Winter Edition/ Nov-Dec 2018 by Retailing Insight Magazine

RetailingInsight Connecting the Best in Body-Mind-Spirit

MAGAZINE

Vol 32 | Issue 6 | 2018

Winter Edition FOCUSING ON OUTCOME VS. INCOME

OLD SCHOOL | NEW SCHOOL Are brick-and-mortar and online marketplaces virtually the same?

SET SMART GOALS How to set smart goals and achieve them year round

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL Water Lily Mittens by Solmate Socks

And More...

Gifts for Family & Friends Gift Ideas for Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day

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Winter Edition

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018

Features

COVER IMAGE: Water Lily Mittens by Solmate Socks Photo by Chelsea Parrett

6 | OLD SCHOOL, NEW SCHOOL Are brick-and-mortar and online marketplaces virtually the same?

18 | THE FUTURE OF RETAIL How consumer behaviors are affecting retail stores

28 | SET SMART GOALS How to set smart goals and achieve them year round 34 | BLURRING THE LINES Learn how to manage your employees 40 | DECK ROUNDUP Can spirit beings really speak to us through card decks?

And More... 24 | LOVE IS THE ANSWER Valentine’s Day gift ideas 54 | EDITORS PICKS Gifts for family and friends 57 | FRESH! A galleria of NEW products (Special Advertisment Section)

50 2 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

editor'snote

retailing insight magazine is published exclusively for independent retailers of unique and meaningful products for the body, mind, and spirit. Our purpose is to nurture retail store success by providing excellent business advice, honest product reviews, advertisements from leading wholesale companies, and outstanding coverage of the dynamic body, mind, and spirit market.

The leaves are starting to fall, announcing that winter is coming. A new season is about to begin, and for many of you, the season may be short, but the list of opportunities for profit is long. It’s all about planning! To celebrate the spirit of giving, we’ve selected some great gift ideas for family and friends, and the best of books and journals in the body, mind, and spirit category to nurture your soul. To help your business grow, we have an exclusive interview focusing on outcome vs. income with Jay Goltz, CEO of the Goltz Group. Switching departments, set smart goals is a good real-life story on how practical strategies can be achievable year around. Now, behind a successful business there’s always…the right employer, right?! Find out more on blurring the lines. Furthermore, the future of retail and old school-new school can help you understand more about how consumer behaviors are affecting retail shops in the digital era. Be prepared for the new year. Set your goals. The new year is a year of fortune and luck, and a good year to invest and make money! For 2019, our goal is to continue raising the bar by bringing the best content in the body, mind and spirit industry right to your store! See you in the special issue… 2019 Resources. Have a great season!

PUBLISHER EDITOR COPY-EDITOR GRAPHIC DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS

CIRCULATION SALES

Joe Mount Roberta Gazzarolle Sean Ruck Laura Cunningham Jacqueline Adamany Bill Binkelman Anna Jedrziewski Megy Karydes Royce A. Morales Uma Silbey Jacki Smith Katie Slocombe Karen Johnson

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OLD SCHOOL NE W SCH O

Are brick-and-mortar and online marketplaces virtually the same?

by Royce Amy Morales

kay, so you’ve owned your brick-and-mortar shop for years (or are, perhaps, a retail newbie), and you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed. With the constant arrival of high-tech doodads, new-fangled social media connections, online competition, along with the day-to-day demands of running a retail business, you’re barely able to just keep up. Okay, so you’re more than a bit overwhelmed. Understandably so. You find yourself contemplating, there’s got to be an easier way. If you’re a seasoned shop owner you might be thinking gosh, handwritten receipts and an occasional ad in the local paper worked just fine. Wahappened? You watch in dismay as other shops crumble, speculating if yours is next, wondering if there’s anything to do 6 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

to prevent that. Or, maybe you’re secretly looking forward to the freedom and security a nine-to-five gig would entail. Here’s the good news: while many believe that real shops are doomed in today’s tech-driven world, there are still just as many people who prefer hands-on in an actual store, rather than a virtual one. Although off-line sales still remain bigger than e-commerce, we can’t deny that it’s growing at a significant rate, especially for those of the Millennial persuasion. It’s obvious that today’s retail hardscape is more competitive than ever. Not only are you competing with the store across town, but with online shopping, you’re competing with stores all over the world. Even some non-tech savvy are turning to their computers

rather than malls. Those deeply committed to our non-cyber stores are being rattled to the core. The theory as well as some ponderings presented in this article are the following: Are there significant differences in owning and managing an online shop versus a real one? (Spoiler alert: the answer is no!) And, what are the secrets to remaining relevant and profitable in this time of retail shop Armageddon? Opening my own shop in 1994, I was a wide-eyed, idealistic visionary, thinking what’s the big deal about running a shop anyway? So what if people don’t know what ‘going green’ means. I can educate them about the importance of making eco-choices with every purchase! It didn’t take long for reality to hit, shifting my positive attitude into OMG this work is never ending, incredibly complicated, I never make a dime and I just can’t keep up with the constant technological mayhem! No one really cares about being ecological except me and a few others, certainly not enough to keep me in business. Why the heck am I doing this anyway? What kept me going was a passionate feeling of meaningfulness, not only about what I was selling, but about what I was doing as well. It was extremely sad when we had to close in 2014 due to my husband’s illness, yet, admittedly, I felt some relief. I’d grown to love and care about so many customers, and, even though my days were never less than 14 hours, I was doing something important for the community and for the artists and vendors I’d deeply connected with. Mostly, my sadness was about knowing that one more independent, long-time retail holdout would be biting the dust. Nonetheless, my finger remained firmly on the pulse of the retail shop world. Writing articles for this magazine, plus having a somewhat-under-control shopping addiction, it’s virtually impossible for me to walk into a small shop without my analytical antenna going up. I do a silent critique of merchandise, displays, traffic-flow and customer service. You can take the girl out of her shop but… Moving from the bustling city into remote mountains has forced me to become an online purchaser. As a loyal small shop supporter, this was something I swore I’d never do. However, this new realm of point-and-click shopping has taught me something you sticking-with-it-no-matter-what brick-and-mortar folks will appreciate: running a virtual shop is pretty much the same thing as running a real shop – same issues, same goals, same challenges, different packaging. What do I mean by that? Let’s start with an example. Back in the day, when a customer had a negative experience in a shop, they would most likely do a couple of things. One, they would look around for the manager and report what happened. Perhaps they’d write a note to the owner of the business informing them of their bad experience. They might have taken it further and tell their friends what happened, cautioning them to not shop there. This event would probably not affect the shop too terribly, unless it happened frequently enough to warrant lots of tongue flapping in the community. Nowadays, before they’re even out the door, customers are on their smartphones writing negative Yelp reviews, posting pictures on Facebook, or even downloading a video of their horror onto Instagram.

Although these posts may spread faster and more furiously, and are probably there for eternity, this negativity may not make much difference to the shop’s livelihood. Even better, the shop owner is able to rapidly counter the information, offer an explanation, or may even be able to apologize to clean things up. These complaints may be the needed alert an oblivious shop owner needs to make some important changes, something they wouldn’t have been aware of without the fear of a viral social media blast.

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Although life for the local retailer is tougher in this digital age, the traditional store is far from being dead.

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It’s Kinda the Same Even though there are a few obvious differences, running a virtual shop is pretty much the same as running a real one. Both require goal setting, flexibility, changing with the evolution of technology and with the curve of customers’ ever-flexing taste. Both need to have an identity or a brand. Both need to sell quality items. Both need to have ease of customer service. And, although the concerns might look different, both need to use creative problem solving constantly. Although one doesn’t need to sweep a virtual shop, or worry about artistic displays, it still needs to be kept orderly, aesthetically appealing and easy to navigate.

Customer Shopping Experience We’ve got our work cut out for us, but remember that small, independent retailers are essential to healthy communities. We give value that the internet can’t because we create experiences built entirely on human relationships. People like to shop online for obvious reasons: They can shop 24/7; they can compare prices easily; they can find sales and discounts; they have an endless variety of options. It’s also somewhat of a novelty for some. Even with all that, for many, nothing beats in-store shopping. If nothing else, they can take it home instantly, avoid paying shipping costs and are able to talk to a real, live sales person who can answer questions and give advice. Although life for the local retailer is tougher in this digital age, the traditional store is far from being dead. Ironically, many large online merchants are discovering the inherent advantages of real shopping and are opening storefronts of their own.

