HELPING OUR ECONOMY RECOVER

Economists agree that the recession will not end until we have a significant decline in unemployment.  After all, people who are out of work can’t be free-spending consumers. And we need customers eager to buy our goods and services in order to fuel our economy’s recovery.

Small businesses are the single largest source of job creation in the country. Although the jobs we offer are mostly service-level, they are still important. Our full-time jobs support self-sufficiency and self-worth.  Even our part-time jobs often make it possible for someone to continue their education, or to play a more active role in their children’s lives.  These jobs often make the difference between welfare and independence.

So I would like to challenge the readers of this blog to consider adding at least one new employee this year.  It is true that increasing your payroll costs can have a negative impact on your bottom line – – but maybe not. Consider this:

1.Customer service is one of the key factors that sets a specialty shop apart from its big-box competitors.  Good customer service means having adequate staffing at all times.  Make sure that no one wanting to buy something from you has to wait to do so.

2.Well-trained sales associated sell more.  Armed with product knowledge and an eagerness to assist customers, a good sales associate can easily off-set their hourly wage with increased sales.

3. Hiring employees who are of a different ethnic background, or a different age, than most of the rest of your staff will help add diversity not only to your customers service, but also to your product selection.

4.Employees become good-will ambassadors for your business, especially if they are well-connected in the community.

5.Having staff members join the staff during the off-season allows you to have trained employees in place for the holidays.  If you are able to hire someone whose needs are flexible, you can have them work more hours during December than the other 11 months of the year.

6.More staff can make your life more efficient and enjoyable.  What part of your position to you dislike the most?  How much time to you spend on tasks that could be done by someone else?  In a word: delegate. Our store’s success has been much enhanced by hiring individuals with the skills that we lack.

If you accept my challenge of adding at least one employee this year, I sincerely hope that your business benefits. I am sure that the individual you hire will be glad to have the work — and you should feel proud to be doing what you can to help us rebuild our economic strength.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder