Make every day your pay day

There was a time when convenience store owners could rely on selling their business for a handsome increase on the price they paid thereby providing a good pay day. These days are over. Today, the best way to extract value from our businesses is to make every day your pay day.

The challenge is how do you do this?

We have to look at our businesses differently. We have to look at them and manage them as any other retailer runs their business – for maximum profit every day.

Store operators in our channel have to stop being servants (agents) and start being retailers and entrepreneurs focused on profit.

Focusing on profit today will give you a better result today and make your business more valuable tomorrow. Without a doubt!

Here are some suggestions for making every day your pay day:

1. Run with the leanest roster possible. Just about every business I review has capacity to lower labour costs.
2. Have your best people working the floor, helping customers spend more.
3. Have stunning displays that attract people from outside the shop.
4. Have compelling displays in-store that encourage customers to browse beyond their destination purchase.
5. Always have impulse offers at high traffic locations.
6. Charge more every time you can. Review your prices for products people come to you because of convenience.
7. Buy as best you can.
8. Grab settlement discounts every time you are able.
9. Promote outside your store.

Be responsible for the profitability of your business. Don’t blame your suppliers, your landlord, your employees or some other external factor … it all comes down to you – the decisions you make and the actions you take.

If you relentlessly pursue profit with a clear focus you’re likely to see profit grow. That’s better than waiting to make money when you sell because that’s less likely to happen in this market.

Note: Sussex based business transfer agents, Transagents indicates that the fair value of a business is generally 2.5 times the adjusted net profit, 70% of the gross profit or 8 times the weekly ex-tax turnover. If each of these calculations gives a similar result it gives weight to the valuation.