E-Commerce Sites Can’t Do What Shops Do They can’t surprise, delight, inspire or engage. No matter how much data they collect or how effectively their algorithms predict behavior, they will always be transaction based. We, on the other hand, can pivot quickly in response to a changing customer base. We Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 7

know our customers because they interact with us face-to-face daily. We support the local bowling league, homeless shelter or pre-school. The big guys simply don’t connect in a meaningful, human way. As an article in The New York Times noted, “An age of online shopping has, surprisingly, led to an exciting time for shoppers to get back out onto city streets to explore new, innovative shops. Rather than crushing physical stores, the rise of online shopping is, in many cases, encouraging the development of new and innovative retail shops. Companies of all sizes that once sold primarily through multi-brand retailers are building on their experience running online stores by opening direct-to-consumer brick-and-mortar locations. Established retailers are shifting their focus from basic transactions to offering compelling brand experiences and higher levels of personal service.” (“Clicks to Bricks: Online Retailers Find the Lure of a Store,” November 10, 2016.) This progression confirms that stores have tremendous potential to take advantage of the changing times and reclaim customers in the increasingly competitive retail market. Here are some other statistics to help appreciate what you, the indie shop owner, are doing:

What all that means is, if you’re a small shop, what you’re really selling is value. You most likely already sell unique items, but how else can you leverage your real shop advantages? What can you do that online competition will not or cannot do? What can you offer that other retailers—and especially the big online sellers—have difficulty offering? We’ve all heard inapplicable business advice from big stores, read empty promises of success by following the latest tried-andtrue formula, or listened to advice you just can’t afford to apply. So, here are some down-to-earth suggestions designed for the small indie business to help with day-to-day management of your retail shop by realizing your unique position in this ever-changing world of commerce:

Only $.06 of every $1 spent at a big box retailer stays in the community. For a chain store, that figure rises to $.20. By contrast, research has shown that every $1 spent at an independent retailer keeps $.60 circulating in the community.

We’ve all heard the phrase “location, location, location.” Concrete shops can reap the benefits of location by becoming a destination point, drawing upon traffic patterns and customer demographics.

8 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Shoppers have confidence in small businesses over large corporations by a 3:1 ratio, and recent research by the National Federation of Independent Business and American Express found that 94% of respondents said that shopping at a small business makes them feel good.

1. Keep it Local

Even more important is becoming an integral part of the community, a visible fixture, as this will become part of your branding. Nothing compares with word-ofmouth advertising as your best marketing tool. Understand your customers and take care of them. Make your shop a place where people want to gather, targeting products, services and events that support the locals. It’s shown that a majority of shoppers prefer the convenience of purchasing at a local retailer if an item is available in both a nearby store and online. Many may research and compare products and pricing online, but will complete their purchases at a convenient location. Remember: Customers want to support small businesses, especially those in their immediate community. They want to walk in and be greeted as an old friend rather than a credit card number. They love receiving a hand-written follow-up note after a purchase or a real birthday card with a special gift offer.

2. See Me, Touch Me, Feel Me Probably the most important aspect of a physical shop is the experience customers are afforded. It’s not just a place to buy things, but rather the joy of actually touching, feeling and being with the merchandise. When asked their preference, most customers still prefer to shop in a physical store - as long as the experience is worth it. Making it great is the key to will help grow your business like nothing else. The truth is, people like to shop. Always have and, arguably, always will. It’s that primitive hunter/gatherer thing. There’s no comparison between making an e-purchase, versus a fun afternoon outing, strolling through unique independent shops, stopping for lunch, sipping a latte, having some Me or Us time. It’s fun trying on clothes, leafing through books, touching artisan made tchotchkes, sampling body products, smelling scented candles, listening to bells chime or even experiencing the simple pleasure of window shopping. It’s not only retail-tainment, it’s actually psychologically therapeutic on many levels. A successful retail space is more than a well-stocked supermarket to fill up a shopping cart. Rather, it’s a showcase that encourages the human nature wanting to 10 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

browse and discover. Your job is to create a great shopping atmosphere which means appealing, organized, fun, clean displays and ease of flow. The ambiance, the look and feel of your shop, the uniqueness of products as well as the true caring, above and beyond customer service are all part of the feel-good factors that bring customers back again and again. Even if it’s easier to use a mouse. Customers can have a soulful, reflective experience in a physical shop, feeling led by their heart or those subconscious, intuitive pulls. When they purchase something, they bring the memory of the entire transaction home with them and it lasts forever. It becomes what they see when they look at that one-of-a-kind handcrafted vase made by a local artist who they just happened to meet at your shop. It’s the joy they feel in the shower using that fragrant handmade organic soap they splurged on from your shop, just because. Or the feeling they get knowing they supported an independent business rather than being just a statistic on Amazon’s algorithm. Your job is to constantly research what’s going on in the realm of shops and shopping. Take frequent field trips to malls and other shops to see what works and what doesn’t. What grabs your attention and why? What about colors? Observe how they deliver a full sensory experience of sight, sound, touch and feel. How are their displays interactive in some way? Do they mix products or accessorize items together? Get inspired by what they do and adjust it to give it your own flavor. Add activities such as product demonstrations, book signings, poetry readings, events for children, classes, contests, celebrations etc. Not just end-of-season sales or special discounts. Make your shop worth the visit.

3. Know Your Stuff Whether by seeing a product up close, observing it demonstrated in person, or finding answers to detailed questions, consumers turn to retailers for their knowledge. That’s why you’re in business, actually. Statistically, more shoppers are likely to buy when helped by a knowledgeable salesperson and value their recommendations.

They often buy more than they planned if they like the salesperson. They’ll even travel further to find the most knowledgeable source if the same item is available at different shops. Even if their initial product research is done online, it’s an expert salesperson at a local store who closes the deal, even if the price is slightly higher. This is true even for customers reared in the digital age. What that means is educating your staff thoroughly, and maybe even brush up on your own product knowledge. Be a problem solver and an informed expert, offering go-to information as part of your impeccable customer service routine.

4. Trust, Trust, Trust By a shop’s mere physical presence, trust is built, something that consumers can’t get online. This is the key to relationship building, your most important success commodity. Consumers associate brick-and-mortar with legitimacy. By engaging with a seller face to face, they feel more secure,

knowing you will be there if there are issues or the need to return something. They may feel more secure making credit-card transactions at a store counter rather than running the risk of being hacked online. Personal interactions lead to customer retention. It will also lead to good reviews and a strong social-media following. Trust goes a long way, so be careful: It can be easily lost by a few bad interactions.

help create financial statements. Point-ofsale (POS) systems can help speed up your checkout process with fast scanning and less errors. Most can keep an accurate track of inventory which can be incredibly useful for those dreaded yearly physical item counts. They can even give statistics on profit margins, trending and much more. You can also use technology to reduce the costs of processing financial transactions. Using electronic signature captures can also eliminate that stack of credit slips which can make it easier to handle disputed transactions. In addition, add business intelligence and analytics to your arsenal. This will provide insights to help get the right products in the right quantities at the right time. There are even programs that can help develop an accurate merchandise plan as well as the right product-mix for your retail store. Use analytics to help gain a better understanding of your customers. There are programs that collect data to keep track of purchase history, returns, items they

5. Techno Logic Even though it might be overwhelming, the myriad benefits that technology can bring to your store should never be overlooked. It’s always a significant investment, so keep track of new developments in tools for retail solutions, to find options that will address your needs and fit your budget. Nowadays, there are programs available for small shops that used to only be available for megastores. Updating or adding technology can deliver a tremendous return on investment. It can help reduce labor costs, improve productivity, automate manual tasks and

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are looking for, email addresses, birthdays, etc. which helps tremendously in crafting marketing strategies. This can even help finetune a more personal customer service plan. Tools such as Google Analytics helps show what your customers are looking for on your website, how they’re finding your site, and how they’re behaving once there. This can allow you to track online shopping patterns and provide individualized offers. Utilize an eclectic array of marketing tools such as email, newsletters, blog, social media, etc. will help customers deepen their engagement with your store and keep you on their radar. Be careful not to overdo it, but with the overwhelming choices available, it’s possible to fill in any cracks.

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Managing a retail store is a complex puzzle. However, if you start with caring about the customer experience, the pieces start to fall into place. In other words, if the customer’s experience in your store is what drives all the choices you make, everything comes together. Don’t ever forget who the lifeblood of your retail business is, especially now when shoppers have infinite choices. Today, what drives business is not just about service, but rather about the holistic customer experience with all aspects working together - from salespeople to policies to cleanliness to merchandising to inventory. Great service is valued highly, and could cost many a sale if it’s not there. It’s something that costs little to establish and should be a priority. Delivering that personal touch is what small shops can excel at, and it’s something that can never happen online. Your team is the face of your store. We’ve all experienced a rude, inattentive or uninformed clerk in a beautiful shop, and these encounters practically guarantee lost customers for life. Hire people who bring customer service skills to the table, or those who have potential to do so. Look for those with personalities somewhat different from yours to add balance and complement what you bring. Rather than letting things fester, regularly review your service basics and communicate quickly when someone isn’t upholding your standards. Don’t be afraid to let an employee go who doesn’t fit the vibe, or passes the buck about not making sales, or

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makes excuses about keeping responsibilities. The importance of setting goals with your staff will make sure you and your employees are on the same page. Discuss where you are headed. Talk about sales numbers. Encourage “upselling” without pushiness. Train employees about the merchandise so they’re informed and can answer questions effortlessly. Consider creating a commission payment that motivates employees to sell higher grossing products. Most importantly, always make customers feel welcome, find ways to help them and sincerely thank them for their business. Part of serving them is to have specific customer follow-up procedures such as a thank you email or keeping them posted about upcoming events and sales.

