August 2025
Volume No. 26, Issue No. 9

Your customer has enough problems

Lately, I have been monitoring what people say to customers in both service and product businesses. When something is not available; a part does not arrive as expected; a challenge with an employee; or any number of possible issues, the person in the business frequently starts a long commentary and explanation about the problems the business has experienced, which have caused the issue the customer is experiencing.

I don't think the customer cares about our problems and challenges. They are interested in when they are going to get what they have asked for. Perhaps the person offering the explanation of the problems is hoping that they can deflect any negativity the customer might have toward the business. Yes, our retaining the customer and assuring them we are working to have a resolution is important. My point is that it is not important to explain our problems to the customer. Assuredly, all of us have enough problems of our own.

We all want happy customers. We cannot expect them to be happy if we are asking them to listen to the problems we are having within our business. As I write the August newsletter, I think of several businesses I have stopped doing business with because of this very issue. My suggestion is that we keep our problems and challenges to ourselves.

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We have been busy adding articles I have written from our archive to the website. As of today, we have added 19 more articles to the available list, bringing the total to 476. Each of these articles appears in its native format, which means that as you read the first couple of paragraphs, you should be able to detect what industry of small business the article was initially written for.

So, if you own a pharmacy, you may find you are reading an article that originally appeared in a trade magazine for liquor stores. If so, do not stop reading, for the basis of that article transcends to other types of small businesses.

Here is the link to the index page of the articles:

Small business management articles written by Tom Shay

Article of the Month - What's in your margins?

"What is the cost?" This is the most frequently asked question by a buyer in determining the selling price of a product or service. And with the answer, most buyers apply a multiplier factor to the cost to determine the selling price. This happens in both product and service oriented businesses.

However, cost is irrelevant in determining the selling price. While part of the answer is how much you can get for the item, there are several other factors you should consider. Take a look at this month's article to see our ideas on how you can increase your profit by tweaking your margins.

Article of the Month

Book of the month - Grinding it out

This month's book, Grinding It Out, was written by Ray Kroc and is the story of the making of McDonald's. So, what is the benefit to you of reading a story about a fast food place?

The benefit of reading this book and applying components of what is learned to your small business can cause your business to be more efficient. This also means you can have more time to concentrate on your management or ownership duties. Perhaps some of this extra time could be used to get yourself away from your business for a bit of rest. Invest a little time in yourself by taking the time to read this book.

Book of the Month

Internet Tool for Your Business -
Inventory needed per square foot

It is easy to detect a small business that has not calculated how much inventory is needed to produce the sales expected in the business. Just this past week, I visited a local auto parts store to purchase LED bulbs to replace the tail lights in one of our cars. Each tail light requires two bulbs, and most bulbs come in a package of two.

Making the choice of which brand and type to purchase was easy, as there was only one choice for which there were two packages. Every other peg hook had either one package of bulbs or was empty.

It is easy on a larger scale when you look at a business overall and see that if they sold everything in the building, they would not produce enough sales to cover the monthly expenses.

The "Inventory Needed per Square Foot" calculator helps you determine just how much inventory is necessary to produce the sales you need. The calculator will look at your square footage, margins, and turn rate to help you determine that special number.

Each month, we highlight one of 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 scenes, 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.

Internet tool of the Month

Staff Incentive for Your Business - A random act of kindness

With your employees, you probably find yourself asking or telling them to take care of various tasks associated with your business. Hopefully, they approach the task in a manner so that the results meet or exceed your expectations.

Here's an idea that can help to endear that employee to you and your business. After the employee is working on the assigned task, try walking up to them and volunteering to help them complete the task. It is still their job to complete whatever the project is, but you can create a special moment of bonding by offering to help them.

It reminds me of a visit several years ago with a gentleman who had worked in my father's business. Having not seen each other for several decades, he made this comment to a group of people: "You didn't work for Frank Shay; you worked with Frank Shay". Interesting how that comment came up as he was talking about his work experience from 60 years ago.

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.