After countless conversations in the Shopkeeper’s Lab and Master Shopkeepers, I’m ready to say it: you need a bookkeeper in your independent retail business. That doesn’t mean that YOU can’t be the bookkeeper—I was my own bookkeeper for eight years of my business. My bookkeeping wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done.  But not…

This post is part 5 of a 5-part series for the Retail CEO Challenge. Read the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.  The Retail CEO Challenge is coming to an end, and we’re wrapping up the challenge by learning how to complete the Retail Business Year-End Report! This 11-page document…

This post is part 4 of a 5-part series for the Retail CEO Challenge. Read the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5.  I’ve gotten some amazing feedback from the Savvy Shopkeeper community on the Retail CEO Challenge! As a refresher, here’s what we’ve covered so far in the challenge: Why…

This post is part 3 of a 5-part series for the Retail CEO Challenge. Read the other parts here: part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5.  Tracking is one of the key pillars of a successful business. Without tracking, a business owner simply cannot know what works and what does not. My mission with…

This post is part 2 of a 5-part series for the Retail CEO Challenge. Read the other parts here: part 1, part 3, part 4, part 5.  When I started Savvy Shopkeeper, I quickly learned that there is no “perfect paper planner” for independent retailers. Part of the reason is that many independent retailers have…

This post is part 1 of a 5-part series for the Retail CEO Challenge. Read the other parts here: part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5.  The Savvy Shopkeeper mission is to empower micro independent retailers to work less, profit more. That’s why, over the next several weeks, I’m running a new challenge for…