7. Be Yourself

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Small shops mean unique. If you’re not, why would a customer bother to shop there? An integral part of that is being passionate and knowledgeable about what you sell, which is hopefully why you opened to begin with. However, don’t assume that everyone shares your passion or your knowledge. For example, if someone is just beginning to delve into New Age information, make sure to have products that could introduce them to this realm. That’s what can bring someone to your passion and ultimately what builds your customer base. As a small business, you are exclusively suited to get to know your customers, adapt to their changing needs and help with any confusion. Your job is to remain relevant, but stay loyal to your brand. However, it’s also about being innovative, providing quality products and keeping your prices competitive. As the mass merchandise stores move into smaller towns, small independent retailers are feeling the squeeze. To survive, you need to continue to change and update your merchandise mix, perhaps even rethink some product lines. Carefully introduce new items and notice the response you get. Customers want to see fresh and new, but they may also shop your store for certain consistent items. If you’re considering carrying an item that big stores also sell, make sure there’s a compelling reason to do so. Being unique means that you ultimately control your own brand, pricing and business destiny.

14 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

8. What You See Is What You Get The silent salesperson in your store is visual merchandising. An engaging, well-done display can sell as many products as a live salesperson and gives you the upper hand over online shops. Each morning, as you unlock the door, stand on the threshold of your store (like a customer) and take a critical look at what you see. Would you like to shop there? What display pulls your eye? What screams excitement or looks tired and bare? Is there a natural traffic pattern that needs tweaking? Once in a while, invite a friend to give their objective opinion, especially if they’re not an expert but just an average shopper. Constantly observe customers as the best way to evaluate if a display is working or not being noticed. There might be some “dead” areas of your shop that need to be livened. Displays should be straightened daily, freshened frequently and major rearrangements done monthly, especially when holiday merchandise arrives. This not only keeps things attractive, it moves energy around and allows your inventory to be “re-loved!” Create easy=to=navigate product vignettes that group items together; present inspirational ways to utilize merchandise at home; make aesthetically pleasing displays using layers of different heights to add interest and move the eye.

9. Cash Flows Although it’s not often something a visionary business owner necessarily wants to deal with, it’s essential that you understand your financial numbers, and what these numbers are telling you. Cash flow is a daunting challenge in a business that’s as unpredictable as the weather. There are cash expenditures that crop up on a on a daily, weekly and quarterly basis including payroll, inventory, accounts payable and taxes. Most shop owners don’t take the time to create a budget, thus find themselves strapped for cash at different points. Budget your demands over the course of the next few months including upcoming orders, steady costs such as rent, utilities, payroll, etc. Forecast (AKA “Open to Buy”) monies by going over sales reports from prior years. Always go back at least two years to get a fairly accurate prediction

of what you need to purchase for upcoming months keeping in mind any changes you’re observing. Planning in this way will allow you to allocate for big purchases that may need to happen throughout the year so you’re always prepared. Remember: Nothing is worse (for you and your vendors) than ordering inventory and discovering you don’t have the money to pay for it! Speaking of which, inventory management is crucial to customer experience. Being out of stock or not having a full assortment of something a customer came in for is devastating and will send them immediately to their laptop. Apologizing and special ordering will only take you so far. It may seem like a pittance, but review your credit card processing costs and fees. Spend time understanding the costs involved in processing payments. Check with your provider and ask about specific charges and fees on your monthly statements. Shop around to find less expensive credit card vendors so you can reduce costs. Every penny counts in retail. Ask your local economic development agency or chamber of commerce for information about government grants and utility discounts. You might be surprised at the array of sponsored incentives that can lower everything from capital expenditures to payroll costs. Even such things as new signage, landscaping, lightbulbs and modernization of your computers and POS. Never hurts to ask!

Since e-shoppers can easily research items sold in your shop and get them cheaper with the click of a mouse, make sure your vendors commit to keeping their prices the same as yours on their websites. If not, don’t carry them!

10. It’s All Important In brick-and-mortar shops, every little thing speaks volumes. Customers may not be consciously aware as to why they’re reacting, but their subconscious knows. Your store design, what an employee is wearing, return policies, lighting, even the background music: These are messages about what you stand for, the demographics you’re aiming at, and whether you are truly walking your talk. Examine your practices and policies closely to see if they’re perhaps working against your customer experience. Is it really necessary to have a no-return policy? Is heavy metal music the vibe for your New Age shop? When was the last time you really cleaned underneath your merchandise or patched nail holed walls? Do torn jeans represent what your customers relate to in a salesperson? Is fluorescent lighting making your products look dead? There are simple changes that could be a huge help to your shop’s presentation and feel.

11. Change is Good Often, change seems complicated and overwhelming until you actually start. Remember learning to drive and how frightened

you were? Now, it’s second nature. Remember your first computer and how terrifying it was? Now, it’s undoubtedly a piece-a-cake. Getting an updated inventory control system, starting a blog or posting items for sale on your website will not be as difficult as you may imagine. Remember: There are those who can help, so don’t hesitate to find them. It might take some work, but you can do it. In conclusion, the only thing we fully control, in retail and in life, is what we give. Everything else is merely reaction to external forces. By approaching this ever-changing retail climate with passionate generosity, figuring out what you can offer that’s relevant, meaningful and important, and choosing to give it with love, you become the game changers of the world. Not only will your odds of success increase, on a deeper level, your heart and soul will feel good. Isn’t that truly why you’re in business? Since we are all involved in the consciousness business, here’s a powerful word of advice: Change one simple word in your vocabulary and it can shift your attitude about everything. Instead of saying I have to, say I get to. This turns everything into a place of gratitude. What a difference a word makes!

 Royce Amy Morales is the director of Perfect Life Awakening coaching. She has also published the book Know: A Spiritual Wake-up Call. Morales is the former owner of Harmony Works, a soul-nurturing shop in Redondo Beach, CA.

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 15

business&marketing Focusing on Outcome Versus Income by Megy Karydes Jay Goltz admits he didn’t set out to become a shop owner like his father. Yet that unpopular idea is exactly what the new college grad did in 1978. “My mother’s send-off was, ‘you went to school for four years and ended up like your father,’” Goltz says. “It didn’t bother me though. It actually helped steel me for what was to come with the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur.” Like any entrepreneur, the ride to success is rarely linear. Goltz is CEO of the The Goltz Group which includes several independent retail businesses. This fall, four decades since opening the doors to his first shop in an abandoned factory district in Chicago, he introduced his third Artists Frame Services retail business, a custom framing shop, in the design district near downtown Chicago. Along the way, he opened Jayson Home on the same block as his original retail outpost, which has now become one of the city’s busiest shopping districts. “People might be surprised to know that there are times that I sweep up the front of our buildings – I find it cathartic,” says Goltz. “It brings me back to my childhood of working at my father’s neighborhood dime store.” Opening a business 40 years ago is remarkably different than the landscape today and Goltz is taking advantage of marketing possibilities that didn’t even exist one decade ago, let alone four. “We’re embracing the new marketing opportunities from the web, bloggers, social media – and frankly, the alleged ‘meltdown of retail’ has created opportunities to better navigate in the new world,” he explains. “Part of that is we really focus on selling better, more interesting products to a niche market of home furnishing aficionados. We are deliberately not mass market.” Paying Attention to A Different Kind of Trend Goltz also pays close attention to trends, but not in the sense of color palettes and décor styles. One of the reasons he chose to open his latest business near downtown Chicago, a very different kind of location than where his shops are now, is because he says it reflects the fact that more and more people aren’t buying cars in major cities and are opting to shop within walking distance of their homes. For customers of Jayson Home, his brick and mortar shop which features home accessories, tableware, garden items as well as furniture, a new website will better represent their unique collections from all over the world and be accessible to a broader group of buyers.

16 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Another key piece Goltz often considers is the ever-rising healthcare costs as well as the crushing student debt that affects his employees. “But at the end of the day, we take care of them because better people always pay for themselves,” he says. “Our average person has been here for 10 years, which results in far more than average customer service.” Outcome Vs. Income Goltz wishes more entrepreneurs today would ask if it’s all about the money before they start their business. He realizes that for some business owners, the answer is probably “yes.” For him, though, it’s not about the income as much as it’s about the outcome. “Money is an important part of the outcome, but I can’t put a price on what it feels like to know I’ve provided a livelihood, security and a place for people to thrive,” he shares. His Worst & Best Marketing Tips Annual big art fairs are common in Chicago and since Goltz sells frames to people who buy artwork, he thought it’d be a great idea to have a banner ad flying over the art fair to get the attention of all the art buyers. “I know, brilliant!” he exclaims. “I very excitedly went down to the fair for my big moment and then there it was… and I realized I was the only one looking straight up. It’s not like sitting on a beach or a baseball game with a captive audience looking out over the horizon. Oops.” It was then that he learned that sales people will sell you anything. He’s since learned from his mistake. Today, his best marketing asset it his customers, hands down. “Your customers are like compound interest. Over the years, if you take good care of them, the business will grow,” he says. “Too many people practice what I call flow-through marketing. They spend all this money getting new customers without realizing they are losing them as fast as they are gaining. With that method, you will eventually run out of customers.”

 Megy Karydes is a marketing and communications consultant. She’s also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University and working on a book about how businesses can better market themselves. Sign up to get her marketing tips every month at MegyKarydes.com.

