PlusStuff

Utilizing Wholesale Sources

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For anybody who is in the business of selling products whether you have an eBay store, have a regular store, or maybe sell at flea markets, you’ll need dependable wholesalers that you can trust. There’s no shortage of reputable wholesalers out there that provide every imaginable type of merchandise, but locating them can be challenging. Since there is no shortage of wholesale scams as well as bogus companies either, you should be careful where you get your wholesale sources. There are many ways to discover excellent sources for your wholesale needs and ensure that you pay the best prices for the merchandise you want.

Nowadays you can find everything on the web, including wholesale sources. Even though the world wide web is one of the ideal places to locate fantastic sources for your wholesale requirements, it can also be one of the worst places to run into frauds and companies with dishonest business practices. A simple internet search for wholesalers on any search engine will come up with thousands and thousands of results, though many of them will not be for true wholesale companies, rather for wholesale directories along with companies that charge to provide wholesale information. Carrying out a search on the net for wholesalers will also provide you with plenty of sponsored advertisements most of which are for websites that list many different wholesale sources or for companies that tell you they are in the wholesale business but they are not. You can make use of internet search results from major search engines like google to find reputable sources, but it takes some time to sort through all the crap from the real wholesale companies that will benefit you.

Even though the big search engines like Google are fantastic to use for finding tons of wholesale search results, there is another internet strategy that provides a lot more targeted results. Using a specialized wholesale search engine like wholesalequest.com, wholesalelister.com and gowholesale.com will allow you to look for specific wholesale merchandise from several different genuine wholesale sources. The great thing about using a wholesale search engine is the fact that all of your search results are going to be relevant to the wholesale industry and although you will continue to come across a number of results that aren’t reputable, almost all of the sources you will find from this method are going to be real companies.

Despite the fact that the world wide web has become the go to source for almost everything you can still find great wholesale sources in some other places. There are numerous publications and magazines published for retailers either from wholesale companies or from companies that list a variety of wholesalers in a directory. Both of them are excellent ways to find products at low cost and although not all trade publications are useful, you’ll waste a lesser amount of time wading through scams and illegitimate businesses in trade publications than you will on the web. You can typically order these types of publications directly from the wholesale company you currently purchase from or pick them up at local flea markets or closeout stores. It’s also possible to perform an online search for wholesale publications in the market in which you sell.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: Business, EBay, Flea market, Merchandising, Utilizing Wholesale Sources, Wholesale, wholesale sources

Want to Learn about Wholesale Sources?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Prior to the creation of the net business owners were required to spend considerable time finding wholesale sources by contacting companies directly and looking for wholesalers in the phone book, trade publications, and at industry events. Nowadays the world wide web has made it incredibly easy to find wholesale sources even though selecting the very best source for your business still requires a lot of work. Since it is really easy to find suppliers for a huge range of items, it is even more crucial that you carefully check out every source you’re thinking of to make sure they have the prices, products, and policies that are best for you. There are numerous types of wholesale sources like manufacturers, wholesale companies and distributors, and drop shippers, Every sort of supplier has their pros and cons and you should make sure you are aware of them all prior to deciding to select a supplier for your goods.

Working directly with the manufacturer has many advantages and is the most inexpensive way to acquire products for resale. You can always get the best price even on name brand products if you purchase it directly form the manufacturer. However, numerous manufacturers will not sell directly to small businesses and almost all of them require you to make very large bulk purchases. If you can afford to make a large initial investment on merchandise and have a place to store it, then ordering directly form the manufacturer is a good option for you. Bear in mind, however, that purchasing merchandise in large quantities can backfire if the level of demand is not what you expected and you can not sell it all.

Wholesale companies are another source you could use to obtain merchandise. Wholesale companies and distributors buy in the required large quantities directly from the manufacturer and then sell the merchandise in smaller amounts to the retailer. Wholesale companies still offer you low prices, a lot lower than retail, but they are marked up from what you can expect to pay from the manufacturer. If you cannot afford to buy directly from the manufacturer a wholesaler will be the next best thing. They will allow you to buy in smaller quantities even though they often provide reduced prices for large orders which will end up being closer to manufacturer pricing. You could also have to buy from wholesalers in case you can not find a manufacturer that will sell directly to you.

