. The reason is not because I don’t like making money. The reason is because he is so good at making money out of his retail business, that I could add relatively little value and couldn’t justify my full fee. While there are probably a dozen or so actions that we can recommend, the truth is that these are quite minor and are really just about the final one per cent. (On a big business that is a meaningful number, but nevertheless, not the impact I had anticipated I might make.) I have compiled a list of ways in which this retailer is different to the ones I usually meet. (And I have met thousands and worked with hundreds.) Of course the store functions well operationally. (Clean, well merchandised, well trained staff – identified here.) The question is: why does this particular person succeed at making those fundamentals happen when so many others don’t? I sought to identify the reasons behind the successes achieved – the root causes, so to speak: He is an entrepreneur – not a small businessman. (I won’t labour the point here, but it is a different mentality altogether.) He has empowered his staff fully (trained them well of course) and they truly know and own their numbers – right down to GP percentage for sub-categories. He is a nice guy in the positive, ethical sense and gets along with staff. I am confident that I could charge him 100 per cent of my quote and he would honour it, even if scope turned out to be somewhat less than anticipated. While he is onsite a lot and stays in touch with the minutiae; even then he focuses on working on the business. (He has built great systems that fully integrate across all channels, it is up to date, and produces reliable numbers that allows him to keep his hand on the tiller and make strategic decisions.) He invests (substantially – more than $15,000 per annum) in his own personal development and growth. He is willing to constantly, proactively seek out professional expertise and respond to it appropriately – before it is too late in a constant push to ensure that the business is finetuned. He invests and reinvests constantly in the business and the premises. You may well argue that in a successful multi-million dollar business he can afford to do these things, but I also know that this has not always been the case. What successful retail entrepreneurs understand above all else is that you can’t start doing these things once you become successful, but that you have to do them in order to become successful. Have fun Dennis GANADOR: We help you educate your customers because that is the best way to acquire, retain, and engage them for the long haul.