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When asked what he does for a living, Dave Carmany, founder and president of Online Labels, Inc. tends to give a couple of different answers. “I help small businesses with their labeling needs,” or, “We sell blank labels for laser and inkjet printers.” When all else fails however, he goes back to the old standby, “Have you ever purchased label sheets from an office supply store? Well, imagine the exact same labels available in more sizes and more materials, at a fraction of the cost.”
The latter answer tends to strike the biggest chord. At one time or another, blank label sheets have made their way into every start-up company, non-profit, small business or large corporation by way of an office supply store. It was Carmany who ten years ago decided this wasn’t a monopoly, rather an opportunity.
In 1998, Carmany set out on his quest, to offer small and large businesses all over the world an affordable alternative for their label needs backed by customer support which extended beyond the initial sale. Looking at him now, one would say he’s succeeded.
“In the mid 1990’s, I was working as a customer service representative for a large custom label manufacturer, where I became intimately familiar with the ways in which companies purchased their labels,” adds Carmany. “I saw small business owners being forced to deal with high minimum order requirements, setup charges, and a myriad of other costs that made it difficult for them to launch a product without investing thousands of dollars on labels.”
With knowledge and industry research in his favor, Carmany assessed the market and realized most small business owners already had their own laser or inkjet printers as well as a basic familiarity with most desktop software applications. With this in mind, Carmany begged the question, “What if business owners could print their own product labels?” It was at that moment a company was born.
“I ratcheted up my business plan and launched OnlineLabels. The site was focused on the desktop printable blank label market, a market that was dominated by office supply store chains,” Carmany mentions. “Small businesses turned to big box retailers like Staples®, Office Depot®, and Office Max® for their labeling needs, only to be met with frustration in dealing with limited selection, order requirements and having to turn elsewhere to find accompanying design software.”
The office supply stores’ stranglehold on the market made the first few years of business very challenging for Carmany and his fledgling company. However, this Dave wasn’t about to let these Goliaths get the best of him either. He positioned Online Labels, Inc. accordingly, and within months began offering products and services that went above and beyond the retailers’ offerings. Two immediate areas of focus were offering more selection than just address and mailing labels as well as employing a manufacturer-direct pricing model that allowed him to severely undercut the office supply stores on price.
Years later, Online Labels has not only endured, but thrived. Carmany would attribute the success not only to his selection and pricing model, but to the Company’s ability to create and answer to consumers’ demand.
“Small business owners needed more sizes and material options. More importantly, they needed labels which didn’t look as though they came from an ordinary desktop printer. This was something the office supply stores couldn’t offer.”
Carmany wasn’t through with distancing Online Labels in the marketplace. Listening to the needs of small business owners all over the world, certain trends began to emerge, which translated into additional opportunities, and eventually dollars. Adding to the array of offerings, OnlineLabels.com introduced no minimum orders, same day shipping, a “No Hassle” return policy and most recently, an exclusive label design software, Maestro Label Designer.
Available free of charge to Online Labels customers, Maestro Label Designer is a breakthrough technology that allows users to design, save and print their labels right from the site. There are no downloads necessary and Maestro is considered industry-wide to be the premium alternative to bulky software and the limited design capabilities of common applications such as Microsoft Word. As Carmany puts it, “Maestro further solidifies OnlineLabels.com as a one-stop resource for almost every kind of label application.”
So how have small businesses responded? Today, thousands of companies are buying their labels from Online Labels rather than the office supply stores, and saving between 40-90% in doing so. It should be noted that small businesses aren’t the only ones paying attention to OnlineLabels.com. Currently, there are over 100 companies listed in the Fortune 500 that are regular customers of the Company.
Through it all, Carmany remains as actively engaged in the business as he was ten years ago. On a daily basis he can be found seeking out ways to improve the company, expand offerings, streamline processes and as always, enhance the customer buying experience.
“Every day, I hear stories from our customers about how much money we saved them or how our labels gave their business a jump start. These stories constantly inspire me and my employees to continue creating innovative labeling solutions for all types of businesses. The future is never certain, but we know if we stay focused on our goal of helping businesses to create great labels there will always be room for us in the market.”
So don’t be surprised if the next time Carmany is asked what he does for a living, he answers with a smile, “I like to think I help business of all sizes with their sticky situations.” He means labels, of course.
Launched 1998, Online Labels Inc. (OnlineLabels.com) has sold over 5 billion labels rapidly becoming the world’s largest supplier of blank labels for laser and inkjet printers. A division of Consolidated Label, Inc., the Company is a privately-held label manufacturer and Internet retailer based in Longwood Fla. OnlineLabels.com serves customers all over the world for personal and professional labeling needs in a variety of applications. For more information, visit the website or call 1-888-575-2235.
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jallen[.]onlinelabels.com 
