Author: Gayle Edwards
Although we all use computers in business today, many industries still generate large amounts of paper records – much of which has to be kept for long periods of time.
Financial, legal, insurance and medical records, as well as tax records, architectural drawings and project information – whatever your industry, you probably have a lot of files that you need to store.
There’s no need to use your valuable office space, particularly if you’re paying premium city rates for every square foot. Self storage units offer you a cost-effective and secure place to keep your confidential and important documents.
When you start looking for a self storage unit, don’t assume all operators have the same offer. It’s worth looking about to see what you need.
Distance from your office
While your first thought might be to look for the closest storage unit to your office, in fact this may be the least important consideration.
Many industries need to store files for up to 10 years, but the paperwork is rarely needed during that time. Choosing a storage operator outside of the city limits will result in the benefit of lower costs that outweigh the distance to go for the occasional file.
External or internal units
Some storage units are external lock ups, while others are indoor units. If you do choose an external lock up, you’ll need to be aware of potential damage to your files from damp and rodents.
An indoor unit will mean that your paperwork stays dry and rodent free, so there’s no chance of mould or chewing to ruin essential files.
Security features
Another advantage of indoor units is that you are not only relying on your padlock to keep your data secure. Check that the operator you are considering offers CCTV both inside and outside of the facility. Some facilities, like Cookes, are manned throughout the day and have PIN code access, providing another layer of reassurance.
Room to grow
The great thing about self storage is that not only are the contracts flexible, so is the space. So, as your business grows and your records increase, you can easily expand the size of your unit.
Added extras
If you do need to access your records, you’ll want to be able to get hold of them easily. You can be sure that if you just pile boxes on top of each other, the files you need will be at the bottom of the heap.
Adding shelving to your unit will allow you to easily access individual files, and means boxes won’t get crushed and damaged. At Cookes, our archive units are prepared for you with pre-installed racking – giving you one less thing to do.
Record system
Make sure you clearly label each box before it goes off to storage. Whether you mark them by year, by project name or some other system, number each box and set up a simple record system on your computer. Then, if you do need to retrieve a file, you can easily identify the right box.
Collection services
Once your boxes are full, you’ll need to get them to your unit. Paperwork can be surprisingly heavy and inconvenient to move about.
We have a simple solution – our removals team will collect your boxes for you, and move them into your unit, secure and stored until you need them.
GDPR
With the deadline for GDPR compliance coming in May 2018, firms are reviewing their data storage right now. No matter where you store your confidential files, the onus is on your business to keep them safe. Make sure the storage firm you use has a clear understanding of GDPR, and how they can help you keep your files secure.
Cookes Archiving Solutions
At Cookes we have a ready make archiving solution for businesses, including pre-installed racking in your unit, a supply of extra strong archiving boxes, a padlock and marker pens, and an LED light to help you find your way. Once you’ve packed your boxes, our removal team will collect them for you and install them in your unit.
Call Cookes – we’re here to help your business grow.
Fresh starts, new beginnings and plenty of vigour – the new year beckons with potential. So many people will be thinking about a change in their career or starting a business right now, we thought it would be a great time to introduce one of the amazing entrepreneurs who is growing a business right here at Cookes.
Malik is the owner of Urban Design UK, a retailer with a shopfront on eBay. With a growing range of genuine branded cosmetics, Malik has joined a thriving platform to become one of the 3.4 million sole traders in the UK. His business has expanded from a modest home business to a successful store, taking over three storage units at Cookes. In 2018, Malik plans to increase his online presence on other platforms and with his own website.
Of course, launching your own business is hard work and gaining a foothold on a platform as busy as eBay isn’t easy. Malik began his business some years ago selling mobile phone accessories, before moving into men’s accessories and cosmetics. Over time he refined his range and is moving towards high-end brands such as Max Factor and Revlon.
Tips for selling on eBay
Time, patience and a strong, reliable customer service are the cornerstones to the success of Urban Design. Malik also offers his best tips for selling on eBay:
“You need a good description and pictures. Use your own, so that it’s clear to buyers you have genuine products and make sure the lighting is a natural as possible so that the real colours show up. Avoid sellers who just use stock images if you can’t be sure their products are of good quality.”
