I’ve been away from the keyboard for a while; it’s time to get back to this. I’ve had a lot of balls in the air, but I do enjoy writing. I may be a bit rusty but hope you enjoy the ride. Loyalty programs can be as simple as a “coffee card” that gets punched every time the customer places an … Read More
Anyone can start a retail business. Two words . . . Lemonade Stand! Am I right? All retail business is pretty simple, it’s exactly like your childhood project, just scaled up. Open up for business with a popular product, in a location with some traffic and charge a fair price, badda-bing-badda-boom. Let’s analyse a bit, let’s see, rent – zero, … Read More
One of my top ten favorite business books is “Customers for Life” by Dallas car dealer Carl Sewell. He’s one of the business owners I respect because he understand Retail DNA. I will refer to this book from time to time to discuss lessons for all of us in retail. For today’s post I will just share two ideas from Sewell. The first comes … Read More
The Butterfly Effect is a popular term used in discussions of Chaos Theory. It refers to is the seemingly insignificant actions that have a dramatic impact in systems like weather and climate. In business we often don’t look at an insignificant action and connect it to the resulting change in business. You must keep in mind that dots aren’t always connected by a … Read More
Today’s post is about that all important decision on the part of a retail business owner, where to hang the shingle. It’s one that has such far reaching consequences and I’ve seen struggles that have resulted in making a poor decision. Location by itself isn’t the whole issue however. The location needs to fit within the overall approach of the business. … Read More
I’ve noticed that some retailers are seriously understaffed. I have gone into stores with the intention of making a purchase and left without the item(s) I needed. I was unable to find the item and was also unable to find any help on the floor. A few years ago when the economy was very strong it was hard to find staff. Today, since … Read More
It is important in business to know what your competition is doing and anticipate how it might affect your business. A key strategy is to Zag when everyone else is Zigging. Here is one of my favorite examples. In clothing retail, most businesses concentrate on their change rooms as a vulnerable point with respect to theft. To minimize theft they … Read More
The only way to get out of my community is to go north. We have a Provincial Park to the south which is a wonderful feature for residents but it cuts off access to and from the community to the south. There is a community strip mall which is located south of my home. It’s a fairly typical retail center … Read More