Operations

Ten Essentials to Include in an Employee Handbook

As a business owner, rules can be such a difficult thing to implement, especially when it comes to an employee handbook. At the beginning, it may just be you running your store or website, however... more »

Text Messaging Services: Are They Right For You?

Every few years, store owners are presented with a new technology to help them improve their reach with customers. First it was email, then social media, and now many marketing experts are recommending using text... more »

The Perfect Wedding Day

Everyone wants their wedding day to be perfect — the perfect dress, the perfect suit, the perfect ceremony, the perfect reception. It takes a million details to accomplish what will most likely be the largest... more »

Holiday Fraud Prevention: Seven Tips From the Pros

By Sarah Beldo, Sift Science Is anyone ever really ready for the holidays? It’s hard enough to keep up as a shopper, but if you also work in e-commerce fraud prevention, you know you’re guaranteed a... more »

Creating Customer Relationships

A woman came up to me after my keynote at a conference the other day asking how she could compete against online retailers. She relayed a story about how she spent time getting a shopper... more »

Ready… Set… Open (Part 2)

What’s in a name? If you are in retail, everything! The name of your store is the cornerstone of your brand. It will immediately suggest what folks will find inside or online. Not only that,... more »

Maximizing Your Retail Real Estate: 5 Tips to Strengthen Your Store Merchandising

Effectively managing a retail store is no easy task. After all, you have a long list of things to maintain, oversee, accomplish and constantly seek out to ensure your business is strong and healthy. One... more »

A Distinctive Story

Distinctive Gardens in Dixon, Illinois looks different than in years in past, largely because of what owners Bud and Lisa LeFevre are calling its new “Shop Story” concept. Each seasonal shop story focuses on one... more »