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News of the day - the final five months What can we expect in the final five months of 2019? Expect the news is going to continue to tell everyone about the closing of businesses. Note however, the businesses you see closing are the large businesses that have lost their way. They may have been an appropriate business ten or twenty years ago, but they failed to change as their customer changed. We are not talking about customers changing to Internet based businesses. We are talking about changing wants and needs. Those who are older will remember the changes as downtown was challenged by strip centers, free standing businesses, malls and later by lifestyle centers. Today we see downtowns returning to popularity when the downtown works to become relevant again. Independent grocers are growing their market share because they can select merchandise that is more relevant to their customers. Any small business, product or service oriented, can do the same for their customers. Take a look at the article of the month; it is describing how to do this very thing.
Article of the Month - How stores niche Take a look at the last word in the the title of the article of the month; niche. As a resident of the south, it is important to note how we pronounce the word. It rhymes with "itch" and does not rhyme with "quiche". Hence in business we use the rhyming expression, "The better your niche, the more you get rich". As you will read this month's article, we are suggesting you look at your business from the perspective of what you can provide to your existing and potential customers. This suggestion is doable whether you sell products, services or both. There is business to be had when we focus more on who we sell to as compared to focusing on what we want to sell.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? Jacinda Trask Speaking at a trade show last year, a close friend told me Jacinda Trask was going to be in the audience. The friend told me that once we met, Jacinda and I were going to "hit it off" very well. The reason? We both love to study and discuss small business. Jacinda has a unique history. She started working in a mass merchant; Wal-Mart to be exact. She had many job responsibilities during the years she was there. She was "discovered" by a family business that hired her to oversee their retail operations. They have 14 stores in the northeast and having seen the stores as well as met the management teams from all 14 stores, I can tell you she has done a marvelous job. We decided to invite Jacinda to share what she has learned from her experiences in the "big store" side of the world that we can apply to the small business side. Join us for the August program. As always, announcements will be sent the week of the program to those receiving our newsletter.
Book of the Month - Shops that pop Last December, Pam Danziger was the guest on Small Business Conversations. I found the book, filled with examples, to be very engaging and the type of book that I easily connected to. Let me suggest this book for your end of summer reading. When you finish this book by Pam, there are several others that Pam wrote that you can also enjoy.
Internet Tool for Your Business - a year of forecasting Each month we highlight something from the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - Gift Cards Why do we have this monthly piece in the Small Business News? An example of the reason has occurred multiple times as I have suggested during an education session at a conference or trade show, that your business will get better results by creating a series of rewards to promote desired performances. An incentive can work well as a reward when problems are not created (such as lost tools or "call backs" for a service business; the cash drawer totaling correctly at the end of the day in a retail business) Someone at the educational session responds with a, "I refuse to provide an incentive to my employees to do the job I am already paying them to do". My comment is that I agree with their concept, and when it works that way for them, would this individual call me and let me know. I am still waiting for the first phone call to that effect. An inexpensive staff incentive can be that of a gift card. It can be a gift card for your business or that of another business. The dollar amount does not have to be much; I frequently see $5 and $10 gift cards producing great results. If you can find another like minded business, you could trade gift cards to your business for gift cards at their business. Look at the margin you have on your products or services and you will see your actual cost of the gift card given go down. One additional note on incentives. They should not be a "one time" event. They don't need to go away once a problem is solved. We have found the problem returns. As one of the earliest magazine columns I wrote is titled (and is on the Profits Plus website), "It is all fun and games". 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.
What's coming up that you can promote? - October events Give your existing and potential customers a reason to celebrate. We collect information from National Day Calendar and share certain events that we know you can include as a part of your promotional efforts. Putting these together can be quick and easy, but should be planned in advance. As an example, as this is August 1 you should be looking at what you can do in October. October is: October 1 is Black Dog Day (mentioned because Rusty, the wonder dog, is black)
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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.
