The Gray Cat Blog
A comprehensive collection of blogs designed to assist small business owners and multi-unit operators.
As you start to think about the upcoming year, planning for your annual merchandising and promotional schedule should be in place. For the multi-store operator, identifying the key initiatives...
“… And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun… ” – Gilmour, Mason, Waters, Wright
What is the...
You may think about your business 24/7, but chances are your customers do not. Hard to believe, right?
I am a big believer that the successful businessperson is always considering how they can...
Imagine a business world where resources were plentiful and industry expertise could be available at every juncture. Where decisions could be made that dovetailed alignment in support of your...
Customers who may have patronized your new store when it first opened may now be looking past it due to familiarity of surroundings. Savvy retailers need to shake it up a bit on occasion to...
“Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!” – – from The Treasure of the...
Recently, I celebrated my nineteen-year anniversary as a management consultant. It has always been a life-long dream of mine to be on my own and in 2004 I realized that goal. I had spent some...
“Oh, what a tangled web do parents weave, when they think that their children are naive.” – Ogden Nash
Children have been marketed to for years. Retail industry titans have...
Establishing a Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) as a formal communications system to ensure franchisees input with regard to store marketing and operations is a natural stepping-stone for a growing...
When it comes to managing a profitable operation, knowing your key financial drivers of the store is paramount. Developing a “Four-Wall Analysis” is a helpful tool to better...
Labor management is perhaps one of the most fundamental aspects of running a profitable business. Servicing the customer with too few people on staff and sales will be negatively impacted as...
Upon opening their first store, many single-store operators come to an often premature conclusion that they are going to franchise. While this may be a noble end-game goal, what is often missing...
