Are You a Frog? Warts and all? If I were to ask you: Are you a frog? Warts and all? I’m going to guess that your immediate response is: “NO! And I don’t have any warts!” But are you sure? We all know the story about the frog and boiling water. It goes that if you put a frog in … Read More
A powerful report you are probably NOT evaluating (Part 1 of 3)
To make the best decisions possible when going to market or placing orders for an upcoming season, you need to come prepared. Of course you’ll want to have your Open To Buy plan (OTB) which tells you how much you should be spending on new inventory, based on your sales history and projections. But your OTB plan is only one … Read More
Amazon Prime Days: How do you increase your sales by 176%?
Would you like to know how YOU should celebrate Amazon Prime Days? Wait, what?! Why am I asking you, an independent retailer, to cheer for Amazon Prime Days? Because this is a huge opportunity to take advantage of the cultural fanfare this event gets and puts a local twist on it to make it your own successful annual event. In fact, … Read More
7 Reasons Why Team Meetings Are a Waste of Time
I remember when a retailer told 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 some weren’t. … Read More
Don’t Miss the Pieces of GOLD at your Next Trade Show
It’s trade show time. ☺ You come back from trade shows with so much NEW…new lines, new items, new ideas and new enthusiasm. Right? Imagine today is your first day back at work. You are pumped up! As you pull up to your store you are thinking, “Just wait until my team hears about all the great new items I … Read More
10 Top Tactics to Manage Your Cash Flow Better
After having been in retail for over 30 years, there are proven tactics that work well in keeping your finances and operations going smoothly. Each one is tried and true. Most come from mistakes that I have made that I don’t want you to make. There is such value in getting an outside perspective on your own business. It’s why … 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
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
