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 November 2024 Volume No. 25, Issue No.12 A sympathy vote is not going to work Those of you who have read this newsletter for a long time (this issue is our 300th!) know I have a deep love and appreciation for local businesses. While I want everyone who takes the brave step of starting their own business to succeed, I will bluntly say there are many small businesses that need to go away. Examples of this are to follow. Social media has a constant train of messages about doing business with a local business. Unfortunately, too many of these messages are based on trying to make a person feel guilty if they spend money in any chain store. These same messages attempt to make you feel even worse if you don't support a local business. And then there are the social media posts asking people to support local businesses with a sympathy vote. Every local business has to earn the business. Yes, the dynamics between the big businesses and local businesses are not the same. But, that is nothing new. Local businesses cannot ask people to pay extra for products; support a business that does not have convenient hours; or have staff that gives poor customer service. Let me share an example of a recent experience. A trip to a local coffee shop found six employees behind the counter. Three were in a conversation with each other and the other three were performing tasks behind the counter. The line of customers was growing. Finally, the question was asked, "Is anybody going to wait on customers?" One of those performing tasks at the counter responded, "They will be with you in a bit. They are training a new person". There are plenty of local businesses that get my business because they make a point to deliver the extra effort to make a person feel welcome. I drive 20 miles to a garden center that has a very knowledgeable staff. I have a rotation of local restaurants I favor because of a combination of reasons. And, there are those small businesses I won't make an effort to do business with because they do not make an effort to take care of or know their customers. If we as small businesses are going to have more business, let's do so because we earn it. We aren't going to shame anybody into doing business with us. When one square is better than another - The Article of the Month is very appropriate for brick-and-mortar small businesses in these last 61 days of the year. You have a specific amount of square footage within your business. Expense-wise, they cost the same when it comes to rent, taxes, and utilities. However, production-wise, certain parts of your sales floor should be producing more sales per square foot than other parts of your business. You should know what areas of your business are producing these increased sales. Are they producing more sales, and more profits, because of the location or because of the merchandise? Minor rearrangements on your sales floor can go a long way to making this a better holiday season for your business. Fix This Next - Fix This Next by Mike Michalowicz. Just seeing the description of this book, I knew it would be a worthy suggestion. I can't say it better than what has already been said. The biggest problem entrepreneurs have is that they do not know what their biggest problem is. If you find yourself trapped between stagnating sales, staff turnover, and unhappy customers, what do you fix first? Every issue seems urgent - but there is no way to address all of them at once. The results? A business that continues to go in endless circles putting out urgent fires and prioritizing the wrong things. Days of Inventory on Hand - All businesses with inventory should give this information a close examination. The "Days of Inventory on Hand" calculation tells you how many days your inventory would last at the current sales rate. Where we see it frequently considered is when the owner states they are having cashflow challenges. If cash on hand is low, this is the first place we look; what is the difference in "Days of Inventory on Hand" in the last six months? There is a good possibility this number has been increasing. The business may need the inventory, but there is not the cash to pay for it. This is a good time of year to take a look to see how your business is doing. Each month we highlight one of the 47 free tools on the Profits Plus website; we call them "calculators". While some provide analysis by numbers and ratios, some are assessments and others are self-examination questions. Many are downloadable while others, because of the complexity of the calculations going on behind the scene, are a part of the website and allow you to print your answers. None of them require you to give any personal information nor are there any "cookies" tracking you or your information. What a reward is not - We read a survey of some 1,000 people asking what they did with their last bonus or incentive that was cash. 30% responded they paid bills. Another 18% did not remember. Perhaps this shows cash is not a good way to reward or incentivize staff. Over the years we have shared various ideas for rewards. We think the idea of asking employees what they would enjoy or want to do is the best idea. We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
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MARCH 2026
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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.
Small Business
Every time I see the logo for Target stores, I think about small businesses and the need to know which people to target as their customers. Of course, of most importance is the person who has spent any money with your business.
I ask businesses if they know how much the average person spends with their business. Most offer a quick response with a dollar amount. That answer is incorrect as they are telling me what the average existing customer is spending. The average person in any community spends no money with that small business.
Looking for new customers without any plan of how to do so is just spending money. That is why every small business needs to know how to find and use information. Find ideas in the March Small Business Advisory.
Small Business
Employee retention; is it important? Or is it easier to lose an employee and wait for the next applicant to walk in the door? The Small Business News for March shares some statistics of the expense you incur when you make the change instead of working to retain a current employee.
It is baseball season and we use the sport as an explanation of the cost of growing your business. In Boston's Fenway Park, left field has a wall that is know as the green monster.
And that is what growing your business is - a monster! You can't successfully grow your business without a plan and knowing you will have the cash on hand to pay for the growth.
Are you selling something or persuading the customer? With your employees are you repeatedly telling that employee or are you persuading them to excel?
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Ciaidini is our suggested book for March 2026. Most definitely an appropriate read.
All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.