Quality pictures do require a good camera, and Malik has invested in photography equipment, and of course, his laptop. However, by selling online he avoids expensive outlays on city centre rental prices. Having a self-storage unit does have its advantages though.
“I started the business from home, and moved into a storage unit after just a few months. It means the house is free from boxes of stock, and I have set business hours. Plus, storage units are not that expensive, I can expand the size of my shop when I need to, and there is no long term commitment, so I feel in complete control of my business,” Malik expands.
Self-storage for eBay businesses
Malik original launched Urban Design UK in London, before moving to the Midlands with his family. He also tried a couple of different storage providers before settling at Cookes.
“Originally I was looking for low costs and a company that took in stock deliveries for me, which most of them do. However, after spending some time in the unit packing deliveries, I quickly realised that I also needed professional level lighting, wifi and, most essential, heating. It can be very cold in some of those units even in the summer.
When I found I was too cold to work, I had to do something about it. The place I was using at the time were a chain and that made them a little inflexible. When I spoke to Cookes they were really helpful and professional, working out the best solution and fitting lighting for me with just one week’s notice. As it’s indoors the building is warmer, even without additional heating. I’ve been here 15 months now and expanded into my 3rd unit recently.”
Urban Design UK sell on eBay under the seller name of Urban Arc. Malik stocks only genuine cosmetics, and only lists anything he has in stock, so it can be sent out quickly. He is also happy to discuss any products or concerns with customers, usually via the eBay messaging system.
“Fake cosmetics are a concern on eBay. Why risk putting something untested on your skin?” he says. “If you are looking at unknown brands, it might be harder to tell. A regular user of a Revlon foundation will easily notice the difference in a fake. Always check the seller feedback and, if you have doubts, don’t buy from them.”
If you are thinking of starting your own online business, then 2018 could be your year. To discuss storage options, just call the friendly Cookes team on 0121 285 5197.
Can you believe eBay has been around for over 20 years? It’s a huge marketplace, providing sellers with access to a worldwide audience of customers. EBay allows small companies and sole traders to set up shop alongside high street brands and compete more evenly.
Of course, the bigger shops still have some advantages – with bigger buying power and larger sources of stock, there’s more room for them to reduce prices. But it’s not all about the price – so here’s our top tips for growing your own eBay business.
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Clear, branded eBay descriptions.
As with most everything online, you only have seconds to grab the attention of your customer. After spending hours combing through the search pages of eBay to find ‘Rattan Garden Furniture’ or a ‘Vintage Child’s Toy Kitchen’, there’s nothing more off putting than a poorly written listing.
Create your own shop logo, and make sure it’s visible at the top of each description. It gives your shop a more professional and reassuring feel. Make sure every description is concise, but contains key details – the technical specifications and colour, dimensions and cleaning instructions.
If you have all of the details to hand, a buyer will feel more confident in knowing what to expect, and will be happy to pay a little more for that certainty.
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Fair postage and policies
Buying from eBay can feel a little daunting to the uninitiated, as it’s not always clear whether the seller is an established retailer. Of course, this benefits us as sole traders, as there’s no immediate advantage to being a high street brand on eBay – as long as we have clear policies in place.
Make sure your postage is fair – it’s easy to be found out if you are inflating courier charges or trying to profit on a stamp, and it will be noted in your subsequent feedback.
Have policies in place that outline whether you’ll accept returns on faulty items. Nothing reassures a buyer than knowing there’s an easy solution to potential problems.
Finally, take advantage of the About page to give some background to your business and location.
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Speedy communications
By providing clear and detailed item descriptions, you’ll cut out a lot of repetitive questions from potential customers. However, you’ll still get some queries before a sale, as well as customers contacting you in relation to delivery issues and so on.
Make sure you respond to every question clearly and quickly. Waiting days for an answer to a problem will just aggravate the situation, while potential sales will be lost as shoppers go on to the next seller.
When a sale is made, providing swift confirmation followed by emails to acknowledge postage and delivery will also build confidence in your brand.
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Organisation
Organisation is the key to running any successful business. While your eBay shop may start off as a hobby, as it grows it will take more and more of your time. To keep both your reliability – and your own sanity – it’s important to develop a process.
