Gina from Plymouth, MN.

By Florida standards it was a cold weekend when we visited Plymouth, Minnesota last October. From the hotel we were staying in, it was a good long walk to the nearby Starbucks. We weren't the only customers, but the staff did say hello as we walked in. There was this one young lady that was very engaging. She not only took the drink order, but she took the extra time to find out about us. She asked questions about the St. Louis Cardinals jacket I was wearing. When she found out we were visiting the area, she went into detail to tell us about the area.

In a humorous way, she told us about the area. She would say, "Don't 'cha know?" And explain that this was one of the many local expressions. Because of her outgoing personality, we made an extra effort to visit the shop several times. It was not so much for the drink as it was for the opportunity to have fun and be entertained by Gina.

Do you have anyone like that working for you? We should all try to be more like this. And if you are in Plymouth, Minnesota please stop by the Starbucks on Campus Drive and ask for Gina.

If you are going to put some money into some form of investment, surely one of the first questions you will ask is with regard to what the return will be on your investment. Yet, when we have a business, we invest a lot of money in fixtures, inventory, equipment and sometimes a building. But for some reason after we make that initial outlay, we fail to check to see if that money invested in our business is giving us a good return on our money.

Take a look at this calculator to see how your money is working for you. Click on this link to visit this page: Return on Investment

Speaking of getting a good return on investment, as we start the new year there are two positions open in our small business coaching program. This is where you get some great one-on-one coaching with guaranteed results! We take a limited number of coaching clients during the year. If you are ready to take your business to a new level for 2007, download the coaching application and get one of these last two spots.

Small Business Coaching Application

"January Coupon" Sale

It seems that all the world thinks January is one big clearance sale. If this is the situation with your business and you have decided to participate, here is a great way to get rid of a lot of miscellaneous items - those too numerous to mention and too few to list in your advertising. First, create a "January Coupon" table that is in a prominent place in your business. Don't forget to create some appropriate signage for the table. Second, retag all the merchandise you are putting on the "January Coupon" table to full price.

As a customer purchases regular price merchandise from throughout your shop, give them one of your "January coupons", good on their next trip in. The coupon should be for a certain percentage off of the original price of anything on the "January coupon" table. You should expect this will have to be a sizable discount, and you should be glad to get rid of this merchandise that did not move during the Christmas holidays.

This idea is on page 97 of our first Ideas book. When you click on this link, look for the book with the blue cover.

Profits Plus Resource Center

Why can't he solve problems on his time?

Each month we pose a challenge from a reader. We invite you to submit your ideas as to how you would solve the problem. We will award a copy of one of our books to you when your question is posed as the question of the month. We take all of the solutions submitted and post them with the question on our website.

Here is the question for December from a business owner in Michigan: "I have a problem with my sales people. We carry a wide range of products with prices that range from a few dollars to several thousand dollars. As a salesperson is working with a customer, at the first sign of an objection from the customer, they begin to cave in on price and offer a 'special price' - even if the customer has not stated that the price is their objections. What would you suggest I do?"

Click here to see the solutions to the December question.

Here is our question for January:

"He is really a good team member; but with one exception. He always has a problem that he has to solve. One day it will be that he needs to run out to pay a bill that he had forgotten to mail days earlier. Another day it will be that he has to run pick up a prescription for his child from a pharmacy that closes at 6pm. This is on top of the picking a relative up at the airport, or someone needs to be taken to the doctor."

"He has more personal challenges than all the rest of my staff added together. How can I help him get these time challenges solved away from my business?"

Lend a hand and help a fellow business owner solve this problem. Click on this, Response to the editor link and share your ideas of how to solve this. All of your responses will be posted on the Profits Plus web site.