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e-ret@iler
from Profits Plus and Tom Shay
ideas to sell more merchandise and services February 2006 - Our 75th consecutive issue The February e-retailer contains: 1.
The article of the month: The Need to Show More Pride in Your Employees O => Print the February issue of the e-ret@iler so you can read it at your leisure. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 1. The article of the month: The Need to Show More Pride in Your Employees Whether
your local unemployment rate is low or high, good employees are hard
to find. And when we find them, we have to work hard to keep them. The Need to Show More Pride in Your Employees O <= After printing the February e-ret@iler, check here if you plan to read the article of the month. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 2.
e-ret@iler advisory of the month: Looking to Save Time We started this book review in October, and after taking a short vacation for last month's article we will continue. The fourth point from the book is that we are all looking to save time. We can help our customers do this in two ways. One in how we merchandise the sales floor; do we make it easy for them to find what they want? Are the aisles wide and easy to navigate? If you have a double front door, are both sides unlocked? The
second way we can help people comes from what we sell. Your customers
will pay more for something that saves them time and effort. Of course,
we have to point out these benefits to our customers. But a time saver
service or product is definitely worth some extra money. And that
means some extra margin and profit for you! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 3. Web tip of the month: Days of Inventory on Hand We continue our series of looking at the many tools we have created on our website for your usage. This month we look at "days of inventory on hand". This calculation gives you an answer that is stated in a number of days. The answer means that if your business were to stop purchasing inventory today and were to sell what you have on hand until you finally sell out, how many days would it be until you ran out. Over several months, if this number grows, it means that either your sales are slowing down or your inventory levels are increasing. At first look you might think you want this number to go lower and lower. This is true to a point. And that point happens as customers ask for items and your answer is, "We are currently sold out, but should have some more in soon". Remember the comment about saving time for customers that we just discussed? If you are out of stock on items and I have to come back, you definitely are not saving me any time. Tom's suggestion is that you look at what this number has been for the past couple of years in your business and make a point to track it each month. While having it too low will create the problem we just discussed, having it too high means that your checking account could be hurting.
Days of Inventory on Hand 4. Our Power Promoting idea of the month: Mom and Pop Business Owners Day March 29 is Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. And what are you doing to celebrate it? As one who the day has been created for, are you going to have a sale to celebrate the day? How about throwing a party for yourself? Tell the media and your customers how neat it is to be among the thousands of successful Mom and Pop Business Owners. Tell them how proud you are to be among this group. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 5.
Book of the month: Hope is Not a Strategy by Rick Page Alice asked the rabbit, "Can you tell me how to get somewhere?" The rabbit said, "Where do you want to go?" Alice responded with, "I don't know." To which the rabbit said, "Then any road will get you there." The
same idea applies to the book of the month and to many businesses.
You have to have a strategy as to where you want your business to
go. It might If you have already read this book, or are looking for more books to read, follow this link to the list of suggested readings on the book referral page of the Profits Plus website. O <= After printing the Febuary e-ret@iler, check here if you plan to read the book of the month. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 6.
Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting Profits Plus and Tom Shay. Contacting
us is just as easy: That's our message for February. We hope you found the investment of your time to be worthwhile as you read our monthly newsletter. Again, my reminder. Make a point to do business with another independent. When you do, you will likely meet a person that will become a friend and runs a neat business - just like yours. Get your Profits Plus. May God bless you and yours. We will see you in March. Tom Shay |
MAY 2024
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
Small Business
The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.
Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?
Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.
Small Business
We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.
Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.
Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.
And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.
The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."
Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.
As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.
Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
