We all need more Facebook fans — especially since Facebook is now showing us how many (or how few) people see each posting.  Even if your business has over 1,100 likes, your reach may be less than 70 people.  I know, because the statistics from our shop’s Facebook page over the past week show a… Read More

Shopkeepers often take only two factors into account when setting prices: the wholesale cost of the item and the freight charges.  Many independent retailers don’t even even factor in their landing costs, preferring to take straight keystone markup (doubling the wholesale cost) because that is customary. Despite studies showing that it is hard to make… Read More

More Lessons from Zingerman’s How do you provide the absolute best in customer service? Paul Saginaw of Zingtrain was recently in Madison for a seminar sponsored by Dane Buy Local, and had many helpful ideas. He and his partner Art Weinzweig oversee the family of Zingerman’s enterprises in Ann Arbor, MI, which now numbers eight… Read More

Lessons from Zingerman’s We all aspire to build a business that provides great service — but Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan has made it their mission to create a corporate culture based on service, and to share their methods for achieving this goal with the world. Partners Paul Saginaw and Art Weinzweig oversee the… Read More

EVery Door Direct mail Most small businesses draw the majority of their customers from the geographic area closest to them.  How can you make sure that everyone in your neighborhood knows about your store, and receives information about special events and offers?  In the early years of our business we went door to door, hanging… Read More

Not open 24 hours a day? Good! Not only does it mean that you have a life, but it also means that your shop has the opportunity open outside of its regular store hours for private sales events.  In an era where people value unusual experiences, the exclusivity of a shopping opportunity not available to… Read More

Successful retailing is all about having what your customers want today, and predicting what they will want tomorrow.  But at the same time, you can’t know where your business is going without knowing where it has come from.  Your shop’s history matters, whether you’ve been in business just a few months — or, like us,… Read More

Your shop undoubtedly sells lots of different items, because a wide variety increases your chance of having something that each customer will want.  But every so often it can be fun to pick one product — preferable a new discovery for your store — and to really do all you can to promote it. The… Read More

Retail didn’t make the top of the list of the Best Jobs in America, I’m afraid.  In fact when ranked in an article by Eve Tahmincioglu for msnbc.com, no positions in bricks and mortar stores were listed at all — but being an employee of an online business was #1!  This was a ranking based… Read More

Building up your inventory for the holiday season, remodeling, expanding — all good reasons for your business to need additional capital after you’ve already got it up and running.  But in today’s economy it can be particularly challenging to find a source for funding, especially if you want to avoid using credit cards that carry… Read More