The February issue of the e-ret@iler contains:

1. The article of the month: Little Ideas Make
a Difference
2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: March 29
3. Sales tip of the month: The lame product
4. Web tip of the month: Cashflow calculator
5. Our Power Promoting idea of the month: Promote
with soft drink vendors
6. Book of the month: Customers for Life
7. Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting
Profits Plus and Tom Shay

=> Print the February issue of the e-ret@iler so
you can read it at your leisure.

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1. Article of the month: Little Ideas Make a
Difference

Do you have some new competition in the area?
Looking for a way to regain some of that market
share that you may have lost to them - whether
it is a temporary or permanent loss? Take a look
at this month's article and see some proven
ideas that can help you win this battle.

Little Ideas Make a Difference

O <= After printing the February e-ret@iler, check
here if you plan to read the article of the month.

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2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: March 29
is Mom and Pop Business Owners' Day

Looking for an event you can use to promote
in the coming month that will call attention to
your type of business? March 29 is recognized as
Mom and Pop Business Owners' Day. In the past
we have seen some businesses that have called on
their local media to promote this event. It makes
for a great human interest story when television,
radio and newspapers tell of the uniqueness
of a locally owned business.

Imagine a full-page article that highlights locally
owned businesses. Or how about a radio station that
does a short bit every hour about one of the locally
owned businesses! Here is your heads-up to get
started in February on this day of celebration
for March 29.

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3. Sales tip of the month: The lame product

In talking about our waiting on customers, last
month we promoted the idea of starting the interaction
with customers by simply smiling at them. Of
course, if they go wandering about the
store after you have smiled at them, then
eventually we have to seek them out and start a
conversation.

One way of getting closer to a customer is to make
a point to walk down the aisle where the customer
is (or by the rack where he is looking) and pick
up a product as if you were going to take it to
another customer. Customers don't see this as chasing
them down, as many stores do, and you can then give
them a casual, "Good morning." It surely is a better
icebreaker than that old and worn out, "Can I
help you?"

O <= After printing the February e-ret@iler, check
here if you plan to use this tip.

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4. Web tip of the month: Cashflow

Without question, this is the most necessary
management tool in business. While we have written
a book on this topic (that contains templates you
can load onto your computer), there is now a
sample cashflow calculator available to you on the
website.

The sample calculator will allow you to work two
months of information and include whatever lines
that appear on your profit-and-loss statement.Take
a look at this sample cashflow calculator on the
Profits Plus website to see what this concept can
do for your business. Then visit your accountant
and demand that they help you implement this tool
in your business.

Sample Cashflow Calculator

O <= After printing the February e-ret@iler, check here
if you plan to look at the sample cashflow calculator
page.

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5. Our Power Promoting idea of the month:
Promote with soft drink vendors

Many of the distributors of soft drinks (Pepsi,
Coca-Cola, RC) have a food vending wagon that
they allow their retail customers to use at no
cost! The vending wagon (it looks like a
miniature house trailer) is set up to vend
their soft drink as well as prepare and sell
hot dogs and hamburgers.

From our experience with this idea, the soft
drink vendor will stock the wagon, and allow you
to sell the food and drink, without any initial
outlay of money. The combination of food and
drink sells for $1.00, of which the vendor will
charge you fifty cents after the event.

Many soft drink vendors will require that you
also run a promotion selling their two litre
drinks. While this is a draw of customers within
itself, it can work even better if you invite
a local charitable group to staff the wagon
with the proceeds of the foods sales going to
their group.

Of course as you do this, be sure to assist
that charitable group in promoting their
efforts which will take place in front of
your business. They will usually do a great
job of attracting people that support their
group - many of which these people have
never done business with you. Often you
find that you gain new repeat customers because
they are appreciative of your supporting one
of their favorite causes.

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6. Book of the month: Customers for Life

The title explains it clearly and simply. The
authors are Carl Sewell and Paul B. Brown. And
if you are going to go to a bookstore to
purchase this book, please try to locate a locally
owned store. Amazon, Borders, Chapters, Barnes & Noble,
Wal-Mart and all of those other mass merchants already
have enough business!

If you have already read this book, or are looking
for more books to read, click on this link to
see our book referral list.

Book Referral List

O <= After printing the February e-ret@iler, check here
if you plan to read the book of the month.

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7. Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting
Profits Plus and Tom Shay

The subscription is free. Just remember if you
are changing your Internet service provider, you
will need to enter your new e-mail address
to keep the e-ret@iler coming.

If you received the e-ret@iler by way of someone
that passed it to you, then you can easily get your
own subscription.

Contacting us is just as easy:
The phone is 727-823-7205
The fax is 727-898-3179
The mailing address is:
PO Box 128
Dardanelle, AR 72834 USA

Thanks for visiting with us this month. We
appreciate your taking time from your
busy schedule. Our goal is to help you and
your business to become more profitable. We hope
we have done that.

This issue represents the beginning of our 6th
year of sending the Profits Plus e-ret@iler to
you on the first of each month. We create it
to express our appreciation for the many
people that have attended the educational
session I have given over the years. From the
e-mails and calls we have received as well
as the comments made at these sessions, we
thank you for your reading it, and for the
business you have given us.

We encourage you to seek out and do business
with other independently owned businesses. If
you are wanting people to do business with you
because you are a locally owned business, then
it stands to reason that we should be doing
what we are asking others to do.

Get your Profits Plus. May God bless you and yours.
We will see you in March 2005.

Tom Shay