Firstly, if you can, keep to office hours. Then when you ‘finish work’ for the day, you can turn off your computer and relax, while your online shop just keeps on selling.
Secondly, develop a routine. Spend the morning answering queries from customers and organising new stock. Next focus on printing off new sales up to your cut off time. Then allow time to package and address them all, in time for collection by your courier, or for you to skip off to the post office.
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Expand and grow
As your sales increase, routine becomes more important. Most eBayers start off at home. The constant swapping of the dining table from family use to functional production line will soon lose its appeal though.
As boxes of stock start to take over the available space in the home, consider expanding your operations to a storage unit. There are a number of advantages.
You’ll have a clear divide between home life and work life. You can set up an office space inside your unit, with a desk for your computer. This will allow you to focus without distractions during office hours. Many self storage units can be equipped with heating, power and Wi-Fi.
Your storage unit can also be fitted with racking, keeping boxes of stock organised and easy to hand. The tools you need for packaging, weighing and labelling items can stay out where they are needed.
A self-storage unit also has benefits over traditional shop premises. There is no separate business rates or council tax. You pay one rental fee – and only on the size of the unit you need. Then, as business booms, it’s easy to move into larger units or rent a second one – with more stock allowing you to match high street prices.
Finally, storage companies often offer other business perks. Cookes has a kitchen, bathroom and meeting space on site for your use – removing practical concerns from working on site all day. And we’ll accept deliveries, so you can forget hanging about waiting for stock to arrive, and spend your time elsewhere.
If you’re thinking of starting, or expanding, your eBay business, then get in touch. We’re here to help.
You may already know that at Cookes we love to work with local businesses to help them grow, but you may not know that we also do what we can to support small charities as well.
It’s possibly not something you’ve thought about, but charities are often recipients of large amounts of donations, and they just don’t have the space or resources to manage them all at once. Particular times of year can get quite busy, and the winter season is one of them.
This month we’ve been pleased to help three separate charities, each of them unique and in need of some space, just for a couple of months.
Snuffles Hedgehog Rescue
Hedgehogs are synonymous of a British countryside – we all know that the prickly little creatures love to hide in leaf piles and trundle through gardens at night. However, before the team from Snuffles approached us, we were not aware that hedgehogs are endangered. There are now just under a million in the UK today – down from 36 million just 70 years ago.
Snuffles Hedgehog Rescue in Four Oaks aim to save as many injured hedgehogs as possible and help them get back into the wild. They’ve put together a fantastic website with lots of information, so you know whether the hog you found is really hurt or just out for an evening stroll. This time of year is particularly busy, as everyone starts to have garden fires just as our spiky friends are looking for cosy woodpiles to settle down and hibernate.
Local business Wheelers Timber and Builders Merchants were on hand to help the Snuffles team move into their temporary storage unit – a fantastic example of local businesses coming together to help out.
Duke of Edinburgh
In recent months we’ve seen a lot of teenagers hiking around the countryside earning their Duke of Edinburgh awards. It’s a charity aimed at helping young people achieve more. However, they also receive a large amount of donated goods and clothing, that need sorting out. We’ve been pleased to be able to offer them the space they needed.
Toys 4 Tots
While we get caught up in the frenzy of the Christmas planning, it’s easy to forget that some families just don’t have the resources. Toys4Tots UK was launched just four years ago by Matt Parkes, and is growing rapidly, collecting money and donated gifts for less fortunate children.
Not all the funds are spent on gifts though. Some is donated directly to charities that help underprivileged children to have a wonderful experience and create some happy memories, while some of the gifts are passed on to women living in refuges.
Of course, when we think about donating toys, we tend to think about smaller children, and forget that there are many teenagers also looking for a happier Christmas. So, if you would like to help out Tots4TotsUK in bringing Christmas to more homes and families living in refuges this year, take a look at Matt’s Facebook page to see how you can help.
A helping hand, when we can
If you are a local charity and need a helping hand, then get in touch.. Unfortunately, we cannot offer space every time, or store certain items such as flammable goods, plants, perishable items or animals. But, we do consider every request, and help where we can.
