In the iconic movie “The Godfather,” Al Pacino said, “Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies even closer.” I was recently inspired to put a positive spin on this sentiment when it came to my management philosophy: “Keep your …
Read More »Tag Archives: operations
I Have a Website, What Now?
As a website consultant focused on serving independent home improvement retailers, I truly enjoy working with retailers like yourself and have learned so much over the past few years about how you build your businesses. What’s most impressive to me …
Read More »Preparing Your Store for an In-Store Pet
Bringing a pet into your store is a great conversation-starter for employees and customers. But before your four-legged friend becomes an in-store regular, make sure the animal, store and employees are prepared. Any retailer thinking of bringing a pet into …
Read More »A Plan for Philanthropy
By Mandy Seiders, Manager, Cypress Ace Hardware and Feed Credit cards readers are down; cashier is late; and what’s that little Post-it note on your door say? Just that your lead sales associate quit without notice. As retailers, we’ve all …
Read More »Improve Your Hiring Process
Questions to Ask Before You Start Hiring Gregg Gregory is a professional speaker and trainer, and as founder of TeamsRock, has helped businesses of all sizes find and keep top-notch employees. He suggests reviewing your own expectations of a new …
Read More »Questions to Ask Before You Start Hiring
Gregg Gregory is a professional speaker and trainer, and as founder of TeamsRock, has helped businesses of all sizes find and keep top-notch employees. He suggests reviewing your own expectations of a new employee and how you plan to find …
Read More »Doug Kooyman’s 14-Step Hiring Process
Doug Kooyman, owner of Kooyman Lumber in Pella, Iowa, uses a 14-step hiring process he and one of his employees developed several years ago. While sometimes he’ll modify the process based on the position for which he’s hiring, his 14 …
Read More »Taking Control of Accounts Receivable
By T.J. Comstock, owner of Northwest Hardware, LLC Recently I was talking to a fellow hardware retailer and we got into a discussion about accounts receivable (A/R) levels in our stores. I mentioned what my levels were and he seemed …
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