A schedule that is both fixed and flexible is one of the most important perks we can offer our employees. This may seem counterintuitive, but in reality retail workers want predictable hours (and income) along with the ability to adjust their schedule to fit it around other life events. Some of our big box counterparts… Read More

The old-fashioned way of looking at a store’s brand was limited to a catchy store name and logo, but today’s concept of branding goes way beyond that.  A brand now often includes a tag-line that describes the store in just a few words, and as well as a web site, a font and certain colors… Read More

“T-shirts are the business cards of our time, at least in San Francisco,” remarked Danish entrepreneur Mikkel Svane in a recent talk about his successful startup Zendesk.  He was referring to his company’s creative use of t-shirts imprinted with customer complaints that were used as part of the company’s apology for an unpopular and unexpected… Read More

It is an acknowledged fact that the location of a store is key factor in its success.  You need proximity to an adequate pool of potential customers. Transportation and parking are important factors in getting these customers into your shop. But what about the question of whether you should lease or own your store’s location? … Read More

Spendthrift is a confusing word — it sounds like it should refer to thrifty spending, but it actually applies to a person who spends money in an extravagant, irresponsible way.  And while we might think that shoppers with buyer’s remorse are spendthrifts, there are many other causes. Buyer’s remorse sets in when a customer gets… Read More

In honor of our store’s 40th anniversary, we decided to send out a card to our extensive mailing list (rounded up using a rented list of potential new customers) offering 40% off any one item during this month.  The response has been overwhelming, and I thought I’d share some tips in case you decide to… Read More

Last year the number of views of videos uploaded directly to Facebook reached one billion per day.  If you are a regular user of Facebook or Instagram, you know how eye-catching the “start arrows” are on videos — it’s very tempting to watch one as long as it is short. Creating a video with music… Read More

Google’s search engine has always performed in mysterious ways, using complex and every-changing algorithms that determine what comes up first in any given search.  There are specialists who make their living assisting businesses with SEO, which is short for search engine optimization — the art of making sure that a potential customer lands on your… Read More

With apologies to Jim Henson, today it really is easy for a shop to be “green”. There are so many tools available to us that there is no excuse not to take advantage of them.  And since most of us don’t sell merchandise that is essential to daily living, minimizing the carbon footprint of our… Read More

One of my favorite articles for New Age retailers suggested starting the day by smudging the store, and burning a candle with a slip of paper under it listing the day’s sales goals. Although these are not traditional approaches, I appreciate the fact that they acknowledge that preparing to unlock the door in the morning… Read More