Drop shippers are also a source you can use for products. Drop shippers enable you to sell items to your customers without having to package or ship anything at all. Drop shippers are only a viable choice for merchants that sell online and through catalogs. While using a drop shipper can save you time by handling packing as well as delivery of all of your products, they are the most expensive way to acquire products because they have the highest markups. For those who have no place to store merchandise drop shippers can be quite a very good option, but you have to be sure to locate a reputable one with excellent products that will sell and are not currently saturating the marketplace.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: Drop shipping, Merchandising, Online shopping, Product (business), Small Business, Want to Learn about Wholesale Sources?, Wholesale, wholesale sources

Mixer for SF Construction Projects

Mega Construction/Mega Connection

This event will feature the project sponsors and ALL prime contractors of the 9 largest construction projects going on in San Francisco. The goal is to provide local, small and disadvantaged business an opportunity to participate in these mega construction projects. This event is sponsored by Supervisor Bevan Dufty and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Projects include: Doyle Drive Replacement Project, SFPUC Capital Improvement Program, SFMTA – Central Subway, Treasure Island, TJPA – Transbay Transit Center, High Speed Rail, CPMC/St. Luke’s Hospital Projects, San Francisco General Hospital, and Hunters Point Shipyard.

Date: 10/27/10, Time: 5-7:30PM, Location: SF Design Center, 101 Henry Adams St, San Francisco, CA 94103, Contact: Lynn Van Winkle, Pendergast Consulting Group, 415-806-6005 direct, www.pendergastconsultinggroup.com. Check www.sfgov.org/osb after 10/9/10 for a complete list of participants.

• NEW! Parklets RFP (Due 10/18/10, 5PM) – Click here for details.

• NEW! Rec & Park: Pushcart Concessions in SF Parks RFP (Accepting proposals on a rolling basis) – Click for details.

• NEW! SFO: Mobile Catering Truck Request for Bid (Due 11/17/10, 10:00AM) – Click for details.

• NEW! Mega Construction/Mega Connection: – Click for details.

• Learn How To Do Business with the City of SF! Free Weekly Workshops Presented by the SF Human Rights Commission. The workshops are FREE and held EACH WEDNESDAY of the month at 1485 Bayshore Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94124. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended. Click here for details.

• Doyle Drive Reconstruction Project - Small Business Opportunities

• City and County of San Francisco Contracting Opportunities Visit www.sfgov.org/oca and click on Bids and Contracts Database and Required Vendor Forms.

• City and County of San Francisco Surety Bond & Finance Program – For more information, contact: Nancy Owens, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services, 417 Montgomery Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94104. Phone:  415 986-3999 www.imwis.com

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tags: Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Mega Construction Mega Connection, Mixer for SF Construction Projects, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay Area, San Francisco Contracting Opportunities, SF Construction Projects, Small Business Opportunities

RFPs & Contracting Opportunities

• Learn How To Do Business with the City of SF! Free Weekly Workshops Presented by the SF Human Rights Commission
The workshops are FREE and held EACH WEDNESDAY of the month at 1485 Bayshore Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94124. Reservations are not required, but highly recommended. Click here for details.

• Doyle Drive Reconstruction Project – Small Business Opportunities
Visit http://www.presidioparkway.org/contractors/small_business_opportunities.aspx

• Recovery Act Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses
For information about Small Business Contracting Opportunities from the Recovery Act, visit www.sba.gov/recovery

• City and County of San Francisco Contracting Opportunities
Visit www.sfgov.org/oca and click on Bids and Contracts Database and Required Vendor Forms.

• City and County of San Francisco Surety Bond & Finance Program
For more information, contact: Nancy Owens, Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services, 417 Montgomery Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94104. Phone:  415 986-3999 www.imwis.com

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, RFPs & Contracting Opportunities, San Francisco, SF Human Rights Commission

WWW.RECOVERY.ORG

Stay Abreast of Procurement Opportunities Using WWW.RECOVERY.ORG

Recovery.org, a service of Onvia, is tracking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending by Federal, State and Local agencies and provides detailed information about what is happening in our States and Municipalities – from the moment ARRA funds are approved, to a government agency’s issuance of a Bid or RFP, through contract award to a business.

Onvia developed Recovery.org to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to recovery spending* and to ensure that every business, regardless of size, has equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts. In order to create jobs, businesses need information about when and where ARRA-funded projects are happening, and they need to know early on in order to prepare and submit bids/proposals. Onvia’s Recovery.org site provides early notices of projects, RFPs, bid documents, amendments to these documents, and contract award information about contractor and subcontractor recipients of Recovery funds, as close to real-time as is possible. Business owners need this information in order to actually win Recovery-funded contracts and thereby hire or retain employees to perform on the contract.

