People need a compelling reason to leave their homes and come experience your business with you. This feels like a very heavy lift. . You’re supposed to be exciting enough to pull people away from their phones, their families and the comfort of online shopping. You’re competing with everything else demanding their attention. Here’s the […]
More experience-based retail: the Charm Bar, Valentine’s Rose Bouquet Bar
Following up on the trend of rural experience-based retail, I spotted these Valentine’s Day offerings from my local women’s boutique, The Daisy Village. I’m seeing more and more use of the term “Bar” to refer to any assemble-your-own type experience. Think like a salad bar, where you pick just the parts you want, but for […]
Buy Inventory Online Using Wholesale Apps: Tips for Small Town Retail Stores
I walked into a local retail shop in Alva, Oklahoma, population 4,000. It’s called Bates & Co., and they are best known for their handcrafted hairbows for infants and kids. But when I walked into their store, they had all kinds of things under one roof: women’s clothes, fashion jewelry, travel accessories and more. It […]
The End of Year Checklist for Small Businesses
I’ve been in business a long time now, from retail to service to ag, and I’ve learned some things about wrapping up one year and getting ready for the next. Some of it I learned the hard way! Whether you run your business on paper, desktop software, mobile or cloud services, there are common tasks […]














