Stay positive! In the quest for success, there is much to be said for the importance of a mindset that will not accept defeat and instead is committed to work proactively to make things work. The changing landscape of the marketplace can initially seem intimidating. The answer is to view what is happening through new eyes and to deal with the situations with new rules. When all of our affiliates met for the annual Management One® meeting in April, much of our decisions centered on how businesses will be able to weather what we saw as the impending economic uncertainty. We concluded that it can be done and we will share with you the new rules we developed.

RULE 1: Don’t cut back on marketing! Although customers may be watching their expenditures more closely, they still want what they always wanted. Successful retailers are those who can fight hardest to provide what their clientele wants. The best marketing will attract those shoppers who used to shop with competitive businesses that panicked and failed to follow through on the new rules.

RULE 2: Adapt! With changing markets, everything changes. That means working to adjust budgets and infra- structure to match planned sales and revenues. Make certain you understand your financial statements and how they are changing. Now, more than ever before, tight cash flow management is absolutely critical. How recent was your last break even? What determines your weekly check run?

RULE 3: Adjust! The biggest investment you make is in inventory. Now is the time to be sure you are getting the most from each class. Inventory planning is vital to identify what is happening in your local market with your customers. Sales plan accuracy of 90% should be the minimum acceptable. Even if revenues are falling, profits can go up with faster turns, higher markups and better buying.

RULE 4: Review! Your staff is your next largest expense and possibly the most important element to the success of your business. In good times, managing, motivating and training are often overlooked. When the going gets tough, the tough start creating more excitement and productivity from the staff. A revised organization chart may call for cutting back on staff prudently. Job descriptions and performance reviews may identify weaknesses that must be corrected. An analysis of compensation can create opportunities to enhance performance. There are hundreds of ways top managers garner more profits and achieve more successful both in good times and bad. Problem solving, sales training, buyer training, negotiation skills, hiring techniques, job descriptions performance reviews and marketing are but a few ways the best focus on continuous improvement.

RULE 5:Raise profits! It sounds obvious that if you can raise profits, everything else doesn’t matter. A few of you may be asking, “But how?” The answer we came up with is to buy more effectively. That means lowering your cost of goods. As the economy and market change, you have to change old habits and rules of thumb that you use to run your business. How long have you been talking about private label? Will your customer “only” buy name brands? There are many myths. Check into strategies and opportunities that afford you a higher margin.

Every change is an opportunity. When one door closes, another opens. Business owners must wear many hats successfully. If you see a threat to your future, do at least one new thing you have not done or you are not currently doing. No one knows it all, no one has it all, no one does it all. But everyone can do more!