum order quantity. And so, a lot of times I can't fit everything I have to order on the shelves. And so, I use this bin system where I put bins on the bottom shelves and the top shelves that have extra products. So, when we're starting to get low on the shelves, then I restock the shelves with what we have in the bins.

[00:12:40]And when I'm starting to get low with what's in the bins, then I order from my manufacturer. Again, that's kind of like a little system. Not every product is like that, but a lot of my leather products are like that, like binders, wallets, money bags. A lot of the stationery that I order has a higherQ. I like to use a system like that where I'm able to see kind of what I have left and what I'm going to need to order. Again, that's just something you'll learn as you go. It was definitely a huge learning curve for me, timing out when to order inventory, how long it takes in production, and how long it takes to arrive. So, yeah. All that we really have left to do is pack some orders. I hope this video was super helpful.

[00:13:13]Definitely leave any questions that you have in the comments. But for the rest of the video, I am just going to be packing some orders and you guys can enjoy some music. And thank you guys so much for watching.

[00:14:52]Okay.