â&#x201E;¢

The Future

of Retail

by Jackie Adamany

usiness as usual? Not anymore. With the continuous revolution of technology, changing patterns in the way consumers shop and the influence of major retail pioneers like Amazon and Walmart, small business owners cannot continue to plan for the future based solely on the past. Digital transformation, in-store experiences and consumer behaviors are affecting all retail stores regardless of size. You see it everywhere, an accelerated shift away from in-store shopping with more and more consumers looking at e-commerce as their main method of shopping. Look no further than online only gallery The Barrington Garage in Maryland, where principal Michael Faircloth has witnessed an increase in sales in 2018. “My sales over the past year have been the best I’ve seen in the 10 years or so that I’ve been in business. While I don’t see any significant headwinds that would bring a reversal, it’s reasonable and prudent to expect a leveling off in the rate of growth.” Digital transformation makes it possible to get what you want when you want it. At any given moment you can browse the internet (on your smartphone!) for exactly what you want, compare prices from a multitude of stores, place your order and even have the item delivered that same day. Think about how quickly you can read a review on any store in town, get instant feedback from friends and view current updates across multiple social media outlets. Emerging technologies like augmented reality (AR) technology will continue to become more sophisticated and more readily available. Forward-thinking retail brands are incorporating AR technology into the consumer experience both in store and online. A prime example is the Ikea Place app. “The app lets you place true-to-scale 3D furniture in your home using the lens of your iPhone camera,” explains Michael Valdsgaard, the Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter IKEA Systems B.V. “You see the scene as if these objects were real and you can walk around them and interact with them, even leave the room and come back. It’s really magic to experience. We found out through research that some customers weren’t confident about buying,” Michael says. “So, this is aimed at making that experience easier for them.” With the area of augmented reality evolving so fast, Michael Valdsgaard says it will be exciting to see where the technology leads. “We don’t know yet what’s around the corner,” he says. Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 19

Michael Faircloth sees AR as the future in retail shopand feel” for non-apparel items. When stores are designed ping, “Everyone is talking about AR, we have already seen a to deliver the end-to-end shopping experience, where the retailer held the most product information within the store substantial increase in customization options for consumers, and that will, no doubt, continue. Who would have thought itself, and now consumers no longer need that experience, just a few years ago that you’d be able to do a digital “fitting” then it’s not surprising that store traffic is down, and store sales are taking a hit. (Forbes.com) with your smartphone and order custom apparel?” Augmented reality can now bring the in-store experiSo how can you adapt to the continuing evolution of ence direct to consumers’ homes. Think about how you can digital transformation giants like Amazon and their influence use this new technology in your shop. The possibilities are on the retail sector? Michael Faircloth shares, “While Amazon endless! Home and lifestyle brand Magnolia Market uses will remain king of the hill for the foreseeable future, their an AR app allowing presumed annihilation their customers to see of bricks-and-mortar Making sure your customers are satishow their products will stores is overblown—at look in their homes. least for retailers who fied at every touchpoint depends on Imagine your customer remain nimble and creayour ability to identify each touchpoint. able to view the handtive. Amazon’s immencrafted jewelry on your sity and dominance do Mapping these points creates a visual store shelves to find have a downside. Like how to - which you can use to create the exactly the perfect piece so many large enterto match her outfit. Or prises, they function as ultimate customer experience. the customer shopping a well-oiled machine as for the vase to place in long as things are flowtheir living room. All done without ever leaving their homes! ing as intended. But, when something unusual happens that While AR technology is still in its infancy stage, it is being requires a thoughtful and informed response, the machine developed at a rapid rate. Learn more on how you can use will stutter. Just ask their marketplace sellers what it’s like to this technology in your store at Augment.com. deal with Amazon Seller Support. Small physical stores can Augmented reality is only a small part of the ongoing react in quick and personal ways that will engender great digital transformation of retail. What is digital transformaloyalty for a certain type of shopper.” tion? At its highest level, it means using digital technologies Today’s retail owner must be able to transform themselves to disrupt existing industries or create new ones. Think Uber from being product-centric to customer-centric, moving – the first to bring technology to connect people who need from efficiency to flexibility and from optimization to being rides with people who have cars. This connection changed the inspired. Smart retailers know retail is not dying out, rather economics of their specific industry. Today’s small business it is evolving and knowing how to evolve with it is key. owners needs to begin planning their digital transformation Moving from product-centric to customer-centric involves omni-channel experiences and customer touchplan, maybe not as disruptive as Uber, but ultimately a small plan to allow their company to grow and adapt to changing points. These are the moments when you, your staff and times. As Michael Faircloth sums it up, “unless you prefer even your brand touches a customer. It could be something to remain very small, you cannot thrive without a digital simple like a postcard in their mailbox, a conversation with a presence and a dynamic digital plan.” friend who recently visited your shop or an employee simply According to Forbes.com there is one thing retail has answering a phone call with store hours. that will not change. In the end, retail involves transferring Touchpoint definition: A touchpoint is any time a potential possession of physical goods to a consumer. This one little customer or customer comes in contact with your brand–before, thing – the transfer of real, physical goods to a consumer – is during, or after they purchase something from you. both the biggest difference retail faces when taking on digital Making sure your customers are satisfied at every touchtransformation and is also the biggest inhibitor that locks point depends on your ability to identify each touchpoint. retailers into thinking that digital transformation isn’t going Mapping these points creates a visual how to - which you can to impact them like other industries. use to create the ultimate customer experience. When you look at how consumers acquire products, Begin by making a list of every possible interaction a pretty much every part of the shopper journey is being digiconsumer would have with your brand. Think about social tized, except for that last physical transfer of goods. Probably media, window displays, signage, even your parking lot. Put the last bastion of the physical is fit for apparel, or “touch yourself in the consumer shoes, visit your shop as a customer, 20 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

visit other shops and take notes. Lots of notes. When you feel you have a strong list, begin working on ways to ensure every touchpoint is effective and memorable. Think about better signage outside your shop, how your window display appears as cars drive by and how your staff greets each customer. Small businesses need to make the customer feel they are the focus of all communication and the retailer has exactly what the customer wants. Being customer-centric is also about utility – how can you, your shop and your staff be of use to the customer? How can you make things easier for them? How can you make them excited to return? How do you make them tell their friends? How do you make your shop stand out from the crowd? A key element to the future of retail depends on making the store visit an experience for the customer. Retailers now need to rethink their business models to put more emphasis on creating an experience rather than just a place to shop and go home. Over the years, retailers have been creatively coming up with new strategies to invite consumers into their stores, get them to interact with the merchandise, stay longer and ultimately purchase. One such retail marketing strategy is retailtainment. Retailtainment – is retail marketing as entertainment. In the book Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption (1999), author George Ritzer describes “retailtainment” as the “use of ambience, emotion, sound and activity to get customers interested in the merchandise and in a mood to buy.” Sometimes called “inspirational retailing” or “entertailing,” it has also been defined as “the modern trend of combining shopping and

entertainment opportunities as an anchor for customers.” Wikipedia. In a CMO.com article, Kelly Gilmore, vice president of retail marketing and advertising at the National Retail Federation CMO Council, shares her thoughts on the most common mistakes companies make when adopting an omnichannel strategy. “Companies need to look at the overall experience that they’re delivering to the customer” instead of blindly going after new technologies and platforms. “They need to understand what the customer wants and avoid chasing a shiny object because ‘everybody else has it, so we need to have that,’” Kelly says. “Make sure it’s the right thing for your brand because not everything is the right thing for the brand.” That said, Gilmore said that experimentation is a natural part of customer-centric retailing. “With the speed of technology and the access that today’s consumer has to information, retailers need to test and learn. Smart retailers learn from mistakes and move on.” This digital shift will certainly continue to shape the future of retail. Look for more personalization and concierge-style services, more showroom-type experiences and in-store events to capture the attention and the money of the consumer. Michael Faircloth explains, “Creating an experience is important for all retailers, but it’s vital for bricks-and-mortar if they hope to compete with online. While not all buyers are looking for shopping to be a social experience, for some, it’s more about the party than the product. There’s the opportunity for the small specialty retailer.” Many small brick-and-mortar stores share the same fear— losing sales and customers to Amazon and other online retail giants. But these retailers can stay in the game by making their

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 21

operations run smarter and providing customers with a new and improved experience. Internet of Things (IoT) technology can help you do just that. What is IoT technology? In simple terms, it’s a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-tocomputer interaction. Think Amazon Echo, FitBit, even your coffee pot as IoT technology. According to Forbes.com these everyday objects can be connected to the internet and be recognized by other devices and contribute info to a database. The Internet of Things describes Internet V.2, where data is created by things. Kevin Ashton, digital innovation expert who is credited with coining the term, defines the Internet of Things in this quote: “If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things—using data they gathered without any help from us—we would be able to track and count everything, and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or recalling, and whether they were fresh or past their best.” How can a small business owner implement IoT technology into their digital transformation plan? First, learn all

22 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

you can about this new technology. Read as much as you can about IoT and stay up-to-date with its continued evolution. IoT will ultimately impact the way we do business. Here are just a few ways IoT will play a part in a retail setting: • Inventory management: Smart devices will ultimately be able to track inventory automatically • Consumer demands: Consumers will get used to smart devices and begin to expect “smart” behavior in all aspects of their lives • Shorter buying cycle: Businesses will need to come to terms with a shorter buying cycle and consumer expectations for immediate gratification that the IoT supports • Learn from the data: The volumes of data generated from smart devices help businesses learn how and what to innovate for the biggest impact • Remote work: As IoT becomes more integrated, additional remote working opportunities will be available for tasks that used to require staff to be on-site to complete. The Internet of Things is just getting started. Small business owners who start now to develop or expand IoT technology in their products, services and operations, are the ones who will realize a competitive advantage in the future of retail.

