Run well, you’ll make more money from your business while you run your business than when it comes time to sell.
You do this by following the mantra: Make every day your payday. Here’s how:
Here are the actionable strategies I recommend for building daily value in your retail business:
- Own Every Decision In Your Business. Every purchase, every pricing setting, every customer interaction. Be present and active. Ensure every decision is about maximising value for the business, and you.
- Regularly Quit Dead Stock. Cut what’s not working. Be ruthless. Dead stock is one of the biggest drains on profit I see.
- Trim Your Roster. Every paid hour has to deliver value for the business.
- Use Smart Tools, Like AI. It’s a time saver and opportunity creator. Learn the tools. Embrace them. get your people engaged with them.
- Curate Your Counter. The counter is still the best location for impulse purchases. Everything at the counter should work. if it’s not working, change it, now!
- Price Well. Mark up as high as you reasonably can without harming unit sales. If people buy anything from your for convenience, factor it into your pricing.
- Trade outside what’s expected. Offer products people don’t expect to see from you. This speed bump approach can slow people, have them notice, and buy.
- Buy The Best You Can. Negotiate the best possible terms and always pay suppliers on time to capture valuable settlement discounts.
- Increase Average Transaction Value. Help shoppers buy more each visit. Loyalty programs, product bundling, strategic product location and multi-buy offers are effective tools.
- Deploy Your Best People. Your best people should be always customer-facing..
- Change Things Weekly. You want people noticing the changes, and commenting. Don’t be predictable with the changes.
- Leverage Product Adjacency. Position products to encourage a deeper, more valuable shopping basket.
- When You Think You Have Done All This, Do It Again.
Take Ownership of Your Profitability
The financial health of your business is your responsibility.
- Pay down debt.
- Always have access to an up to date P&L.
- Keep a clean balance sheet.
A relentless and clear focus on daily profit is the most reliable path to growth.
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I first shared make every day your payday 18 years ago when I saw that valuations of small retail businesses, like newsagencies, fall. This post today is refreshed and refocussed.
If you’d like to talk about this, I can be reached on 0418 321 338 or mark@newsxpress.com.au