Yay!! It’s Almost Amazon Prime Day! Why should you care? It is a great opportunity to develop goodwill with your customers. Don’t miss the chance to take advantage of the cultural fanfare there will be about it. What is it really? On Monday July 15th and Tuesday July 16th, Amazon is celebrating their own holiday. According to the company, Prime … Read More
Why I Love a Bad Employee
The beauty of having bad employees is that it points out a problem. Right? When you see a problem, you have 2 options. Whine about it or address it. As I always say, there are only 2 kinds of retailers – whiners and winners. You are a winner…so let’s address the problem, shall we? The root of the problem is … Read More
Increase Your Sales Right Now
This is an actual conversation that I had with a retailer… “Cathy, my business stinks. What can I do?” “I would love to help you. Send me some information so that I can see what strategy you should take to explode your profits. In the meantime, can I give you one REVENUE-BUILDING-GUARANTEED tip?” “Please anything, I will do anything! The … Read More
A Retailer’s Guide to Margins: What Retailers Need to Know to Build a Profitable Business
No word is more important to retailers than Margins. It is crucial to building a profitable business. However, this most critical term is also the most misunderstood. What is Gross Margin? Margin refers to the retail term Maintained Markup (MMU) which is the same as the general accounting term Gross Margin. It is the difference between sales and cost of … Read More
It’s Hard To Think Past Christmas I Know But If You Don’t You Will Miss Out
We are all so focused on next week, right? It’s hard to see beyond it. Yet if you don’t start planning now, you will miss out on two key money making opportunities. The first is about scheduling your physical inventory. “How does that make money for me? Doing inventory is just a pain in my a__!” you say. The single … Read More
7 Reasons Why Team Meetings Are a Waste of Time
Just last week, I had a retailer tell me that staff meetings were a waste of time. I was shocked. I have heard many excuses why retailers don’t do them – but never heard anyone say that they weren’t worth doing at all. I asked why they thought so… and all the reasons were spewed out! Some were valid and … Read More
Want More Profit? Better Sleep? 4 Ways to Breakthrough to the Next Level
Definition of A BREAKTHROUGH: any significant of sudden advance that removes a barrier to progress. Our stated goal: To help you shift your perspective and raise your level of consciousness so that you actively create the business and life you desire by giving you concrete, actionable activities that will help you remove barriers and advance to the next level of … Read More
No More Feast or Famine Marketing!
So here you are in the midst of the spring season. Your store is full of beautiful inventory that you have spent sooooo much time carefully choosing and editing for your raving fans, so where the heck are they? Are you asking…Why does this always happen? The reason is simple. You haven’t marketed consistently. If you want consistent foot traffic … Read More
Taking It Personally
Yesterday, I visited a shop that only sells children’s books. The store was empty and I asked the clerk, “Do you know where I can find Yertle the Turtle?” He walked over to the computer, typed a few keystrokes and said, “I don’t think we have it, do you know who the author is?” Stunned silence. [I found the section … Read More
Does Your Team Have Those Winter Blahs – It’s Your Fault – Want To Fix It?
The difference between a wildly successful season and a good or bad one almost always comes down to one element. The difference won’t be the economy, the political landscape, what the competition does, or how you do your windows. The difference will be you. There is an intangible vibe that separates a winning season – and a winning store – … Read More