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

1. The article of the month: Potato Chips
2. e-ret@iler advisory of the month: Vacations
3. Our Power Promoting idea of the month: Donation
advertising
4. Your e-ret@iler subscription and contacting
Profits Plus and Tom Shay

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

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1. Article of the month: Potato Chips

We could be talking about food in the September
article of the month. Instead, we are talking
about the various ways that potato
chips are packaged for consumers, how they come
out of the bag or container, and how those
options bear strong resemblances to the sales
floor of many businesses. From there, we leave
you room to think about how your sales floor
affects what your customers think of your
business.

Click on this link to visit the Profits Plus
website to read the September article of the month.

Potato Chips

0 <= After printing the September 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: Vacations

With September the fall arrives, schools reopen,
activities that were halted for the summer start
up again, and the traditional vacation season is
over. So, where did you go on your vacation this
year? How long did you take off from the business
to relax, enjoy friends and family, and to get your
head out of the business for a while?

What?? You say that you did not take a vacation.
Things were just too busy back at the store. Maybe
sales were not up to where you wanted them to be,
so you decided to save the cost of the vacation and
the cost of having extra help to cover the store
while you were gone. Maybe 2004 will be the year
that you will get around to it.

To begin with, you are not unique in your thinking.
Research that was published in Business Week
magazine this week showed that 54% of all the
residents in the United States decided to opt out
of a vacation for 2003. Folks in the northeast
were the largest group that passed on a vacation
for this year as 68% said they would stay home.

Running a business is a lot more like a marathon in
that it resembles the 100 yard dash. Thinking that
this is a 100 yard dash is often evidenced by
those who are repeatedly putting in 60 plus hours
each week. When you stand back and look at a
business owner or manager, which one would you
gauge to be more successful? One that gets the
job done in 65 hours or the one that gets it
done in 45 hours?

If this idea is one that interests you, but also
appears to border on the impossible, try this
exercise for the next four weeks. Set aside one
hour each week: Use 30 minutes of it to leave
the cell phone behind and take a walk. If there
is someone else walking with you, ask them for a
commitment to not allow you to talk about your
business. With the other 30 minutes, begin reading
a book. You may be one of those that enjoys novels,
but if you are like me and have to have business
books there is a link at the end of the e-ret@iler
advisory to a list of suggested readings.

With success at this exercise, begin to stretch
this time for your self. To gain this extra time
here is a short list of "time stretchers":

Have a "can do" attitude in your business - from
you it will pass onto your staff.

Take credit for the success of your business, but
also the blame for what happens. And at that
point of recognition, move to the next task.
Luck has little to do with this business. We make
most of our luck.

Stay focused on the important tasks within your
business. Even though you have a strong interest
in what is happening in a shopping center, business
district, or community, your main focus and effort
needs to be within the business. This is where you
can make the most difference.

Utilize your staff. Delegate and allow others to
make decisions. They probably won't make each
decision like you would, but by allowing them to
make decisions and your observing them, you can
see their thought process in action and work to
mold it.

Execute your plans. My favorite story of commitment
involves 3 birds that are sitting on a fence. One
decides to fly off the fence. How many are left on
the fence?

Answer: Three birds are left. The bird decided to
fly off. He didn't do anything about it. He just
decided to fly off.

Here is that link I promised you to the list of my
favorite business books.

Reading Favorites

0 <= After printing the September e-ret@iler, check
here if you plan to visit the book referral page.

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4. Our Power Promoting idea of the month: Donation
advertising

September is here and with that you can usually
count on a couple of things: changes in the weather
and visits from students of local high schools and
colleges wanting to sell you an "ad" in their
newspaper, yearbook or sports program. With the
exception of those businesses making timely ads
in the school newspaper, this is not really a form
of advertising. It is a type of contribution. But
can we at least get people to notice what we have
done? Yes!

For the next ad, get a popular coach or well known
student or students to assist. One business that
sold spas simply showed a photo of the baseball
coach sitting in his baseball uniform in a spa.

Another business looked at the program of the basket
ball team and noticed there were no photos of the
cheerleaders. Their half page ad consisted of
the cheerleaders standing on ladders and scaffolding
that was placed in front of their business in a
manner so that the cheerleaders were positioned
on, under, and next two the large sign that was on
the front of their business. The catch phrase was
a takeoff of a Nike slogan. "(Name of school) knows
basketball. We know clothing". At the bottom of
the ad was the traditional name and other information
about the store.

These ads may not sell any merchandise (while the usual
business card ad definitely does not sell any
merchandise), but they do get people to talk about the
business. And isn't that what a part of advertising is
designed for.

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

Simply stated, the e-ret@iler is free. If you
received it as a result of someone passing it to
you, you can get your own subscription by visitng
the Profits Plus website and entering your
e-mail information to get a subscription.

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

Thanks for taking the time this month from
your business to visit with us by way of this
e-mail newsletter, the e-ret@iler. Our goal is
to have you find a bit of information in it that
will help you make your business more profitable.

We continue to ask you to make an effort to
locate and do business with other small businesses.
You will meet some really great people and
find others who really appreciate their customers,
just the way you do!

Get your Profits Plus, and may God bless you and
yours! See you next month.

Tom Shay