Despite a slow start E-Cigarettes are growing in popularity. Find out the history, function and future of e-cigarettes. From “blu” to “VUSE” find out the companies behind e-cigarettes.

Now-a-day, when a driver wants to travel from point A to point B they no longer consult a heavy road atlas, but instead tap a button on their console and simply speak their destination. This results in instantaneous directions being pushed to their interfacing device. When they need gas they no longer pull over at the closet gas station, but instead ask their car where the cheapest gas station is. When they are hungry they ask their phone for the location of the closest sandwich shop. Simply put a computer is now making recommendations for your current and future customers to either do business with your company or to not do business with your company.

Everyone realizes that the entire country is struggling financially. The country is in debt and it’s the American people who are paying – in every sense of the word. We need a stronger economy, and new taxes are not to way to do this. Here in Vermont, the House of Representatives passed a tobacco tax […]

Does your retail store provide a convenience service or product? Retailers of types need to be sure to keep their shelves properly faced, blocked & zoned. Find out why facing & recovery should play a vital role in your business…

There’s a huge difference. Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably to mean gross margin, that mistake can result in a major difference on your bottom line. Mark-up and profit margin are not the same!

Understanding and applying the two measurements within a pricing model can mean a dramatic difference on your bottom line

No matter how much time and energy you put into your hiring regime there are still times when the person you thought you hired isn’t the same person who shows up to work. Unfortunately many employers put themselves into the position of physically not being able to do anything about this or are unwilling to […]

Business is booming and you’re approaching your busiest time of year; things couldn’t look better. Then you get a phone call from your most trusted and reliable employee; she tells you that she needs to leave town for two months to care for her mother in Florida, whose fallen and broken her hip. And your part-time stock clerk has been grounded by his parents because his grades slipped. Suddenly your golden scenario has turned very ugly. You don’t have the time nor the resources to begin searching, interviewing and checking references for replacement help.

Two weeks ago I introduced the topic that I will be spending the next few weeks on. A topic that probably addresses one of the most important aspects of retail management. One that not only can generate revenue but also one that could potentially loose hundreds of dollars for your business. The topic that I am speaking of, is that of “Staffing”. Having a good staffing strategy will not only save you money, but will create an atmosphere that your customers will appreciate.

Almost every day we hear of a new incident of security breaches. National and larger regional retail chains are the usual targets of these attacks because of the size of the databases that they manage. While this might seem comforting to a single-store convenience store owner, it’s a mistake to get lulled into a false sense of security, according to Gray Taylor, executive director of the NACS-affiliated Petroleum and Convenience Alliance for Technical Standards (PCATS).

Having great employees starts with the hiring the right employees. As one friend, who specializes in human resources, very accurately put it – It is better to hire someone with the right mindset and great work ethic and then train them to do their job, than it is to hire someone who knows how to do the job but has a poor mindset and work ethic. In both cases a type training has to take place, but it is easier to train a skill, than it is to un-train a personality. Unfortunately, because of the busy nature of owners and managers, when it comes time to hire someone for your company you need someone ASAP and don’t have time to perform an extensive search and often time need to settle on the first qualified candidate to apply for the job. This ends up hurting your company in the long run because you end up with sub-par employees who may “work” but do not “Excel”. Instead of sending an inviting message to your customers you send a message that you don’t care for their valuable business.