Sunday newsagency management tip: never give up

No matter how tough your situation, no matter how impossible the road ahead, never give up, there is always something you can try, a step you can take to move forward.

While I expect that comes across as glib, the words are sincere.

I have never seen a difficult situation being faced by a business for which there is not something else to to try, someone to speak with, steps you could take to explore hope.

I have seen people give up too soon, locking in what they saw as inevitable yet which could have been avoided by owning the truth earlier.

There are newsagents facing tough situations today who may feel it is too late to change their business model. I say it’s never too late. There are also newsagents today when see dark clouds yet who are not acting because they thing a storm is inevitable when, in fact, they can avoid rough weather by acting now.

We have more control over what our businesses are, what they stand for, who they attract and their very future than we think.

I have seen businesses on the brink of bankruptcy turn around. I have seen businesses with barely 20% of revenue they once had turn around.

We are losing too many newsagency businesses because newsagents have given up.

This has to stop.

It stops by us believing in ourselves and our colleagues while at the same time acknowledging the challenges unique to our channel and those outside our channel.

We need to talk positively to each other, without ignoring the challenges of retail  the economy, print media and other factors. Indeed, those downers can be leveraged for a brighter future – if we adopt the attitude which is my management tip today: never give up.