The Gray Cat Blog
A comprehensive collection of blogs designed to assist small business owners and multi-unit operators.
Recently, I spoke at the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association on Developing a Winning Foodservice Strategy and the same holds true – foodservice is where it’s at in the convenience store industry. ...
With every passing day, month and year, better for you foodservice options continue to infiltrate the convenience store industry.  Slowly but surely, the convenience store industry is broadening its f...
Over my career I have worked with a number of organizations where making inroads into certain verticals (industries) was critical for our success. Whether you target the banking, healthcare, automoti...
In honor of “Emily the Cat” (the original gray cat from which the company name was created), Gray Cat Enterprises (along with new puppy, Bogey, in picture) makes its annual holiday donation to two non...
The movie industry has been doing this for years. Â With a screenplay in hand, a movie production house pulls together a team of production specialists including grips, gaffers, boom operators, etc. t...
Raise your hand if you had the word “pandemic” in your strategic plans – and like that, the world quickly changed. While convenience stores were spared total closure during the lockdowns and volumes w...
“The nice thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression.”  — John Harvey-Jones
If you get in a car in Chicago wi...
Developing a working relationship with influential, local charities in your trade area not only establishes your community commitment as a business owner, but can also provide an effective way to link...
Self-service kiosks continue to be a growing trend in retailing and is expected to accelerate over the years. This exploding industry has launched retailers to develop their own kiosk strategy in orde...
Managing a retail store is tough work.
Between operations, merchandising, marketing and facility upkeep, retail business owners have their hands full. Managing the details of retail is the difference...
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are a vital resource to managing your business. Each selected KPI can be your bellwether indicator for all departments and...
It is your responsibility to create news about your store – don’t wait for others to do this for you. Being proactive with the l...
