5 Key Steps for Creating a Profitable Small Business

Hey, welcome to the Boutique Hub, the connection point for the global boutique industry. And every tip a boutique owner, a retailer and an e commerce store must know.

Hey guys, it's Sarah with the Boutique Hub. I am back today to talk to you about one of the biggest roadblocks that's potentially standing between you and productivity and profitability in your business. It's not rocket science and honestly you're going to say, I know that already. But even though we know things, sometimes we forget things. Sometimes in business we start going so fast looking towards our end goal that we forget some key things along the way. Guys, I think that's now more than ever, right? As we're all reopening our businesses, we're adjusting to the new normal, whatever that is going to look like. We're trying to do so much in a day, and then we realize we still only have the same amount of time that we did pre COVID 19, right. No matter what, our days are 24 hours long and we have to fill those with income generating activities and not just expense generating activities. So today I wanted to talk to you about a process that you should definitely be focusing on putting in place that can help you get to that profitable stage a lot faster. Let me remind you of a couple things. One, I said you already know what it is. And two, it's so easy to fix. What am I talking about? One, it's communication. I know you're like, what? I know, I know communication. But it's not just communication with your customers. A lot of times we think, oh, we want to make sure our customers are happy, then our bank account is going to be happy. No, there's two other key players that I want to remind you about today. One, it starts with your staff. It starts with your staff. And the next person is your vendors. If you can be on the same page with your staff in your supply chain or your vendors, your customers will be more satisfied. And then you're right. If your customers are satisfied, your bank account satisfied. So let's talk over a few things. First of all, it's so important in communication to ask questions. You are going to be asking your employees questions like how do you feel about the new safety measures we're installing here at the store or in our business? How do you feel about these new policies? Do you understand them? Are you comfortable with them? Is there anything that you would like to see us do different? Ask them, learn from them. Then you're also going to be asking your customers, right? You're going to be asking them Are we serving your needs? How have your needs changed? How can we make shopping easier for you today than maybe it was pre COVID 19 some ask questions to your vendors are how is the supply chain going to change? Is the quality going to change? How are my delivery dates going to be affected by everything that's happening here? How can I still serve my customers in the timeline that I need using you as a vendor? Open those lines of communication. Ask next really important part of communication is listening, right? We have two ears, one mouth, and we should use those accordingly. So we're going to ask these key questions. What can we do to improve on right? How comfortable are you feeling? Am I meeting your needs? Then we're going to learn from those answers and we're going to then implement a plan, right? Implement that plan on how to address your team, how to address your customers, and how to work with those vendors. Guys, if you have some players on your team now that just don't want to play the game that you're playing, go look for new players. I mean that by your team and I mean that by your vendors. And sometimes we do have to fire our customers. That's just part of business. Sometimes customers have asks that we just can't answer, that we can't satisfy their needs. That happens and that's okay. So we're going to ask, we're going to listen, right? We're going to learn. Then we're going to implement a plan or a playbook, however you want to look at it, and then we are going to communicate that across all channels. We are going to make sure that no stone is left unturned. Everybody understands how we're going to play the game, what our end goal is, and how we're going to measure that success. You're right. You're going to say, sarah, I already know these things. Yes, we know these things. But here at the Boutique hub, through coaching, numerous boutique owners, numerous businesses, and looking at the roadblocks that they are basically stalling productivity in their stores or in their businesses. So much of it comes back to communication. So much of it comes back to them what they where they're dropping the ball. In that line of communication, if the vendors don't ship the products, it doesn't matter how awesome the sales staff you have, they can't sell the products to your customer and thus the customers are upset, right? If the team or your staff doesn't implement the right safety measures that are going to satisfy the needs of your customer and comply with your new state and county and government regulations, you're not going to be in business very long. If none of these things work together or some are fighting or working against each other, it really does halt productivity. And when productivity halts, so does the income. So again, just as a reminder, we're going to ask, we're going to listen, we're going to learn. Learning is huge. We're going to implement, and then we're going to communicate. And what does that communication look like? It means repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat that communication. Just because you put it in a post on social media once doesn't count. Not everybody sees the same post. Social media, email on your website, signage in your store, making sure your your staff can communicate that back properly with all of your customers. Making sure you've had good conversations with your vendors. Communicate, communicate, communicate. I know it can be exhausting, but sometimes you're going to learn. Just saying it one more time will finally resonate with somebody and they can take action and they can feel comfortable with you and thus they'll continue to shop with you. So that's my tip for you. That's what we have found is a big hurdle, big roadblock for a lot of boutique owners, a lot of retailers. If you can blast that away, guys, you can continue to be profitable, productive, and really make waves in this community. So that's it. Open your ears, close your mouth a little bit, right? Learn, listen, implement, have a game plan. Make sure everybody's on the same page. Communicate and repeat. All right, guys, have a good day. We'll talk later. Bye.

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