Is it time to change friends in/of your retail business?
Who do you talk to about your retail business? Are they sympathetic, pandering almost? Or, do they challenge your perception of your business? Do they agree with everything you say? Do they offer pity...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s advice on managing employees
I have helped many small business retailers confront their employee management challenges. Based on years of giving assistance and advice to independent retailers, here are the simple guidelines that I...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s Top 10 Christmas Tips
Each year, my POS software company, Tower Systems, publishes Christmas marketing tips for independent retailers. Here are 10 from this year’s list: 1. Make it easy People often talk about how hard...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s management tip: cut employee theft
A retailer became a victim of employee theft again recently. The cost to their business was $2,500. During the job interview, the employee in question claimed they had been out of the workforce for a...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s management tip: leveraging being local
You know the pitch: Local businesses create jobs. They provide opportunities for school leavers and university graduates. Local businesses share the local narrative. Through what we all do and how we...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s management tip: custom stocktake regularly
The days of the annual, end of financial year, stocktake in retail are long over. That old-school approach is not needed by the tax office or your accountant. It does not serve your business needs. My...
View ArticleMark Fletcher: 5 ways to increase your cyber security
Several newsagent businesses in Australia have been hit by ransomware in the last week. The cyberattacks involve malware software being covertly and remotely installed onto a computer, preventing...
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Mark Fletcher’s marketing tip: Less is more
How many different retail messages are you pitching from the front of your shop? Too often, we see too many messages in indie retail. This can confuse shoppers and steer them away from noticing the...
View ArticleHow to prepare your newsagency business for sale
Selling a business, like a newsagency, is like selling a house: you need to prepare it so that it looks appealing to prospective purchasers. The process of preparing a business for sale can take time,...
View ArticleManagement tip: Have a photography policy for your shop
If you do not have a photography policy for photos being taken in your business, you need to establish one and share with all who work in the business. The policy needs to be simple: easily understood...
View ArticleMark Fletcher speaks Shoptalk: The future of retail
I am grateful for the recent opportunity to have been immersed deep into conversations, presentations, workshops, introspection and plenty more on ecommerce at the Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas this...
View ArticleMark Fletcher’s management tip: rank your competitors
Staying aware of what your competitors are doing is an important part to a running a successful business and staying ahead of the curve. To ensure you stay in the loop, make a list of the competitors...
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