Lightning Labels Blog

The issue of sales tax being applied to online sales went all the way to the Supreme Court. Now that the decision has come down supporting states that want to impose an internet sales tax, it's natural to wonder how potential new rules will affect your small company.

Small Business Sales Tax Impact

According to The Verge, large e-retailers such as Amazon won't likely feel the greatest impact form the Supreme Court ruling, which overturns a 1992 precedent. Many large businesses already collect sales taxes, perhaps anticipating the changing legal landscape. SMBs, however, could have to change their practices.

Business technology hype and excitement tend to center on the latest trends. This appreciation for the newest and flashiest tools means older assets, such as optimized websites, may be relatively undervalued. No matter how influential social media becomes, however, you can't afford to ignore website optimization as a customer-attraction technique.

How to Optimize Your Website

Does your small company have its own site? If so, how much effort went into its creation? If your site is a mere placeholder, it may not be living up to its potential. Entrepreneur contributor Luis Congdon indicated the importance of having a business site optimized to collect information from potential customers and turn those leads into buyers.

Business branding is an essential part of becoming known, growing your operations and raining your profile within your chosen field. Learning the do's and don'ts for branding your business can set you up for success.

Business Branding - Watch Out for These Missteps

1. Taking Half Measures: When you come up with a great new look for your brand, be sure to use it wherever and whenever possible. Business 2 Community contributor Meaghan Nelson explained a brand refresh loses value when the new look is not universally applied.
2. Imitating Others: While you may see a competitors' branding and think it's worth emulating, this approach has limitations.

Your business needs labels, that much is a given. But where will they come from? Professional label printing is one major option, DIY label printing the other. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks, and your choice could impact your company's budget, branding and more.

Why Opt for Professional Label Printing?

When your company chooses DIY label printing for its branding needs, you need to make an upfront investment in printing hardware. Working with a third-party printer is a way around these large one-time outlays. Costs are especially low when you work with all-digital services, as these vendors don't charge plate engraving fees and offer flexible order sizes.

Ordering labels is one of the processes that must go smoothly to get products on shelves in a timely manner. If your small company is struggling with packaging, the repercussions on general efficiency could be severe. When you work with Lightning Labels, however, ordering labels online becomes easy and convenient, allowing you to focus your attention elsewhere.

Ordering Labels Online - See the Advantages

Getting custom labels online from Lightning Labels grants financial and operational advantages. Managing online accounts is easier than ever, meaning you can re-order from any PC or mobile device.

When it's time to create custom food labels, it's natural to spend time and effort on imagery, typography and other design elements. Those aren't the only considerations that go into creating a great-looking package, however. You also need to select a material and a finish, and while some foods and beverages are best served by glossy finishes, others look best with matte labels.

Matte Labels for Foods

When making labels out of common polypropylene polymers, you have to decide whether to go for a glossy look, the default and least expensive option, or opt for matte. Matte's "natural" character may make it better for your brand.

Regulations Keep Shifting

When a product's packaging requirements are codified by law, it's not that challenging to get into compliance - but when those rules keep changing, that can cause problems. It can be tricky to efficiently and affordably package an item when it's subject to shifting requirements: Print too many labels in the old style and they go to waste. Work with a slow printing partner and you'll have to suffer long wait times when you change designs to comply with the latest rules and regulations.

E-cigarettes and other vaping products are great examples of items with changing labeling rules.

Small companies starting online - or expanding into digital spaces - have a unique place in today's business landscape. By getting involved in the e-commerce world, you're giving yourself a way to reach a huge potential audience. While that ability to sell to the world is positive, other parts of the experience are more challenging.

Online, you have to deal with a vast array of competitors. Making your products stand out against this overwhelming array of rivals can prove difficult. The following small business e-commerce tips will help your operations grow and become sustainable.

Getting Better Small Business E-commerce Results

Optimizing your company's core elements is a key part of building online appeal.

Sustainable product packaging matters to consumers - which means it also matters to companies. Big firms have committed to using earth-friendly materials and set themselves comparatively short timelines for these initiatives. Your business can follow the lead of these large organizations and offer up items in fully recyclable packaging, or labeled using post-consumer materials.

Giants Commit to Change

Recent announcements by Anheuser Busch InBev and Nestle both name 2025 as the year by which they will achieve aggressive sustainability targets. These organizations are interested in changing the way they manufacture and package their products, and they are making public commitments to their supply chain goals and targets

If you're interested in beginning a recreational marijuana business and diving into this expanding industry, you must understand the regulations in the state where you'll operate. Packaging is one such heavily legislated element, and specialized cannabis bar code labels may be required for easy tracking purposes. California is set to introduce such a system alongside legalized recreational sales.

Careful Tracking

According to the San Jose Mercury News, cannabis tracking labels will follow California plants from growth to their use in products. The state intends to create a closed system in which cannabis stays in California, thus skirting federal laws that haven't legalized marijuana sales.