Are you—a shopkeeper, an agent or a retailer? One of these is the best option to choose
If you own a retail business, it’s important to know what type of retailer you’re.
A shopkeeper keeps shop. They keep it clean and tidy and keep the doors open. They tend to follow expectations and don’t innovate.
An agent sells products on behalf of others, usually for a low-profit margin, essentially a commission. They don’t control product prices or marketing.
A retailer controls their business, what they sell, prices and marketing. They determine their own future.
How you see yourself can determine how you run your retail business.
A shopkeeper tends to do what is expected for their type of shop.
An agent will follow the requirements of the supplier.
A retailer is more likely to be an entrepreneur, looking to maximise returns for the business.
We know plenty of happy business owners in each of these three categories.
In our experience, shopkeepers and agents tend to be risk-averse, thinking hard work can grow their businesses within the parameters of expectations. Retailers tend to be more open to risk in order to grow the business and maximise their returns.
Knowing the type of retail business owner you’re can help define your business focus and set the boundaries of expectation.
Now, some tips:
To figure out where you currently sit, look at your to-do list for the week. Is it dominated by maintenance tasks, cleaning, restocking, and administration? That is shopkeeper work. Is it filled with processing orders for big suppliers where you have no say in the price? That is agent work. Or, are you spending time scouting new unique products, planning your own marketing campaigns, and calculating how to increase your margin? That is retailer work. To change your business results, you first have to change where you spend your energy.
The good news is that the label you have today is not permanent. You can choose to stop just opening the doors and hoping for the best. You can decide today to take back control from suppliers who treat you like a passive distribution channel. By shifting your thinking from ‘keeping shop’ to ‘running a retail business,’ you unlock the freedom to experiment, to make mistakes, and ultimately, to build an asset that works for you, rather than you just working for it.
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newsXpress is a marketing group that supports small local independent retailers to thrive. Find out more at help@newsxpress.com.au.
