The passing of a great one

While Tuesday, January 10 may have been just another day for many, it was a very sad day for many of us. George Whalin passed away after having fought cancer for a couple of years.

I do not think I am alone in saying that George Whalin was great; that he was a legend; that he was smart, informative, knowledgeable, caring, sharing, observant, respected, approachable, and a tremendous asset to the retail industry.

George brought very insightful observations of how and why things occurred within the trade. He could tell you why one large retailer was successful and why another was not. He told how the information from what he was sharing about these retailers could be used in your business.

Somehow he was able to find so many unique retailers and share with us what these businesses were doing so that others would want to do business with them.

What I also liked about George was that he wrote two books (a third was in progress as he passed), he wrote a monthly newsletter, and he wrote a blog. I enjoyed all of them.

You could buy George's books in many bookstores, but he would prefer you to make that purchase in an independent store. I treasure my copies as George had written personal notes to me in each of them.

Another aspect of George that I tremendously liked was that he was not out there trying to sell retailers a lot of stuff he created. George helped people to learn through what he said and wrote; not by asking you to hire him, attend his camp, pay for access to his website or newsletter or all those other things that are so rampant today.

George simply wanted to share his knowledge and give you a word of encouragement. I try to model my company, Profits Plus, after his example.

I miss my friend; in the future I will miss the excitement of knowing we were on the same program and the anticipation of getting to visit with him before and after our presentations. I appreciate that I had the opportunity to first meet George and then to get to know him. I so enjoyed our conversations and his teachings.

Thanks to his wife, Terri, having shared him with all of us and thanks to George Whalin for all he gave to all of the retail industry.

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February e-retailer conversation conference call
8pm eastern, Thursday, February 16, 2012

Thanks to all who joined us to start the new year with a conference call in January. We got the year going by looking at ways a business could take advantage of the current economic situation to make a great 2012.

For the February conversation, I got the idea for the topic based upon two recent trips. As the audience arrived, I decided I wanted to see if a certain stereotype thought I had was more than just an observation. While I know the stereotype could not hold true for everyone, I did want to see if my idea had a high percentage of being correct.

My observation was to note how people came to attend an educational session. I observed who came with paper and pen; who came sharply dressed. I also noted those that attended looking somewhat scruffy; some that needed to wear their baseball cap and sunglasses during the session.

As we had discussions during the class, my observations were proven to be true. To a large degree, you can tell who is serious about their business. I also know that it is not just what a person wears and how they attend a class. After all, there are a lot more that do not even bother to attend a class unless it is required as a part of certification for what they do for a living.

As I have the opportunity to look behind the scenes for many small businesses, I want to share what other aspects I see that differentiate those businesses that are sharp and those that are not.

Thursday, February 16 at 8pm eastern. You will get an invitation about four days before the e-ret@iler conversation conference call along with a reminder coming to you on the morning of the call.

Did you miss the opportunity to participate in some of the 2011 conference calls? We have them available for you to download or to listen to from the Profits Plus website. As always, there is no charge for them.

E-ret@iler conversations