An important aspect in the future of retail, remains with the consumer and the evolution of their shopping behaviors. What the surveys say: The Future of Retail 2018 by Walker Sands (1600 consumers surveyed). Key Findings: Politics plays a leading role in commerce The popularity of connected devices has skyrocketed Amazon’s dominance forces competing retailers to evolve Consumers are more comfortable using voice-controlled devices to shop • Fast delivery is no longer optional, it’s a must

The Store of the Past Meets the Shopper of the Future: Can Retailers Adapt to Modern Consumer Expectations? By Euclid (1500 USA consumers surveyed). Key Findings: • New buying models (e.g. subscription boxes) are shifting how people think about stores • The powerful Millennial generation is turned off by traditional marketing methods • Growing channel agnosticism - an openness to regularly using multiple channels - means there’s ‘room for everyone’

• • • •

CEO Viewpoint 2017 Transformation of Retail by JDA/PwC (351 executives surveyed). Key Findings: • • • • •

Investment Priorities Profitability Omni-channel Fulfillment The Digital Transformation Strategy Leveraging Customer Data

Forward thinking shops that rethink the consumer experience and invest in it and the retailers who uncover ways to bring the omni-channel experience into their digital transformation plan, will come out of this current retail renaissance as the winners.  Jacqueline Adamany is a seasoned artist and the author of Going Wholesale, a step-by-step approach for artists & craftspeople. Jacqueline has mentored many artists preparing them for the world of wholesale while readying them for trade shows. She has been a columnist for Smart Retailer and Handmade Business magazines. She is Vice President of IndieMe, Inc. an online marketplace and virtual trade show for wholesale artists and buyers to connect.

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Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 23

Valentine’s Day gift ideas

Love is the Answer Valentine’s Day

Product Reviews by Royce A. Morales

For those self-proclaimed or aspiring hopeless romantics, desiring to say I Love You to a partner or even to themselves, Valentine’s Day gives unbridled permission to whole-heartedly express love. We’ve gathered ways to appreciate and revere all that is love with timeless, useful and a bit sentimental items. Although these inspiring gifts state devotion without cliché, know that sappiness is always acceptable on this yearly celebration of affection. Customers will appreciate the one-stop shopping you provide, alleviating their concern about wilting flowers or the unspeakable gift of tacky supermarket cards! Fill your shelves with gifts that passionately gush romance, as well as sacred items conveying the True Meaning of Love. Gifts from, and for, the open heart.

24 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Henna Treasure Bell Chime, Heart Matr Boomie www.matrboomie.com

What more beautiful way to capture someone’s heart than with a decorative indoor bell? It’s upcycled, delicately hand painted and enhanced with a cascade of iron cone brass bells to add to the gentle sound. Your customers’ loved-ones hearts will go thump with every chime. Like love, each Fair-Trade bell is slightly different. Size 5x5x24L. Wholesale price USD16.00

Mauve Natives, Pocket Notebook Typoflora www.typoflora.com.au

This beautiful pocket-sized, take-anywhere notebook can be the inspiration for the long-forgotten art of handwritten love poems. That special someone will forever cherish this personal connection inscribed in this sophisticated journal. The cover is embellished with the artist’s photo-realistic floral drawing reproduced from original artwork. Each comes packaged in an individual cellophane sleeve, 40 pages, textured recycled paper. Available in other covers and sizes as well as cards. Wholesale price USD3.00

Clear Apothecary Jar with Gold Print, Love is the Answer Studio PennyLane www.studiopennylane.org

This small studio handcrafts “tools of love.” Their philosophy is that positive reminders can help direct thoughts to reset fear, negativity and helplessness into love, courage, gratitude and dreams coming true. What better Valentine’s Day gift to remind your customers that there really is only one answer: Love. The glass is hand screen-printed with gold lettering and can be filled with anything from bath products to affirmations. It comes packaged with a gratitude card explaining the seven steps to an abundant life as well as a “penny from heaven” for good luck. Available with other messages. Wholesale price USD18.00 Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 25

Kantha Sari Yoga Bag Matr Boomie www.matrboomie.com

What better way for customers to show love than by helping support their partner’s physical fitness goals? These handcrafted yoga mat bags feature block printed, upcycled saris, patch-worked together with colorful Indian embroidery, “kantha,” stitching. The straps are designed for easy carrying, a zipper closure, plus a deep cotton pocket inside for organization. Available in assorted colors and patterns based on saris availability. Wholesale price USD19.00

Men’s Beard Oil Mixture www.madebymixture.com

Customers will never complain about rubbed raw cheeks when their love partner indulges in this high-quality conditioning treatment to soften those scratchy beards. All Mixture Man items are made with specially sourced, pure essential and fragranced oils, using natural botanical ingredients to permanently end those irritating kisses. Contact company for pricing.

Wei Beautiful, Peppermint-infused Wei of Chocolate www.weiofchocolatewholesale.com

Can giving a gift of chocolate for Valentine’s Day ever be overused? Not when it’s Fair Trade, organic, GMO free, healthy, dairy, soy and gluten free. The flavor from flower essences add to the exceptional quality of this chocolate, which is 68% cacao. Customers will return for more even after V-Day. Available in other flavors including a blend of rose and cardamom to enhance love and appreciation. Orders ship in 24-48 hours with a nine-month shelf life. Contact company for pricing. 26 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Sarah’s Basket Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi www.lpeclay.com

The simple heart-shape ceramic is transformed by intricate, traditional needle craft patterns, handmade stamps and lace texturing. The artist’s work is somewhat spontaneous, striving for an organic, one-of-a-kind look. Her vibrant glaze colors and rich textures are influenced by her extensive European travels. Her work is playful yet full of nostalgia; contemporary yet vintage. This slab-built, hangable, stoneware heart is just one of many designs available, and she also creates functional artwork as well. Wholesale price USD53.00

Beads Collection, Set with Necklace I was a Sari www.iwasasari.com

These “eco-ethical” beads, made by disadvantaged women in Mumbai, are created from recycled saris. They’re fashioned to help re-design the lives of these women by empowering them financially. Just like love, each is unique, with an occasional minor imperfection only adding to its character. Other colors and styles available. Wholesale price USD8.80

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 27

HOW TO SET SMART GOALS AND ACHIEVE THEM YEAR ROUND by Jacki Smith

ou would think that December, the full swing of your cash cow holiday season, is a time you can sit back and watch your year conclude with abundance. Nope. You have work to do because it is the perfect time to start plotting out what you want 2019 to bring to you. The end of this year is upon you and if you are not ready with a plan for next year, you will begin in a place of confusion and will be playing catch up all year. Worse yet, if you don’t plan, your year becomes one of reaction to everything instead of acting on what you want and need to do to grow. As entrepreneurs, we dream big and set giant targets to hit – usually in an unreasonably small amount of time. We then get discouraged when we not only miss the target, but sometimes we don’t even aim because we get pulled into all the details of the day and forget the bigger picture. That had been my picture for more years than I care to admit. The only goals I successfully hit were either set and accomplished in short order or may as well have been accidental. Seriously, how can you plan when every day is unpredictable and filled with small crises that need your immediate attention? In 2010, I was done with my business dragging me around. I started my journey of running my business instead of it running me. I used many methods to set and achieve goals. Each one has their own merits and I kept a bit of them as I developed a hybrid of my own system. I needed a big picture starting point that brought all aspects of my business into alignment and a way to break those giant big boulder sized goals into rocks and pebbles that are smaller achievable goals. The key to setting goals and actually achieving them were: 1. Creating three years of aligned goals all the way down to the monthly tasks 2. Clearly defining the goals and sub goals in an achievable way Within these two main steps, all those other techniques you have been reading about are used as well. The Franklin Covey Urgent/Important quadrants, time blocking, zero inbox, the 80/20 rule, eat the frog, and the glass jar just to name a few. Yet, these techniques don’t help you accomplish your long-term goals if they are not in alignment and threaded through your weekly and daily tasks. THE ONE-PAGE PLAN There are a few books and sites on creating a one-page plan, with my favorite being Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. His company, Gazelles, has useful worksheets for creating a one-page plan. The book is very comprehensive and the first time I worked through it, I was able to create a solid foundation to grow from. After that initial time invested, I zeroed in on the three-year plan portion. Knowing your mission, vision, values, and BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) sets you up for clearly seeing your goals. I highly recommend revisiting them every

time you plan for the new year. Bringing your goals closer to home, to the three- and one-year marks is where the more active and actionable goal setting occurs. Three years is closer than you think, yet it is far enough away to plan the activity around the steps to manifest your goals. My team and I are surprised every year at how much we achieve towards the big goal. It seems like a struggle all year, but looking backwards, even working half the plan got us further than being scattershot with our action. I look at the three-year goals I set five years ago and not only did we hit most of them within three years, we were able to get clearer about who we are as a company and eliminate the goals that didn’t have the return on investment we were looking for. This is part of the magic, you see where you are going and get to choose each step of the way is you still want that. Setting your three-year goals starts with diving up your business into its three to five core areas of focus. For a retail store you could break it down to: → → → →

