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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.

This calculator is created to assist you in maximizing your margins. The first step of this calculator is to simply calculate the gross margin of an item. The second step is where you learn how to add gross margin by moving away from absolute margins. As an example, a buyer may calculate a 40% margin with the resulting answer being $13.29. However, research shows that a customer is just as likely to purchase the item if the price is $13.99 as compared to $13.29. The additional 70 cents adds several gross margin points to the price.

Any additional margin you add at this point, falls straight to the bottom line. When you realize that the average business has a single digit net profit, in many cases this exercise can greatly increase the net profit of a business.

Step One: Enter the cost and desired selling price to determine the margin, or enter the cost and desired margin to determine the selling price.
Cost of Item: $
Desired Selling Price: $
Desired Margin: (%) %
Step Two: During the presentation on pricing strategies, Tom demonstrates a technique that will allow a business to make subtle changes in the prices of products to dramatically improve the gross profit and gross margin. To obtain the rounded up price and margin, click on the "final calc" button below. To view the PowerPoint and listen to a recording from the presentation follow this link.
Rounded Up Price: $
Rounded Up Margin: (%) %
Step Three: As you click on the "final calc" button below, the two boxes below will show how much additional gross profit and additional gross margin you will have with each item sold. To further illustrate this enhancement to your price, click on this button to see the price change analysis calculator. You will see that you can sell fewer at the higher price and enjoy the same profit.
Gross Profit Increased by: $
Gross Margin Increased by: (%) %

 

 

 

 

 

 

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©1998-2026 Profits Plus Solutions, Inc.
Tom Shay
PO Box 128
Dardanelle, AR 72834
(727)823-7205

MAY 2026
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Small Business

AdvisoriES


"It's all fun and games", is the title of the May Small Business Advisory. Too many employees think the business owner is simply renting their time. Showing up is sufficient.

 

This month's advisory shares a series of engaging activities that remind, and reward, employees that making the sale is what creates their pay check.

Small Business

NewS

Top Story

Meeting with the accountant in February before the tax return is due. I am not sure how this became a tradition. There is nothing you can do to change the numbers for 2025.

 

Why not meet in May, instead? One-third of the year would be completed, and a May meeting would allow for a discussion about what can and should be changed for the last eight months of 2026.

Article of the Month

The article of the month for May is titled, "No more tears". The discussion focuses on inventory which is a great investment in your business. But, only if you know how to manage the "open to buy" and will monitor the inventory turn rate.


Book of the Month

Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, PhD. As one who has found over the years that many of the problems in a small business occur because of the mindset of the owner of the business, this book is a must read.

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.
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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

The April Small Business Advisory quotes research performed by a faculty member at Purdue. The question was asked of 20,000 people, "What do you want in an experience with a business?".

 

The advisory shares the top five answers, for which the majority require the skills that only a human can have. It is not artificual intelligence or software that deals with customer service management.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

It has been many years since we received an email from Ron of Arrow Floor Covering. Yet we still read it time and again as there are words of wisdom in his message.

 

Would the next generation want to work in your small business?


Article of the Month

Owning a small business has a lot of similarities to owning a small business. Not so much because of the hours you spent with the business, but because of the commitment you are making to yourself, your employees and your customers.

 

The April Article of the Month is titled, "With this ring, I thee wed".


Book of the Month

Everything in the April edition of Small Business News has a tie to the connection of you and your employees to your business. The same is true with this month's book suggestion which is, "Hit Refresh" by Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft.

 

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.