The next time you decide to not stock something because you do not like it, stock it and give it a good location and good support.
You are not your customer.
Think about the magazines you sell, the diverse number of titles. What percentage of the magazines you stock would you read if you had time? I would be surprised is the percentage was higher than 25%. That would mean 75% of the titles are not to your taste.
You don’t have to like what you sell. You don’t have to like it to be able to pitch it. All you need to do is to understand what you sell. Understand who the customer could be, how they would choose what they buy and how to best represent the product.
The more people who shop with you buying what you would not buy for yourself the better for you and the business.
Don’t think about your shop as an extension of your home, filled with what you want ton see.
You are not your customer.
Hang on to this mantra. Buy with it in mind. Take it as a challenge to see how far you can stray from your comfort of what you like. Let this straying show you what is possible in your business.
The desk nameplate in the photo is an example of an item several newsagents I know stocked under protest. They were shocked that it and others from the sarcastic range sold out in a matter of days, leading them to reorder these products they do not like.
Chase opportunities outside what you like and outside of what people expect for your business or your type of business. This is key to attracting new shoppers.