Money/Financials Experience/Culture Product Mix Marketing

There are areas of your business that needs a dedicated focus and that is unique to your business. Spend a moment thinking about how you mentally divide up your business needs and you will see that each area has a unique set of goals. Some examples are shown on page 30. Start by setting those three-year goals. Then list everything you are working on and your future project list. Do they align? Can you tie every goal for this year with your long-term objectives? The first time I did this, I was all over the map. My projects were not in alignment with my three-year plan or even my BHAG. They were flash in the pan ideas, distractions and honestly not important. To get them all into alignment, we adjusted some of our three-year plan and dropped the goals that were just busy work we “should” do. When you align your goals year to year, you see how the actions today bring you closer to the big picture your vision has painted for you. Another bonus to this alignment is that your trajectory of growth has fewer left turns and offers a smoother, straighter climb. KEEP YOUR GOALS S.M.A.R.T. Now that you have your initial list, it’s time to send your goals to school and make them SMART. It’s useless and demoralizing to have a goal that is either unachievable or not measurable. I know I want to celebrate when we hit our goal and if it’s too nebulous in its objective I will never have a reason to be the celebratory cupcake. When you put your goals through the SMART test they become clear to everyone on your team. Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 29

Three-Year Goals

2018 Year Goal

FINANCIALS $500,000 sales/70K Profit

$270K in sales - $40,500 profit

Real time measure of sales

Upgrade POS soft & cash wrap

Budget

year calendar, gem show plan, Review 2017 sales

4 outside events

3 events & org for events

EXPERIENCE & CULTURE Become a destination for customers

Get reviews and get on all review sites

Be the media spiritual expert

5 media interviews

Philanthropic Giving Plan

Identify & Celebrate giving on website

Award-Winning Displays

Seasonal Window Plan w/$200 budget a qtr.

PRODUCT 175K in inventory

80K avg Stock

Average Sales $50

Avg Sale $35.00

20% SKUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in-house brands

Create kits for Store

Have 25% inventory in back-stock

Finish Basement org

Gem & Stone Inventory 20K

Gem Show Plan for year

MARKETING Yearly Marketing Plan

Monthly Plan w/staff picks

Interactive Website

Redo site with live inventory

Ad Budget 10% of Revenue

Plan to leverage sponsorships

Traffic of 50 ppl a day (foot and web)

Social Media engagement plan - community

30 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

This Quarter

When everyone in your business is not only in the same boat with your goals, but also rowing in the same direction, you get to the goal faster and everyone wins. A SMART goal is: specific, measurable, assignable, realistic, time-bound. When I started setting goals for the year, I would write down things like, “improve customer service,” or “generate a million dollars in sales,” “get employees trained and engaged,” “start a blog,” “redo our website.” These goals, although not dumb, are not smart. How will I know when I achieved these goals? Who was responsible for them? How will I direct my energies? When will I get it done? What purpose does it serve? If I handed any of these off to a staff member, they would not know why that goal was set and what the larger picture was. Let’s take a few of these goals to school and make them smart.

Specific. This is what you want to

achieve in detail. Your goal needs to be specific, simple and clear. This is the mission of the goal. Answer the who, what, where and why questions for your goal to get as specific as you need it to be.

Measurable. This defines what you

want to see, hear and experience when you goal is completed. This makes your goal tangible and helps you and your team staff focused and meet deadlines. You may want to set up measures along the way.

Achievable. Your goal is meant to

stretch you past your comfort zone. Goals that don’t stretch you are just the normal course of business. They stretch, but they are still attainable. Determine if you have the skills, resources and time to achieve this goal. Weigh your return on investment, is this goal worth the effort and cost it will generate?

Relevant.

Here it is, the moment when you look at your goal and ask if it really fits in with the broader view of your business. Is it in alignment with your vision, mission and values? Does

it align with other goals? Do you really care about it or is this something you “should” do because it’s expected of you?

Timely or Time-bound. Here is where

you commit in to when you complete this goal and if it’s the right time to pull this goal to the top of the list. Also, deadlines are great inspiration and motivation. The best time-bound goal has a natural repercussion when it goes unfinished. If it would “be nice to have this project completed in June,” it does not have a true time-bound aspect. When there is a real due date, you can build excitement with your team and everyone rallies behind the goal. Re-writing these goals went a little like this:

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GENERATE 1M DOLLARS IN SALES Create a marketing plan to pull 10 new customer orders a month generating an additional $10,000 a month

S Identify and target a growing retail market for our products to convert 10 stores into customers

M Generate 200 leads a month for a 5 percent conversion rate of lead to customer.

A Our marketing department will research, identify and create

a plan for our sales team to implement. We will need new training for this market. We will need a budget of $10,000 for additional ads, catalogs and mailing lists.

R Increasing our sales will help fill the gap in production we

have and allow us to purchase new equipment that will bring the cost of production down by 5%

actionable plan, the more likely you are to achieve your goals and grow your business. Don’t get caught in mid-March not knowing what the rest of the year holds for you. Get that plan done by the new year and your energy will fly in the direction you want it to. For more information on SMART GOALS and how to improve your planning, visit www.smart-goals-guide.com or pick up a copy of Scaling Up by Verne Harnish at his website www.gazelles.com.

SHARE YOUR SMART GOALS WITH US!

T Research will be completed by the end of this quarter and we will begin implementing by the end of the next quarter.

GET EMPLOYEES TRAINED AND ENGAGED Create a company-wide cross training program with a reward program

S Document all training and institute a cross-training program to fill the staffing gaps that occur with paid time off.

M Using training checklists and reviews of procedures, create a reward system for mastering cross-trained jobs.

A Create a schedule of training, having current staff team up with and train a member of a different department. Production manager will oversee training and confirm its success.

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R Production will continue with minimal stoppage, keeping the flow of products steady to our customers.

T This will be done department by department with a completion date of September 1, the beginning of our busiest season.

You now have actionable goals that will either be useable or you put them on the backburner. That last goal of cross-training got put in the three-year goal because the marketing plan required a new website and a new blog to be successful. We didn’t need to cross-train until business picked up. What we accomplished in the first year was to create a training checklist for each department. We started using that checklist in the second year and cross-training stared in the third year. It all came together when we smartened up our goals and plan. When you have smart goals spread out over a one and three year plan, you drive faster to your goals and you can pivot when needed. The more you plan and invest in creating an 32 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

 Jacki Smith is the co-owner of Coventry Creations www.coventrycreations. com and they are celebrating their 25th year in business. Her passion of personal empowerment and small business has been the driving force in her success and her journey of lifelong learning. Jacki is a regular contributor to Retailing Insight and loves sharing her experience, successes and cautionary tales.

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s e n i L e h t g n Blurrin Management Mistake A Commo

aving managed a rather large crystal and gemstone jewelry business for years, I often joke that I have made just about every business mistake that someone could make. However, as a result of making mistakes (and doing some things right), I have learned a lot of what to do and what not to do. I would like to share with you some important things I have learned about managing employees that hold true for both large and small companies. First, in order to manage your employees effectively, it is important to be clear about what you are: As a business, you are an organization united around a common goal. It is important to be clear about this with yourself as well as with

34 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

your employees. Ask yourself these questions: What do you want to accomplish by having your company? Do you want to sell product? Do you want to make a difference in peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives? Do you want to help your community? Then ask yourself how you are going to do this. As you answer these questions, a clear set of directions will emerge that will help guide your vision, which will state what you want to do and how you are going to do it. Next, it is helpful, not only for your employees, but also for your own clarity, to write down this vision and these goals clearly. Not only does this become your clear, guiding purpose, but it will also serve as a management guide for yourself so

by Uma Silbey that you can let your employees know clearly what you want them to help accomplish. In other words, this will serve as the backbone of their guidance as employees as well as be your guide as an employer. Then, it is important to regard your employees as the team of people that are going to help you. You are all members of a unified team whether you are the boss or the employee. Differently stated, you are the team leader and your employees are each members of the team. Along with clearly established overall goals, as team leader you are responsible for creating yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. Their job as employees is to help with the fulfillment of these goals.