Sharing a house with another person can be exciting, but leaves plenty of room for tension as well. Whether you’re leaving home for the first time, sharing with friends or moving in with a partner, there’s a few tips to making sure your new home doesn’t turn into a nightmare.
Sharing money
Money is always a source of arguments, even between long term couples. It’s important to work out, probably even before you move in, how you will share the bills and shopping. You might choose to keep separate food cupboards, or to create a kitty for essentials such as bread, teabags and washing up liquid.
Keep track of any furniture or decorations you buy for the house as well, so that if you do move out you know who owns what.
Sharing space
Even if you have your own bedrooms, you and your new housemate will be sharing living space, so start by making each room into a place you both enjoy.
Enjoy picking out pieces of furniture together and discuss where you’ll put them. You may have pieces from home, and you will most likely end up with duplicates of some things, such as pots and pans and other kitchen utensils. If you do, consider putting them in storage until you move into your next home and need them.
Sharing jobs
No one likes clearing out the bins or cleaning the bathroom, but if these jobs don’t get done regularly and equally, tensions will rise. So it’s worth making a rota from the very beginning for the worst jobs and make sure you do your share.
Sharing things
Eating each other’s food isn’t the only way to cause friction. Helping yourself to shampoo, clothes or other personal items will just irritate your housemate. Remember as well that the furniture might belong to one of the others, even though it’s for everyone to use. So take care of it, just as you would your own.
Sharing issues
No matter how well you plan or what good friends you are, there will be times when you get irritated. It’s important to discuss issues and be open with each other.
Spend time together to build strong bonds and – importantly – to have fun. Why not make it a habit to watch a favourite soap, share a meal or have a film night with popcorn once a week. That helps keep communication open and build shared bonds.
House sharing can be great fun, and create friends for life. It’s all about showing each other some respect, and getting through each issue together.
As the children head off back to school, it does start to feel like summer is over. The official end of summer isn’t actually until 22 September – which means there’s still time to enjoy the last bit of sunshine, and start getting your garden ready for autumn.
Enjoy the summer harvest
All of your hard work through the spring and summer is now showing the benefits. If you had fruit and vegetable beds growing, you’ll be enjoying the harvest. If it’s not quite ready, check your netting is secure. The birds will be getting hungrier about now.
It’s time to get jamming and pickling – storing your harvest for the future. You can also freeze fruit, so make sure there is space in your freezer.
Make sure you dig up any potatoes, the slugs are out about in force. You can leave them out in the last of the summer sunshine to dry for a few hours, before storing in a dry, dark place to keep you going through the next few months. Remember that they need air or they’ll go mouldy.
Hanging baskets and container plants are still flowering and looking beautiful. Keep up the feeding and they will last until the frosts begin.
Autumn garden tips
The first thing that happens in autumn is, of course, leaves start to fall from the trees. Make sure you put netting over ponds, ready to catch them all. It saves a lot of time and cleaning later. You’ll also need somewhere to put all those leaves, so make a space for new compost piles if you can.
Summer’s plants are beginning to die back, so you can start clearing them out, particularly if you have a greenhouse. This means you’ll have the space to get some new plants in over the autumn.
Remove weeds and the dead crops – a little time tidying up your beds and vegetable patch now will save you time nest year, when the ground may still be firmer.
Thinking ahead to spring
The ground is still soft and warm enough to start thinking about next spring. Now is the time to be planting your spring bulbs – daffodils, crocus, hyacinths and so on.
It’s also the best time to be planting new trees and shrubs. The increased rainfall will help them settle in, ready to burst into new growth next year.
New lawns will grow well right now, so putting down seed, aerating your lawn and giving it some food will help improve any poor patches.
Storing your garden furniture
As well as preparing the garden, it’s time to care for your tables and chairs. By the end of September the weather will be poorer, and the temperatures much lower. One of the last jobs of the month is to give everything a good clean, and put it away for the winter.
Give your shed or garage a good clear out, and make a space between the bikes and wheelbarrow. If you don’t have the room, consider putting your furniture in self-storage for the 6 months until you need it again. It’s dry and out of the way, leaving you more room at home for your spring potting.