Onvia is the leading provider of Business-to-Government solutions in the United States, covering the broadest set of industries and products at every level of the public sector – Federal, State, Local and Education. For more than twelve years, Onvia has delivered unparalleled coverage of government purchasing activity and commercial/residential projects for clients in a variety of industries, including:

• Architecture and Engineering
• Construction
• IT/Telecom
• Healthcare
• Operations and Maintenance
• Professional Services
• Transportation
• Water and Energy/Alternative Energy

Businesses across the United States rely on Onvia as a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information needed to make intelligent sales decisions. Find out what Onvia’s paid subscribers already know. To receive five free project leads related to your business, call 1-800-331-2822.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA, bid, Opportunities, Procurement, Procurement Opportunities, recovery spending, RFP, WWW.RECOVERY.ORG

Business Development Program for Small Businesses

SBA Proposes New Regulations to Strengthen the 8(a) Business Development Program for Small Businesses

The U.S. Small Business Administration this week announced proposals aimed at strengthening opportunities for disadvantaged small businesses to benefit from its 8(a) Business Development program.

The proposed 8(a) regulation changes are the result of the first comprehensive review of the 8(a) program in a number of years and were published today in the Federal Register. The rules cover a variety of areas of the program, ranging from providing further clarification on determining economic disadvantage to requirements on Joint Ventures and the Mentor-Protégé program. The public comment period on the proposed changes is open for 60 days.

“The 8(a) program has a proven record as an effective program for helping disadvantaged small businesses gain access to training and contracting opportunities to help them grow, create jobs and ultimately succeed in the marketplace once they graduate from the program,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “These proposed changes build on that foundation of success, and will strengthen the program and maximize its benefits for eligible small businesses.”

The 8(a) program is a nine-year business development program for small businesses that fit the SBA’s criteria of being socially and economically disadvantaged.  The 8(a) program helps these firms develop their business and provides them with access to government contracting opportunities, allowing them to become solid competitors in the federal marketplace.  It also provides specialized business training, counseling, marketing assistance and high-level executive development to its participants.  In FY08, small businesses received $16.1 billion in 8(a) contracts.

Some of the components of the 8(a) program that the proposed changes will affect include:

• Joint Ventures – qualifying that 8(a) firms are required to perform a significant portion of the work to ensure that these companies are able to build capacity;
• Economic Disadvantage – providing more clarification on economic disadvantage as it relates to total assets, gross income, retirement accounts and a spouse of an 8(a) company owner in determining the owner’s access to capital and credit;
• Mentor-Protégé Program – requiring that assistance provided through the Mentor-Protégé relationship is directly tied to the protégé firm’s business plan;
• Ownership and Control Requirements – providing flexibility in admitting individuals of immediate family members of current and former 8(a)participants;
• Tribally-Owned Firms – seeking public comments on the best way to determine whether a tribe meets the criteria of being economically disadvantaged for the 8(a) program;
• Excessive Withdrawals – amending regulations on what is considered excessive as a basis for termination or early graduation from the 8(a) program; and
• Business Size for Primary Industry – requiring that a firm’s size status remainsmall for its primary industry code during its participation in the 8(a) program.

Small businesses may submit comments to this proposed rule on or before Dec. 28, 2009, to www.regulations.gov, where they will be posted or mailing them to 409 3rd St. SW, Mail Code: 6610, Washington, DC  20416 or via e-mail at:
8aBD2@sba.gov.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: Business Development, Business Development Program for Small Businesses, disadvantaged small businesses, SBA, Small Business Administration, small businesses

Stimulus Opportunities for Small Business

The Stimulus Opportunities for Small Business program is a FREE half-day session featuring buyers for state and federal government projects, as well as buyers from large corporations.  It will also feature local panelists able to offer insight into the latest developments in surety bonding and local workforce investment initiatives.

San Francisco Workshop scheduled for November 19.

For more information and to register go to: http://californiasbdc.org/stimulus.