WHAT EMPLOYEES ARE NOT When I founded and first began managing my company, Uma Silbey Inc., I regarded my employees as friends and family. That was a mistake because, as their friend, I took myself out of the role as the boss. A friend is someone you let slide if they aren’t feeling well that day, or if they want to take off for a day at the beach, or if their problems make it so they can’t quite get the job done. Trying to keep the friendships alive, rather than insisting that they do their job, I would make excuses for them and do the job myself, thinking things like, “Oh well, I am more capable of doing this,” or “I don’t really mind that much,” or “A spiritual person would be understanding,” or “My company will be ok if the orders don’t all get out in time.” Etc. etc. etc. I especially kept thinking that a friend would continue to be nice, and by being “nice” I wouldn’t get angry or demanding. In relating this, I don’t mean to say that you shouldn’t be friendly, only that it will not help your company to make it so the job doesn’t get done in deference to “friendliness” and being “nice.” The other thing to realize is that, as much as you would like it to be so, your employees are not family. I know that it creates a really nice vibe in your company to regard everyone who works there as being your family. However, for the same reason as regarding your employees as friends, it doesn’t work well to regard them as family members. Family members are always going to be your family no matter what. They aren’t going to stop being family members if they don’t do a job. It is different for employees. They need to get the job done. The tendency, then, when regarding employees as family members is not to be demanding, to let “family member” employees be less than accountable. This, in turn, will only negatively affect your business. The other side of this equation is if you treat your employees as adversaries or indentured servants. When you hold your employees in this light, not only is this a rather arrogant misunderstanding of the employee/employer relationship, but the tendency is to demand way too much beyond what they should be reasonably expected to do. Besides their normal job, for example, you may demand that they babysit, go on errands for you, get you lunch, or work unpaid hours of overtime. When you hold someone in this light, it is easy to begin treating people with disrespect, which, will in turn, cause them to treat you with disrespect. Treated like servants, your employees will likely do things to subtly or overtly harm your business. They may say negative things about your company to your customers that result in a drop in sales, for example. Or they may deliberately make mistakes or not get the job done at all. Just the same as treating your employees as friends or family instead of teammates, when you treat them as servants you will not only be disrespected, but you will have created a group of employees who are deliberately not accountable enough to get the job done. Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 35

WHAT EMPLOYERS ARE NOT Not only are you not a monarch deserving total loyalty by being an employer, neither are you mom or dad to your staff. If you tend to be a loving and caring person who wants to help people, as most of us are in this business, it is easy to put yourself in this role. It is also easy for some employees to put you in this role themselves because of their own needs. If this happens, it is not unusual for your employees to act out their family issues with you. If they had a mom who they always yelled at, for example, they may start yelling at you. If they felt dad was always being unfair, they may start interpreting your actions as being unfair. If mom didn’t seem to like them, they will experience you as not liking them. In other words, as your employees project mom and dad upon you in these ways, they will start reacting accordingly. Also, it is helpful to be clear that

you are not your employees’ therapists, nor are they your clients. You are not there to solve their problems, nor can you in your proper role as their boss. Just as it is deemed unethical and a mistake for a licensed therapist to be the therapist for friends or family, so too, is it unwise for both you and your employee. You are not unbiased, which as a therapist you need to be. Also, one common dynamic that almost always occurs in a therapeutic relationship, (often thought of as being necessary for therapy to be effective,) is the transference dynamic. Transference is when a client acts as if you are a family member or other important person in their life, usually unconsciously, and then begins to act out the feelings and actions they had with that person. This is helpful in therapy, but it is not helpful in your business. You are not there to help solve their interpersonal or relationship problems. You are only there to guide them

36 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

in getting their job done. Acting as their therapist instead of the boss will not only create more problems (which can be confusing when you’re only trying to be helpful), but it will likely make it harder rather than easier for both them and you to just get the job done. If you have a tendency to want to be a therapist for your employees, it is helpful to know that rather than being helpful for your employees by trying to help solve their problems, you will really be more helpful by creating clear guidance through which they have an opportunity to be accountable and thereby succeed at their job. This feeling of success, alone, can be incredibly helpful for a person. It can be very confusing, as an employer, when you are treating people as family or friends to find out that your employees don’t like you, or are treating you unfairly, for example, because you are being so “nice” and “loving.” The

problem is not that you are being nice and loving, which are admirable qualities, but that you are creating a very unclear situation. You are blurring the lines between being the boss and something else. It is important to remain the boss, a fair, loving, accepting and understanding boss, but still the boss. Your employees will actually feel better and do a better job with this clarity. HIRING FRIENDS AND FAMILY What I have said above doesn’t mean that you should never hire friends or family members. It can be quite rewarding to help a friend or family member earn some money or get ahead in life by having a good job. It can be fun to work with people with whom you have friendships or loving relationships already in place. It is just harder to create a situation of accountability because the lines of authority, again, can become quite blurred and create

the perfect storm of unaccountability that makes it quite hard to get the jobs done in an effective and timely manner. This is especially true if you are hiring a spouse or bringing him or her in as a partner. Though establishing a partnership is an entirely new and involved topic, the same holds true as the case with any other employee: You need to create clear lines of communication, clear job descriptions and insist on a clear timetable of when the various jobs are to be done. This is especially difficult with a spouse or life partner, as business problems and issues tend to become relationship problems and issues…and vice versa. FIRING EMPLOYEES It is an awful feeling when you have to fire someone that you employ. You can feel heartless and cruel and put it off way too long, so long in fact, that you don’t do it until your business has

suffered way too much. Either jobs didn’t get done in time so that orders didn’t go out and you lost customers, other employees got involved and your company became a hotbed of gossip and bad feelings, your sales department got so involved that your sales dropped or many other such things happened. As a boss, if people see that someone is still employed even when they are clearly not doing their job, they, too will tend to slack off. After all, if you don’t fire one person, you won’t fire them either. Let’s face it; firing an employee is no fun. I know when I had to fire someone, I often found myself barely holding back tears and questioning myself over and over again. If you find yourself double guessing yourself, look again at the facts. Did they do the job? Did you give them clear direction and they still failed? One general rule of thumb is this: If you find yourself questioning

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the employee’s performance over and over again, even after giving lots of chances, they probably need to find a new job. Before firing an employee, it is important to give them several warnings along with, again, clarifying their job description and your expectations, along with the admonition that if they don’t do the job as required, they will lose it. You need to document this warning and have them sign the document so that it is recorded that you did, indeed, give them a proper warning. You may want to give them three warnings. Not only does this make things clear and give the employee a chance to do a better job, but also this is very importantly legally. It will protect you from lawsuits. You might want to look up what is required by the federal government as well as your local government. After actually firing someone, have him or her leave immediately so they will not do anything to harm your company. It may seem like no one would ever do anything to overtly harm your company, but it is very common when someone is fired, no matter how friendly you have been with them. People get angry when fired and angry people sometimes do things they may regret later.

MY EXPERIENCE Lest you think I exaggerate, I have experienced all of which I speak of here. When I first started running my company, I had

38 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

just left the ashram where I was spending most of the day and night meditating, immersed in blissful light and love. Suddenly, through a variety of circumstances, I found myself running a small company with a partner. Then, my partner and I parted ways, so I continued running the company myself as it got larger and larger. I eventually had about 2400 department store, catalog, jewelry, gift store and new age accounts worldwide. My company ultimately had 46 employees. From being a reclusive yogini, I found myself in the position of having to manage all of this. Having never gone through business school, I had to learn the hard way. It was easy to figure out how to price, purchase and design in order to make a profit. For me, it was infinitely harder to learn how to manage effectively. I probably made every management mistake one could make, including the ones listed here. I became everyone’s friend. I hired people that I thought needed help and became their counselor. I took over their jobs when they just couldn’t do them. I accepted endless excuses even though I knew they were just that, that if they wanted to get the job done, they could have. I was so easy with people being “Mama Uma,” and so undemanding, that I created a company of largely unaccountable employees. I was bewildered to find that even though I was so nice, helpful and understanding, that not only didn’t my employees care to do their jobs well, but they had very little respect for me and often didn’t even like me. I felt

hurt and betrayed. All of that created suffering for myself, my employees and ultimately hurt my company. I didn’t understand. It eventually became so bad that I had to take a good hard look at what was happening, along with taking responsibility for what I had created. After reflection, I realized that the dynamics in my company stemmed from my own behavior, and that I needed to act differently. So, I took up the mantle of responsibility and, even though I remained friendly, I also began to demand accountability. I began to be clear in all of the ways that I just related above. Not only was this quite a learning experience for me, but also to my surprise, people began to be happier working for me. My employees began to be accountable and I found that I could totally rely on them. With clarity, everyone started to relax and get the job done. Those that couldn’t, left the company. As a result, my company flourished. TO EXERCISE AUTHORITY IS NOT BAD OR UNSPIRITUAL The ideas that I have relayed may sound, at times, heartless and cruel, especially because we, as spiritual or conscious people are merely attempting to run a conscious business, and in doing so, are naturally tending to be understanding, helpful and loving. However, it is more cruel to blur the lines of authority, to muddy the waters between employees, friends or family, so much so, that we make it hard for the other person to succeed at their job.

Rather than creating success for our company, its employees, and ourselves, we are helping to do just the opposite. When we abdicate our role as an authority, we only bring confusion. As employers, it is our job, instead, to bring clarity, to make our expectancies clear, and state the company’s needs and goals clearly. The less we do that, the less our employees have a chance to be accountable. After all, it is hard to be accountable when you don’t know what it is that you are expected to do. It is hard to have a boss get angry because you haven’t done what they want when they haven’t even told you clearly what that is. That is frustrating and confusing at the very least for your employees. It’s not unspiritual to exert authority. You don’t have to close your heart or be harsh in order to demand accountability. Go ahead and be the boss. Be an authority, a holder of power that can be trusted to communicate clearly and fairly with heart and soul. That is what will make your employees successful, yourself successful and bring a new level of success to your company.  Termed by the press in the early ‘80s as One of America’s Renaissance Women, Uma Silbey was one of the first to pioneer quartz crystals, gemstone and ‘energy’ information to the world through her jewelry designs, books and music for 45 years. Besides running her hugely successful quartz crystal jewelry company, Uma is also the author of six books, including her latest, The Ultimate Guide to Crystals and Stones, available through New Leaf. She has also recorded 18 albums of meditation music and guided visualization.

