The Gray Cat Blog
A growing library of practical business articles and insights created to help entrepreneurs, small business owners, franchisees, and multi-unit operators strengthen leadership, improve operations, drive growth, and build more profitable organizations.
22+ years is a long time to have your own business.
In this podcast episode with David Zylstra, we talk about the many hats one has to wear as an entrepreneur.
Looking for balance?
Own your calendar - it is as simple as that. Â Pre-planning eliminates a tremendous amount of anxiety out of your life.
In this podcast with Jada Willis, I discuss this.
“It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”
While knowledge, experience, and expertise are critical to business success, relationships often determine how quickly opportunities present themselves an...
If you operate multiple stores, chances are no two locations are exactly alike. Some are newer, some have been remodeled several times, and others are still operating with fixtures, layouts, and merch...
Every successful product begins with an idea.
Maybe it was developed in your kitchen, workshop, garage, basement, or home office. Perhaps it solves a problem you’ve personally experienced, fills a ga...
Successful retailers don’t build their merchandising strategy one promotion at a time—they build it one year at a time.
As you begin planning for the upcoming year, your merchandising and promotional...
Budgets are tight, but you need to move top line sales – fast! What is a quick and easy way to expand your customer base? Partnering with noncompeting retailers to help your broaden exposure is a simp...
There is a reason the Gray Cat website says "More than consulting, we actually get work done."
Its is one thing to get a project and advise a client, it is something entirely different to provide an ...
 If you have read any of my previous articles, you know that I am a strong believer in planning for success.
Whether it is operational excellence, strategic growth, capital investment planning, store...
Communication and accountability with the team is critical for ongoing success.
In this podcast episode with Dilan Abeya, we talk about the table stakes for CEO's to put in place in order to rally th...
“Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made. Spaceballs the T-shirt. Spaceballs the lunchbox. Spaceballs the coloring book. Spaceballs… the flamethrower! Kids love it.”
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