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Article of the Month |
Creating an 'Open to Buy'
by Tom Shay
Any business that sells a product needs to have a system by which they control their inventory.
Maintained properly, inventory is the best investment any small business can make. However, it requires that the inventory is maintained at the appropriate levels at the beginning of the selling season, throughout the selling season, and at the end of the selling season.
When inventory is maintained properly, the return on your investment is tremendous.
Enjoy this article and learn the technique for maximizing your ROI.
Click on Article of the Month to read this article. |
Book of the Month |
Turning your workplace into a WOWplace
by Sandy Geroux, MS
As I read this just released book on the work place, I am reminded of something I heard Randy Clark of the NSSF say last year.
He told the story of two high school classmates who got jobs at a railroad. One became the president while the other was doing landscape work around the headquarters.
The one who became president said, "I went to work for a railroad while he went to work for a pay check".
Sandy explains how you create people whose thought process is like that of the railroad president. Of course, they can't all be the president, but surely you would be WOWed by a business where all of the employees took ownership of taking care of the customer.
Click on Book Referral to see the complete list of small business books we have found that can be helpful to your business.
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Contact Us |
Profits Plus
P.O. Box 128
Dardanelle, AR
72834 USA
(727) 823-7205 Voice
(727) 898-3179 Fax
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Is your community celebrating
Independent Retailer Month? How about your business?
The June e-ret@iler gave you the details of Independent Retailer Month; how and why it was first created. Today is the first of 31 days in which you can tell your customers and community how much an independent retailer adds to the community.
Here's the link to get involved
indieretailermonth.com
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E-ret@iler conversation for July will be Thursday, the 24th at 8pm eastern. Our guest will be Phil Perry, the syndicated magazine columnist on small business management.
We will be visiting with Phil to discuss the many experts he has interviewed over the years and what he has learned from them.
E-ret@iler conversations
We have added a new calculator to the Profits Plus website. In the past year doing presentations on financial management, I have demonstrated a new arrangement for your profit and loss statement. The new arrangement allows you to more easily and quickly understand the information. With the better understanding you can make better decisions.
There is a detailed explanation on the page of how it works and what it can do for you. We call this new calculator the Logical Profit and Loss statement.
| Internet Tip of The Month |
Small business financial test
An old saying is 'in with the new and out with the old'. However, this month we think that is not appropriate.
When we first had the idea in the late 1990's to add some interactive components to the Profits Plus website, we thought one or two items would suffice. Now we are up to 43 and we are dreaming up more.
The original one was a 20 question multiple choice test to let you see what you did, and did not know about financial statements.
While you do get a score, just like school, when you complete the test, the intent was to help you understand the need to speak with your accountant and gain an understanding. The more you understand, the more you can profit.
Small business financial test
| The Power Promoting Idea of the Month |
Don't hide what you do
This month I am going to be with a group that I have visited with multiple times. There is an attendee that sticks in my memory because this person understands how to promote their business to get more business.
Think about what you do that can be 'mysterious' to your customers. It could be the florist arranging flowers, the mechanic adjusting something on your car, the hardware store fixing something on your grill, or a clothing store that makes an adjustment on a piece of clothing you purchase.
In the case of the person I am thinking of, he likes to show his customers how he does what he does. He knows what is going to happen next; the customer always asks him for a product or service that he sells to them and of course, he makes money from this.
Sharing is an investment in your customer. It helps the customer to increase their interest in what you sell them (product or service). It just makes sense.
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