Buy one, get one free and the baker’s dozen are technically both examples of lagniappe. But I would consider these to be promotions rather than a true lagniappe (pronounced LAN yap), which is defined as a small gift at the time of purchase.  We get the term from New Orleans, where the Louisiana French adapted… Read More

PINTEREST DISPLAY INSPIRATION Halloween is less than two months away — have you come up with a clever idea for your window, and for in-store displays? Have you started planning your holiday look for your shop? Our shop has been doing windows for almost 40 years, and we keep albums of all our past displays… Read More

“Positive people power is fundamental to overall success of any business.” This simple message is at the core of the book, Hug Your Customers, by Jack Mitchell — a work that is now celebrating its 10th anniversary, but contains ideas for customer service that are timeless. Jack Mitchell and family own the most successful independent… Read More

Looking for a way to perk up your Twitter and Facebook postings? You might want to try Vine, a free new iPhone app that allows you to create continuous videos in less than a minute. These six second loops work best if you have the same starting and ending point so that they seem to… Read More

Why is it that so many shopkeepers act as if they’re in a witness protection program when it comes to their web sites?  One of the reasons shoppers support a local business is because they like to know the people behind the business.  Greet visitors to your site with a personal welcome, just as you… Read More

In baseball jargon, the wheelhouse is the “sweet spot” of a baseball player’s strike zone where the a hit delivers the most power and strength.  (Of course in reality a wheelhouse is a nautical term referring to the part of a boat where the ship’s wheel is housed, but that’s another story.) In business the… Read More

“Everybody loves a winner,” as the song says.  And everyone loves to win.  Winning is at the heart of the new trend called “gamification” — using game dynamics to motivate behavior on the part of your employees or customers.  Even the simplest customer rewards program (such as a punch card at your local coffee shop)… Read More

It’s the season for trade shows and other travel, which means you hopefully  will have time to visit shops in another part of the country (or world).  That does make it a bit of a “busman’s holiday” — a phrase which was coined 110 years ago to indicate a person doing the same thing on… Read More

There is a common misconception among small business owners that if an employee is paid a salary rather than an hourly wage, overtime rules don’t apply.  But in many instances, time and a half is still required for any time worked beyond 40 hours in a seven day period. We found out about this the… Read More

An employee discount is one of the least expensive "perks" you can offer, so it pays to be generous.  It helps you attract and keep good employees, and we all know the high cost of finding and training a valuable staff member.   At our shop we offer our employees all merchandise at cost plus 10%… Read More