Operations

The Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate now goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015, giving employers more time to consider their options before making a decision on their employee health care coverage. But with so many options to consider, where do you even begin? The delay is certainly …

The time comes once, if not twice, a year when you return from your wholesaler or co-op’s market and you have a decision to make. To do or not to do? The pile of market materials has found its way …

If you’ve been letting your loss prevention strategy slip throughout the year, now’s a good time to put it back into focus. Your theft-prevention strategy should include these four steps: Have good customer service. This is the single most effective …

The home improvement industry is anchored in tradition. A lot of second- or third-generation owners do things the same ways that their fathers or their grandfathers did. It’s important to honor tradition, of course, but given the rapid way things …

Many business owners today are between the ages of 55 to 75. A few of you inherited the business from your parents, but most of you started your company from zero and have spent the last 30 years or more …

Most successful sales associates have nailed down the basics of customer service, like smiling and greeting customers as they enter the store. But there is more to sealing the deal than just being polite. Here are four habits that make …

Wherever we’ve gone over the last few years, asking what your greatest challenges and concerns as independent retailers are, uncertainty about and the cost of health insurance and health care for yourselves and your employees always tops your lists. In …

When you get a request for help, don’t hang up the phone just because you don’t think the organization is big enough to be relevant to you. While you can’t help everyone, it’s important to be slow to say no …