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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.

  e-ret@iler newsletter
November 2009
Volume 10 Issue 12 Profits_Plus Solutions
Tom Shay Photo
Article of the Month

Advertising with a pencil
by
Tom Shay

November is the time of year when most businesses should be making their plans of how they are going to get their message across to customers in 2010. Years ago it was quite simple; local television, local radio, local newspaper and direct mail.

Today, there are many more choices; satellite radio, cable and satellite television, Internet and all of the various cause, social and viral marketing methods.

Regardless of the change, as business owners we need to be making the plans for the coming year. We should not be working on a month to month or week to week schedule.

The article of the month can give you some ideas of how budgeting can work.

Click on Article of the Month to read this article.
Book of the Month

The Ambitious Generation
by
Barbara Schneider
& David Stevenson

This book tells us that the current generation of teenagers are the most ambitious generation. (Are they sure about that?) Thinking that many of the readers of the e-retailer newsletter are hiring teenagers for their business, I thought this book would be a good one to help you find the necessary ways to maximize their efforts as they work for you.

We have more books to suggest for your reading. Click on Book Referral to visit this page on our site.

 
Contact Us


Profits Plus
P.O. Box 128
Dardanelle, AR
72834 USA
(727) 823-7205 Voice
(727) 898-3179 Fax

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Business Advisory

As November starts, many of you are entering your busy selling season of the year, while others are going to enjoy your off season and prepare for a great 2010. We can hope for a great holiday season, but it helps a lot more if we are doing the necessary management steps to make it successful.

I want to remind you that while some may consider Twitter to be a fad, I am finding that by following various bloggers you can quickly and easily narrow the news you are exposed to each day to that which can affect your business. Let me invite you to look at some of those I follow on Twitter for some guidelines.

We are now posting a daily article by way of Twitter. All you need is a Twitter account and to add me to the list of those you follow. Find me at ftomshay.

There will be no e-retailer conference call for November 2009. Each of the early weeknights in November find me traveling; the date we normally meet is the evening after I have shoulder surgery; and I don't think anyone wants to meet in the days just before or after Thanksgiving. We plan to return the call in December.

Santa's Magic Dust - Here is our annual reminder about a great promotion we about from D. Wedal Attig who was a mentor and graphic designer for the early years of Profits Plus. It is a promotion that any small business could easily utilize this holiday season.

Internet Tip of The Month

Cost of goods sold (Cost of doing business)

This is probably the most understood item on the profit and loss (or income) statement of a business. Let me first say what it is NOT. Cost of goods sold is not the total of inventory received or paid for during the month. The cost of goods sold is a calculation that involves inventory - both on hand and that which you have received.

To determine the cost of goods sold you start with the amount of inventory on hand, at cost, on the first day of the month. Add to that number the dollar amount, at cost, of inventory that has been received during the month. With the resulting number, you then subtract the amount of inventory that is on hand, at cost, on the last day of the month. The resulting number is the cost of goods sold.

The cost of doing business is a calculation utilized by businesses that provide a service. As an example, think about a business that repairs your car. The cost of goods sold will likely involve parts as well as the cost of the labor for installing the part. This is done so that the business can better determine the exact cost of repairing that vehicle.

The labor that cannot be directly related to the repair of the car appears in the wages section of the operating expenses.

Click on this link to learn more as well as to use our free calculator for this and 19 other financial ratios.

Cost of goods sold

The Power Promoting Idea of the Month
Teach in day & selling the turkeys

This month's power promoting idea has a bonus with two great promotions. The first is a reminder of an event that is often held around the 19th of November. It is National Teach In Day. On this day many schools invite business people to come and teach the classes.

This is a great way to introduce students to the great opportunity of being a part of the business community. Of course you can get some great publicity from it when you are creative in the way you teach, what you teach, and what you leave behind for the students. Contact your local school system to participate.

The second promotion is one that was created here in the states but can be adapted to other countries as well. Allow me to explain it in the original format.

The event begins on the weekend before the US Thanksgiving. You use multiple tables set up near the front of your store. Decorate the table in traditional fall colors and be sure to include turkeys as a part of the decoration. The one sign on the table states you are having your 'Annual Turkey Sale' beginning on the Monday morning before Thanksgiving.

On that morning, you fill the table with the appropriate merchandise which should contain several components. Some of the merchandise should be the 'turkeys' - the merchandise you definitely want to get rid of. It should be clean and if necessary, repriced to remove any signs of a previous markdown.

The merchandise selection should also include items purchased specifically for the annual turkey sale. This is where you get your vendors involved.

If you want this to become a great event that people talk about, you have to understand that you sacrifice margins for this. You have no advertising costs involved so that should allow you to be even more lenient with markdowns. This is what gets people talking about you and more people into your business.

The tables and merchandise all disappear before you open for business on the following Monday. The idea of the timing of the sale is to get people's attention before they start heading to the mall for that weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

APRIL 2024
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Small Business

AdvisorieS

"What's your score"? is the name of the April Small Business Advisory. This provides an introduction to our return on investment calculator. It is a great way to understand how well the investment you have in your small business is working for you.

Small Business

News

Top Story

We believe Thursday, April 25 is an important annual celebration for small businesses. While the name of the celebration has varied over the years, the focus is for us to take kids to work with us.

 

This is important for the kids to see what it is we do. They definitely are not going to learn about it in school. Reading the April Small Business News you will see an example from community pharmacists that emphasizes it is up to us as small business owners to introduce kids to what we do.


Article of the Month

While titled, "If not price", the April Article of the Month is asking the question about the focus of your small business in attracting and keeping customers.

 

If there is not something very special about your business, then the only attraction to your businessis that of a low price.


Book of the Month

"The plan as you go business plan" is the April book of the month. The author is Tim Berry who has also created software on the same topic.

 

I do not agree with the concept of "fill in the blank" or "create the plan as you need it" because my experience has been that you do not have as strong as a connection and understanding to your business plan unless you do it yourself and you dedicate the time to create it.
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BOOK US

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

Advisories

"What's your score"? is the name of the April Small Business Advisory. This provides an introduction to our return on investment calculator. It is a great way to understand how well the investment you have in your small business is working for you.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

We believe Thursday, April 25 is an important annual celebration for small businesses. While the name of the celebration has varied over the years, the focus is for us to take kids to work with us.

 

This is important for the kids to see what it is we do. They definitely are not going to learn about it in school. Reading the April Small Business News you will see an example from community pharmacists that emphasizes it is up to us as small business owners to introduce kids to what we do.


Article of the Month

While titled, "If not price", the April Article of the Month is asking the question about the focus of your small business in attracting and keeping customers.

 

If there is not something very special about your business, then the only attraction to your businessis that of a low price.


Book of the Month

"The plan as you go business plan" is the April book of the month. The author is Tim Berry who has also created software on the same topic.

 

I do not agree with the concept of "fill in the blank" or "create the plan as you need it" because my experience has been that you do not have as strong as a connection and understanding to your business plan unless you do it yourself and you dedicate the time to create it.

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Profits Plus Solutions, Inc.
Tom Shay
PO Box 128
Dardanelle, AR 72834
(727)823-7205