Oct 26, 2008 - 04:05:19 CDT
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Small changes by area businesses are leading to big savings.
Employees at Basin Electric, for example, traded expensive Styrofoam cups for ceramic mugs. At Open Road Honda, they've started printing on both sides of the paper and the employees at Hellman Brothers Men's Clothing have reduced their travel expenses by a third.
For many area businesses, the floundering economy and national fiscal turmoil has prompted small budget changes that add up to big advantages. Most businesses haven't taken the more drastic measures of slashing staff or reducing operation hours, although Bobcat recently announced it would shut down operations for six weeks in the winter, and a few significant businesses have closed up shop in the past few months.
"Ithink that what we see is businesses watching the national economy very closely,"said Kelvin Hullet, president of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce. "At this point, they don't feel like it has had a tremendous impact on North Dakota, but they are looking at their business and determining how they can be more efficient."
After facing daunting bills, skyrocketing energy costs and fee-heavy shipping costs, Annette Caldwell at Open Road Honda decided to bring budgeting down to the basics.
"We're in an interesting market where both our expenses are going up but income is going down, because sales have dropped,"Caldwell said. The market for big-ticket items has slowed in the area, she said, but not significantly.
"The national economy news has people worried, even though they may not feel the effects of it right now,"she said, noting they experienced a slight decrease in sales this season over last year.
Caldwell began to look at their fixed costs, to see what could be shaved without sacrificing the product or their business model. They found that using the postal service instead of higher-priced delivery services was far more efficient when mailing in-state, for example. They found a Web site called www.shippingsidekick.com that all employees now use to figure out the most efficient way to ship.
They also began to reuse paper, cardboard and storage boxes.
For Randy Hellman at Hellman Brothers Men's Clothing, they're doing everything they can to cut baseline expenses without sacrificing their service or product.
"From a cost standpoint, we're just controlling everything that we can possibly control,"Hellman said. "We have to have merchandise to sell for the new season. We've stayed on plan and have not gone over that."
They've started cutting travel expenses though, only going to two markets this year instead of their traditional three. They're working on a bare bones staff, he said, but will need to add a part-timer for the holidays.
Hullet said most businesses are eyeing their energy efficiency going into the winter. That means everything from thinking about shutting lights off at night to changing to energy-efficient bulbs, as Hellman has done.
Workers at Open Road Honda are unplugging everything that's not in use, like chargers, surge protectors or other appliances.
"One charger is not that big of a draw,"Caldwell said. "But when I walked through and counted all of the things that are plugged in ... it was pretty alarming."
Over the past two years, Basin Electric Power Cooperative has implemented energy savings and cost saving measures from heating and cooling systems down to motion-sensitive lights. Bathroom lights are motion-sensitive, fixtures have been replaced with lower wattage bulbs and employees are encouraged to turn off lights when leaving their offices.
Overall, Basin's more than 15 energy efficiency measures will save more than 1.6 million kilowatts this year, enough to power 150 homes, said Daryl Hill, communications supervisor with the cooperative.
"Sometimes a series of small changes can lead to great things,"Hill said.
At Basin, humidifiers only operate during the winter months and only eight hours a day, and the company's windows have been re-caulked, for example.
For Caldwell, it's about being intuitive with your spending, she said, but not something you think about until you're faced with tough financial times. The savings and stable pricing is passed down to the consumer, too, she said.
"My analogy is, when the river is high, you don't see the rocks and you don't see the sandbars,"she said. "But they're still slowing down your flow. When the river is low, you see the rocks and the sandbars, and you got to dig them out to make it go faster."
(Reach reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)
Employees at Basin Electric, for example, traded expensive Styrofoam cups for ceramic mugs. At Open Road Honda, they've started printing on both sides of the paper and the employees at Hellman Brothers Men's Clothing have reduced their travel expenses by a third.
For many area businesses, the floundering economy and national fiscal turmoil has prompted small budget changes that add up to big advantages. Most businesses haven't taken the more drastic measures of slashing staff or reducing operation hours, although Bobcat recently announced it would shut down operations for six weeks in the winter, and a few significant businesses have closed up shop in the past few months.
"Ithink that what we see is businesses watching the national economy very closely,"said Kelvin Hullet, president of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce. "At this point, they don't feel like it has had a tremendous impact on North Dakota, but they are looking at their business and determining how they can be more efficient."
After facing daunting bills, skyrocketing energy costs and fee-heavy shipping costs, Annette Caldwell at Open Road Honda decided to bring budgeting down to the basics.
"We're in an interesting market where both our expenses are going up but income is going down, because sales have dropped,"Caldwell said. The market for big-ticket items has slowed in the area, she said, but not significantly.
"The national economy news has people worried, even though they may not feel the effects of it right now,"she said, noting they experienced a slight decrease in sales this season over last year.
Caldwell began to look at their fixed costs, to see what could be shaved without sacrificing the product or their business model. They found that using the postal service instead of higher-priced delivery services was far more efficient when mailing in-state, for example. They found a Web site called www.shippingsidekick.com that all employees now use to figure out the most efficient way to ship.
They also began to reuse paper, cardboard and storage boxes.
For Randy Hellman at Hellman Brothers Men's Clothing, they're doing everything they can to cut baseline expenses without sacrificing their service or product.
"From a cost standpoint, we're just controlling everything that we can possibly control,"Hellman said. "We have to have merchandise to sell for the new season. We've stayed on plan and have not gone over that."
They've started cutting travel expenses though, only going to two markets this year instead of their traditional three. They're working on a bare bones staff, he said, but will need to add a part-timer for the holidays.
Hullet said most businesses are eyeing their energy efficiency going into the winter. That means everything from thinking about shutting lights off at night to changing to energy-efficient bulbs, as Hellman has done.
Workers at Open Road Honda are unplugging everything that's not in use, like chargers, surge protectors or other appliances.
"One charger is not that big of a draw,"Caldwell said. "But when I walked through and counted all of the things that are plugged in ... it was pretty alarming."
Over the past two years, Basin Electric Power Cooperative has implemented energy savings and cost saving measures from heating and cooling systems down to motion-sensitive lights. Bathroom lights are motion-sensitive, fixtures have been replaced with lower wattage bulbs and employees are encouraged to turn off lights when leaving their offices.
Overall, Basin's more than 15 energy efficiency measures will save more than 1.6 million kilowatts this year, enough to power 150 homes, said Daryl Hill, communications supervisor with the cooperative.
"Sometimes a series of small changes can lead to great things,"Hill said.
At Basin, humidifiers only operate during the winter months and only eight hours a day, and the company's windows have been re-caulked, for example.
For Caldwell, it's about being intuitive with your spending, she said, but not something you think about until you're faced with tough financial times. The savings and stable pricing is passed down to the consumer, too, she said.
"My analogy is, when the river is high, you don't see the rocks and you don't see the sandbars,"she said. "But they're still slowing down your flow. When the river is low, you see the rocks and the sandbars, and you got to dig them out to make it go faster."
(Reach reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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