1. The article of the month on the Profits Plus website: What's wrong with this picture?
2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: Dreaming
3. A link to a series of articles on pricing
4. Our Power Promoting Idea of the Month:
5. Your free subscription to the e-ret@iler
6. Contacting Profits Plus Seminars and Tom Shay

Print this month's e-retailer so you can use it as a plan of action in your business

1. Doing Your Market Homework
Our September article on the Profits Plus website is entitled, "What's wrong with this picture?"
Taking from several situations we have witnessed first hand, this month's article talks about managers, hiring, and the necessary ingredients for developing a great store manager or becoming a great store manager.

Check here if you plan to use this in your business

2. September 2002 e-ret@iler advisory: Dreaming
A business owner who has been a reader of this column from the beginning shared with us an article by Chris Widener. Working to achieve your dreams is the topic, and in the article, Chris concedes that achievement is not easy. What he shares with you is the concept of breaking down achievement into steps. Take a look at these to see if they can help you in your personal and business efforts.

Dream It - "What if?" Become a dreamer. Don't allow your own negative thinking discourage you. Life is too short to not try.
Believe It - It must be big, but believable. What needs to happen for your dream to be achieved? Who has to help? And of course, you have to work hard.
See It - See the dream in your mind as being achieved.
Tell It - As you tell others, you will hear yourself talking about it. And you don't want to look silly by just talking. Now you will have to work on the dream.
Plan It - How are you going to achieve it? Make an overall plan, set a time line, and review both of them frequently.
Work It - Oh yeah, this is the tough part. And if you are really committed to your dream, you will set aside some time every day to work on it. Dreams do not come free, easy, or without your commitment to work.
Enjoy It - Take the time to relax and appreciate your effort. And when you have achieved it, never (I mean never) say, "I was lucky". The great achievers know the dream was achieved not by luck, but by their commitment.

Check here if you plan to use this in your business

3. A link to another great business article
Many of you have heard me speak on the topic of how to price products. I teach very specific techniques for improving your bottom line by identifying groups of products within your business. I also teach a strategy of using your computer to create "variable pricing". Last week I found this series of articles that approach pricing from a different, and complimenting, viewpoint. It provides you with a plan to identify where you want to be within an overall price image - are you the discount business, the "top drawer" image business, or something in between? This will help you figure out your place in your market place. Enjoy! (Sorry about all of the pop ups that will occur with that article. They do have to sell sometime.)

"Pricing Strategy".

Check here if you plan to use this in your business

4. Our Power Promoting Idea of the month: Create humorous apparel
Several of the neatest promotional ideas we have seen come from businesses that have used their customers to do their promoting for them by using t-shirts, sweat shirts, and caps.

One business uses t-shirts that have an imprint of popular sport fish on the front pocket and back. Of course, there is the advertising for their business on both sides. They change the fish every couple of months, thus making their shirts somewhat of a "collector's item". They use the clothing as prizes for many contests as well as selling them for $16.99.

Check here if you plan to use this idea in your business

5. Your free subscription to the e-ret@iler
If you have received this edition of the e-ret@iler by way of someone passing it onto you, you can get a free subscription list by clicking on this link and putting the word "subscribe" in the body or reference line of the e-mail.
You can also visit the website and click on the e-retailer logo to subscribe.

6. Contacting Profits Plus Seminars and Tom Shay
Thank you for inviting us to your desktop, and taking the time to read our newsletter. We trust you have received some business building ideas from it as we look forward to seeing you again next month.

Make an effort to locate and do business with other small businesses! Let's keep our money "in the family".

God Bless America!

Get Your Profits Plus,

Tom Shay