“If I could only remember that I cannot remember, my life would go much smoother.” - Cris Willis Too many times in my business life, this has been my motto. Especially when it came to remembering the details of past events and promotions. I would always think that I would remember everything that [...]
“If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin Are you “flying by the seat of your pants?” Are you making decisions each day to get through the day and hoping to find the time “someday” to think things through and plan? You must prepare for the Holiday [...]
This Blog Post is a compilation of writings from Bob Negen with WhizBang! Training and my personal experience in retail. The Retail 4th Quarter is upon us, and it is time to get motivated and plan for your success. Success is more than just higher sales; it is higher profits, an engaged [...]
Greeting customers is sometimes one of the hardest things for many of us. We are tempted to say, “Can I help you?” only to be faced with the dreaded, “No thanks, I’m just looking." At that point, we figure it is best to just let the customer look around and they will let us [...]
Can you hear that? If you listen closely, you can hear the Christmas bells already ringing. Are you ready for the 4th Quarter? You need to STOP, THINK, and PLAN NOW if you want to have a successful Holiday Season in your retail store. Whether you are pumped up, cautiously optimistic, nervous but hopeful or [...]
All kinds of people crave attention. If you give people lots of attention, praise, pats, undivided focus, and warm fuzzy feelings for doing good stuff, they are less likely to do bad stuff. In other words, catch them doing something right Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective [...]
One Step at a Time Kris Kringle taught me a lesson when I was little. This lesson has stayed with me all my life. In the cartoon 1970’s cartoon movie “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Kris Kringle teaches the Winter Warlock that you can do things that you think are impossible. You must [...]
It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day struggles, the busyness, the never-ending to-do’s of an independent store owner, and forget how truly important you are. It’s easy to feel insignificant. That is why you need to remember the ripple effect. The positive effort and passionate energy that you put [...]
Did you see the VeggieTales movie “Jonah”? My favorite character was a little caterpillar who had some issues. He would listen to positive self-talk recordings as he slept. The recording would say that he was a very skilled metal worker. It was something he did not believe about himself, so he tried to [...]
One of the most stressful and "un-fun" parts about being a store owner is feeling alone, even when you're surrounded by employees and customers. There's a phrase that Bob Negen, with WhizBang! Training, coined to describe this situation - business lonely. This tip of the week comes from the WhizBang! Training archives. I have combined my thoughts [...]