Recovery Act Contracting Opportunities

For information about Small Business Contracting Opportunities in the Recovery Act click on the link below.  Please pass this along to all interested parties.

http://www.sba.gov/recovery/

City and County of San Francisco Contracting Opportunities

The Office of Contract Administration lists available contract opportunities on their Bids and Contracts Database.  You may also find information and required forms for becoming a city vendor.  For more information visit: www.sfgov.org/oca and click on Bids and Contracts Database and Required Vendor Forms.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: contracting opportunities, local workforce investment initiatives, Recovery Act, Recovery Act Contracting Opportunities, Stimulus Opportunities for Small Business, surety bonding

Recovery Act Procurement Opportunities

Recovery.org, a service of Onvia, is tracking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) spending by Federal, State and Local agencies and provides detailed information about what is happening in our States and Municipalities – from the moment ARRA funds are approved, to a government agency’s issuance of a Bid or RFP, through contract award to a business.

Onvia developed Recovery.org to bring unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability to recovery spending* and to ensure that every business, regardless of size, has equal access to the projects associated with the recovery efforts. In order to create jobs, businesses need information about when and where ARRA-funded projects are happening, and they need to know early on in order to prepare and submit bids/proposals. Onvia’s Recovery.org site provides early notices of projects, RFPs, bid documents, amendments to these documents, and contract award information about contractor and subcontractor recipients of Recovery funds, as close to real-time as is possible. Business owners need this information in order to actually win Recovery-funded contracts and thereby hire or retain employees to perform on the contract.

Onvia is the leading provider of Business-to-Government solutions in the United States, covering the broadest set of industries and products at every level of the public sector – Federal, State, Local and Education. For more than twelve years, Onvia has delivered unparalleled coverage of government purchasing activity and commercial/residential projects for clients in a variety of industries, including:

• Architecture and Engineering
• Construction
• IT/Telecom
• Healthcare
• Operations and Maintenance
• Professional Services
• Transportation
• Water and Energy/Alternative Energy

Businesses across the United States rely on Onvia as a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information needed to make intelligent sales decisions. Find out what Onvia’s paid subscribers already know. To receive five free project leads related to your business, call 1-800-331-2822.

All updates on recovery projects available at http://www.recovery.org/for_businesses.aspx?gloc=ALAMEDA+[CA]*CNT:06001&mloc=CA$001#

Popularity: 2% [?]

Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, bid, contract, proposals, RFP

Become a Certified Local Business!

Each year, the City and County of San Francisco awards over $710 million in contracts to businesses. The Chapter 14B Local Business Enterprise and Non-Discrimination in Contracting Ordinance of the San Francisco Administrative Code helps certain financially disadvantaged businesses increase their ability to compete effectively for these City contracts.

There are three main benefits to becoming certified as a Local Business Enterprise (LBE). First, LBE certified businesses are entitled to a 10% bid discount or ratings bonus on the bids or proposals they submit on City contracts subject to this ordinance. Second, LBE certified businesses benefit from subcontracting or subconsulting goals set for most City contracts. Third, some contracts are set aside for very small businesses to participate directly as prime contractors.

Read full article >

Popularity: 5% [?]

Tags: Become a Certified Local Business, certified business, City and County of San Francisco, city contracts, Contracting, LBE, LBE certified businesses, Local Business Enterprise

San Francisco Procurement Ordinance

The Small Business Commission Seeks Public Comment Regarding Local Business Enterprise (LBE) Ordinance on Monday,  April 6th at City Hall in Room 400 at 5:30 pm

Board of Supervisor’s President David Chiu introduced legislation to support LBE Contracting with the City..

1. require departments to set aside contracts worth $400,000 or less for the Micro-Local Business Enterprise Set Aside Program;
2. create a pilot Graduated Local Business Enterprise program that will enable graduated firms to receive a 5% bid discount; and
3. allow bidders and proposers the flexibility of meeting the participation goal by either achieving adequate good faith efforts or by meeting and/or exceeding the participation goal based on the availability of MBEs, WBEs, and OBEs.

(http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/committees/materials/090320tdr.pdf)

On Monday, April 6th, the Small Business Commission will discuss components of a complimentary ordinance to place mandatory goals on prime vendors to purchase goods and services from LBE’s.  Since a majority of the prime vendors doing business with the City are located outside of San Francisco and few LBE’s are not currently contracting with the City, an ordinance should be put in place to move some of the dollars spent with prime vendors into the local economy.  We can learn from corporate best practices and implement a measurement that would mandate a minimum spend of contract into LBE’s without negatively impacting administration.  . A corporate supplier diversity executive will present to the Commission and tell how they increased small business participation and how the City can benefit from a similar plan.

This can be a groundbreaking ordinance for our local business community.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Tags: LBE, Local Business Enterprise, MBE, Procurement, San Francisco, San Francisco Procurement Ordinance, Small Business Commission, supplier diversity, WBE