The Sundance Company

Going “green” might sound expensive, but it actually can help save your business time and money in the long run.  Plus, being eco-friendly is easy and could be a fun activity for you and your employees.  Here are a few easy things you can do to help save the planet while also reducing your overhead.

Cut down on paper – Use note-taking software. During a meeting, nobody in the room should be filling up legal pads with pages of notes.  Note-taking software offers an easier way to take notes, which can help save a ton of paper.  An example is Microsoft Office OneNote, which comes with MS Office suite.  A favorite is currently Evernote, which is compatible with Mac OS X, iPhone, Windows XP/Vista/7, Windows Mobile and Palm Pre.  Also, you might want to check out new technologies like Netbooks, Kindles and iPads, which make note-taking much easier and speedier.

Get rid of the fax machine and fax online – Faxing online does not require paper or toner.  It doesn’t even require a fax machine!  Online fax allows you to send and receive PDF faxes, which means that you can pick and choose which faxes you’d like to print and which you’d like to delete.  Not only will you save paper and toner, but you’ll also save energy required to run a fax machine.  This will keep your energy bill low, and you won’t need to spend money maintaining a piece of hardware.

Order mini-cards or business cards printed on recycled card stock – One way to cut your paper consumption in half is by cutting your cards in half.  Instead of ordering regular business cards, consider buying mini business cards.  They are small, inexpensive, and light-weight.  Nobody has any room in their wallets to carry extra cards anyway, so make it easy for yourself and for your contacts.  You could also order business cards printed on recycled paper and/or find a company that prints with soy ink, which requires less energy to produce than petroleum-based ink.

Make recycling easy – Put office recycling bins in strategic places – People will want to recycle, as long as you make it easy to do.  Putting a paper recycling bin next to the office printer can have a dramatic effect.  You can also stick a recycling bin for glass and cans in the office kitchen or break-room.  Create handy signs and reminders to help point people to the bins.

Designate a box for old electronics and one of ink cartridges – Don’t throw the defunct junk away; put it in a box and take it to an authorized e-waste recycler.  A lot of corporate chains now have recycling programs and allow you to drop off your old electronics and ink cartridges to be recycled.  Some places will accept electronic brands like Dell for free, or they may charge a nominal fee to take your old office equipment.

Reward employees for going green – Reward employees who choose to walk or bike to work. If you’re employees aren’t driving, then you don’t have to pay for their parking.  Put the money you’re saving back in their hands by giving them a bonus for green commuting.  You can also get your office excited about walking, running or biking by entering in a local marathon or race for charity.  Healthy employees are happy employees, so encourage green commuting in your office.

Ban Styrofoam and initiate contests for best office mugs/lunch boxes/dishes – Styrofoam is bad. It can’t be recycled, and worse, it doesn’t biodegrade.  Avoid buying disposable cups and plates for your office. Instead, buy washable mugs and cups.  You can also ask employees to bring a personal mug to work and turn it into a contest for the best/funniest office mug.  You could also try this contest with lunch bags or dishes.  Reward the winner with a cash prize or voucher for free lunch.  You might be spending some money on the prize, but in the long run you’ll save a whole lot more by not buying disposable items.

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the greater Treasure Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime Boise and Meridian locations. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

Your business name is the first impression you get to leave on your customers. It’s no surprise that people spend a lot of time and money on selecting the right business name. A bad name can make you the butt of people’s jokes (e.g. iPad), or worse, it can scare customers away. Make sure you choose the best name possible by following some of these rules:

1. Choose positive words. The first rule of creating an appealing business name is to choose words that have a positive connotation and make people feel happy inside. When brainstorming, you’ll notice the difference between warm and fuzzy words and words that fall flat. For instance, there’s a self-service dog wash called Mud Puppies that is rather popular. Consider the difference between Mud Puppies and Mud Dogs. The place services dogs of all ages, but the word “puppies” is infinitely way cuter than “dogs.” The denotation is the same, but the connotation is different. Mud Dogs has a dirty connotation, while Mud Puppies has a cute, playful connotation.

2. Appeal to what people already know/like. This is in the same vein as choosing words with a positive connotation. There are plenty of trends out there for you to draw inspiration from, such as the Do-It-Yourself movement, eco-friendly/green trend or health conscious trends. Again, you’ll have to sit down and brainstorm ideas that appeal to consumer, but you (hopefully) won’t be reinventing the wheel. In addition to trends, music, movies, popular websites and even celebrities offer a source of inspiration. An exercise you could to would be to list your own favorites/likes and see if you can find a gold nugget somewhere.

3. Think local….or think global. If you’re a local business, try getting inspired by landmarks, popular spots and familiar locations around town. For instance, the company 360 Partners here in Austin was named after Loop 360 (Capital of Texas Highway), which runs right by their office. However, beware of picking something ubiquitous or cheesy. (In Texas, you’ll see Lonestar [Something] anywhere you go.) You want to sound familiar, but you also want to stand out from the crowd. Perhaps you’re not a local business. Maybe you have an e-commerce business that serves customers around the country and/or the world. You can still use a locale-inspired name, but you may want to try broader terms that have more universal appeal.

Amazon is a great example of a brand that references a specific location but also has universal appeal. JetBlue is an example of a company that bucks the trend and doesn’t incorporate a location (such as competitors American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, etc.). Their name works, largely because it paints a lovely, serene picture. Think about what you want your business to say. Is it important for you to emphasize something local and familiar or to have widespread appeal? You decide.

4. Be memorable. This might be the hardest thing to do when thinking up your business name. A lot of companies struggle with the balance between uniqueness and accessibility. Google is now a household name, but virtually nobody knew what a google was until the company made the word famous. A very special or esoteric name may be great for trademark purposes and online search purposes (less competition), but you’ll probably have to do a bit more work educating people about what your company actually does when you start out.

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the greater Treasure Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime Boise and Meridian locations. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.