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July is Independent Retailer Month We start June with an update on Independent Retailer Month which begins on July 1. The first book I wrote was a collection of ideas I shared from the experiences of many of you. There were 100 unique promotions in the books; adaptable for most every business. Then came a new topic I shared at many trade shows and conferences titled, "Power Promoting" or "the posters" as the topic became known. To add substance to one of the promotions, I spent the price of a stamp to create and register a special event with Chase's Calendar of Events. At that time, around 2002, the Chase book was one that the media used when they told you when special days were (Like national chocolate cake day [January 27] and national black dog day [October 1]. The original name was slightly different, and the event started as a one week event. It appeared in the 2003 edition of Chase's Calendar of Events. Now the event is 30 days long and 2021 is the 19th year. The website is indieretailermonth.com and it has lots of information that will benefit your business. We are riding a wave of communities promoting, "shop local". This is a great time for you to join the effort. Here is your 30 day notice to get ready to celebrate.
Article of the Month - Three tips to thrive Fasten your seat belt; the economy appears to be kicking into turbo drive. What does this mean for your business? The first question we want to ask is relevant to every business. Are you driving the growth in revenue and profit in your business? Or, are you just riding the wave of a booming economy? There are three things we hope you are watching; your financials, your marketing, and your staff. Hence, the article for June focuses on these three concerns.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? Scott Wagman Scott Wagman walked into our business somewhere in the 1980's. Something about him said this would be a person I would want to know. That intuition was correct. We share Scott Wagman with you in the June Small Business Conversations program. Scott, very successfully, grew a small business into a regional business. The focus of our conversation will be the "how" of Scott's effort. You may not be thinking of growing your business into a multi-faceted or multi-location operation. However, the essence of what Scott did in operating his business so that he had the option of growing will be of value to everyone. The invitation will be coming to your email inbox soon. The live program will be on a Thursday evening at 8 pm Eastern. You will also be able to listen to the recording in any of the 15 leading podcast services.
Book of the month - Luxury Marketing Disrupted by Pamela Danziger Pamela Danziger was a fascinating guest on our Small Business Conversations podcast. We had invited her because of one of her books we had read. Now, another Pamela Danziger book is our book of the month; Luxury Marketing Disrupted. Every type of business, whether it went boom or bust in the past 16 months, has been disrupted. Danziger shares a valuable lesson in handling the change. She explains the change of the four "P"s into the four "E"s. We'll leave it to you in reading the book to understand the important transition.
Internet Tool for Your Business - Individual item margin (it's not markup) - As I write this segment of Small Business News, I am thinking about a friend who heads a trade association. Upon reading this, I expect to hear from him as his association teaches this business calculation differently. When you look at what profit you are making in the sale of an individual item, we look at that profit in two ways - as a dollar amount and as a percentage. Our example is an item, or service, selling for $10 with a cost of $6. The gross profit is $4. When you divide the $4 gross profit by the $10 selling price the answer is .4 and if you remember what we all had in high school math, you make this a percentage by moving the decimal point two places to the right. The .4 becomes 40% which is your gross margin. So, why is it margin and not markup? Because the math for the individual item is the same as the math that is on the income statement to determine your gross profit. By the way, if we were calculating this as markup the answer would be substantially different. But that discussion is for another day.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - A bit of appreciation We are not sure when we are going to get to the point that everyone agrees the pandemic is over; definitely not this year. So, even as the media finds something else to talk about, we should continually be thinking about the people working in our businesses. Appreciation never goes out of style. Recognition is never a waste of your time. It is a new month today. When was the last time you did something special for those working in your business? Recognition and appreciation could be as simple as your baking cookies and taking them to your staff. (Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite) You will surely be asked, "What is the occasion?" No special occasion; just appreciation. And when you think about the shortage of people to work in your business, I hope you think about your efforts to keep those you have. We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
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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.