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Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 39

DECK ROUNDUP

Can Spirit Beings really “speak” to us through card decks? Many of your customers believe they can!

by Anna Jedrziewski Oracle and inspiration decks based on discarnate entities continue to increase in popularity. Whether they prefer angels, ancient deities, animal totems, elementals, or even trees, consumers continue to love these decks. Some of them use the decks to educate themselves about the entities represented. Some of them rely on the symbolism of the decks as aids for meditation or divination. Many of them use the cards as focusing objects to help them draw the energy of presences from the other side into their world. What follows is a selection of new decks that will call out to your customers regardless of their belief system. 40 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Saints and Mystics Reading Cards Andrés Engracia $21.95, ISBN 978-1-9254-2928-2 Rockpool Publishing I www.redwheelweiser.com

Designed by a practicing psychic medium, this deck honors men and women who expanded our awareness of spiritual consciousness during the time they spent incarnate in the physical world. The guidebook provides historical background and brief divinatory interpretations for each card. Engracia’s rich illustrations provide the symbolism and emotion necessary to move beyond a mundane connection to each figure. (36-card deck & 88-page full-color guidebook)

Spirit of the Animals Oracle Jody Bergsma $23.95, ISBN 978-1-57281-784-5 U.S.Games Systems, Inc. I www.usgamesinc.com

The concept of Power Animals as spiritual guides has existed as long as humans have walked the earth. The idea of animals representing universal lessons (Animal Medicine) dates back to our beginnings as well. The dynamic illustrations in this, Bergsma’s newest deck, capture this powerful energy as they introduce us to animal totems and their messages to humans. (51-card deck & 116-page guidebook) Archangel Power Tarot Cards Doreen Virtue Illustrated by Radleigh Valentine $21.99,, ISBN 978-1-4019-4231-1 Hay House I www.hayhouse.com

Angel Lady Doreen Virtue joined forces once again with mystical illustrator Radleigh Valentine to combine the wisdom of the Archangels with the magic of the tarot. The guidebook provides well-thought-out interpretations for each card. They are, however, just the starting point. Valentine’s beautiful illustrations are dense with symbolism that will stimulate subconscious connections. Brief messages on the bottom of each card will help motivate readers to act on what they learn. (78-card deck & 186-page Guidebook) The Orisha Tarot Andrew McGregor, Obá’tilemi $29.99, ISBN 978-0-7387-5352-2 Llewellyn I www.llewellyn.com

Created by an initiate of Lukumi (Santeria), these powerful illustrations are layered over traditional tarot format. Organizing the Orisha (gods) using the lessons of tarot will help readers to understand these archetypes in meaningful ways so that they can make the wisdom their own. The included, comprehensive book is thorough enough to stand alone. The artwork is a journey through the rhythms of life. (78-card deck & 360-page full-color guidebook) The Promethean Oracle Illustrated by Sophia Kelly Shultz Mark Cogan $34.99, ISBN 978-0-7643-5407-6 RED Feather I www.schifferbooks.com

In the new metaphysical world, the goddess wisdom overflows. Shultz believes that there is much to be reclaimed from the ancient male deities as well. In keeping with her somewhat contrarian perspective, she avoided the most popular ancient male icons in favor of those who have been less dissected. The result is a series of intense portraits and just enough background information, in the companion book, to introduce them. (50-card deck & 160-page full-color guidebook)

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 41

The Guardian Angel Oracle Christie Astell $19.95, ISBN 978-1-78678-120-8 Watkins I www.watkinspublishing.com

Spawned by the United Kingdom’s superstar angel expert, this deck was purposefully created in order to help people learn how to connect with Angel energy. René Milot’s artwork brings the Angel imagery into the modern era while maintaining appropriate symbolism from tradition. The deck and book set is deceptively simple on the surface. As you handle the cards and read the words, you can feel the energy building. (53-card deck & 80-page full-color guide) Starman Tarot Davide De Angelis Esther De Angelis $36.95, ISBN 978-0-7387-5982-1 Lo Scarabeo I www.llewellyn.com

Davide De Angelis’ dramatic images were inspired by the artwork he created for David Bowie. He tells us that each card is a small, active environment that invites us in. Simultaneously, he warns us that the environments are shape-shifters. They reveal an alternate reality, hiding behind the world we think is real, “the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary.” Bowie called it “potent visual alchemy.” (78-card deck and 194-page full-color guidebook) The Divine Feminine Oracle Meggan Watterson Illustrated by Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman $19.99, ISBN 978-1-4019-5364-5 Hay House I www.hayhouse.com

This deck is a remarkable celebration of the power inherent in feminine energy, whether it is human (incarnate) or divine. Watterson’s diverse selection of ladies representing the Divine Feminine speaks to its transcendent nature and endurance. Cheever-Gessaman’s powerful illustrations allow us to meet each of the ladies face-to-face and to connect with the wisdom and encouragement that they have to offer us. (53-card deck & 226-page guidebook) Blue Messiah Reading Cards Nari Anastarsia $21.95, ISBN 978-1-9256-8234-2 Rockpool Publishing I www.redwheelweiser.com

Creativity is the path Anastarsia used to access the higher dimensions. That’s where she connected with the Blue Light of understanding and compassion. She created this deck based on insights that the Blue Light energy provided to her. The cards, when used respectfully, will grant that same access to those who also connect with their unique and powerful vibration. Detailed instructions for doing that are provided in the guidebook. (36-card deck and 84-page guidebook)

42 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Witches’ Wisdom Oracle Cards Barbara Meiklejohn-free, Flavia Kate Peters Illustrated by Richard Crookes $23.99, ISBN 978-0-7387-5884-8 Llewellyn I www.llewellyn.com

The voices of the “Old Religion” call to us constantly. They echo through our customs, celebrations, superstitions, and most of our modern religious rituals. This deck pays tribute to those voices and provides a way station where readers can contact the wisdom of the Old Ways in a modern setting. The companion book welcomes readers into the fold (coven). It’s coffee at Starbucks elevated to the next level. (48-card deck and 112-page guidebook) Guardian Tarot Beth Seilonen $24.99, ISBN 978-0-7643-5386-4 RED Feather I www.schifferbooks.com

If you liked Seilonen’s Dream Raven Tarot, you’ll love this new, edgier deck! Motivated in part by a desire to remind people of the importance of the connection between humans and a nourishing natural environment, Seilonen has relied on her 20-year pursuit of the powerful symbols of the ancient wisdom. Trees have long been seen as receptacles of sacred teachings. In this deck, those teachers come to life dramatically. (78-card deck & 104-page full-color guidebook) Mystic Faerie Tarot Barbara Moore Linda Ravenscroft, illustrator $29.99, ISBN 978-0-7387-0921-5 Llewellyn I www.llewellyn.com

Not just faeries! This book celebrates all elementals (nature spirits). This deck and book set offers a friendly introduction to the lower rungs of the Angel hierarchy. At their primal levels, these spirits can work for us or against us on the physical plane. Entry level access can be all flowers and simmering light, but don’t be fooled. These entities will call you out faster than any other spirit beings if you disrespect them. Find out for yourself with this amazing set of cards. (78-card deck & 312-page guidebook) Teen Angel Oracle Cards Rita Pietrosanto Miki Okuda, illustrator $23.95, ISBN 978-1-57281-953-5 Blue Angel I www.usgamesinc.com

These beautifully illustrated angel cards, rich with symbolism, are aimed specifically at teens and young adults. They have just enough lyricism and softness to make them reassuring. Coupled with teen counselor Pietrosanto’s real world exercises and advice, they make the perfect tool for getting through exams, breakups, learning experiences, and general down-in-thedumps times. (40 card deck and 100-page guidebook)  Anna Jedrziewski is a new consciousness author and consultant and creator of TarotWise.com.

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 43

insight One of the biggest challenges for any retail store is purchasing inventory and them managing the delicate balance between not having enough and having too much. One solution? Consider adding consignment products to your inventory. Selling on consignment is a low-risk way for you to increase your inventory without tying up cash flow. It allows you to try new and unusual products, while featuring local artist’s work in your store. You instantly have more inventory, the artists get exposure they might not get anywhere else, and your customers have more to choose from – it’s win-win for everyone. START SOURCING How do you find consignment products? Most artists will find you, but if not, search for local talent at arts and crafts shows, community colleges, and art schools; network with your customers; or search

Need Inventory? Think Consignment! compiled by the editors

online. Jewelry, pottery, artwork, greeting cards, and other handmade items are the most common consignment products. GOOD FIT? Evaluate the consignment merchandise thoroughly: Does it fit in with the rest of your product mix? Is the workman- ship consistent with your other products? Can you sell it in a timely fashion? Is the product packaged or presented in a way that can be easily displayed? Will the artist agree to exclusivity in your store?

JUST SAY NO If you don’t think the product meets your store’s needs, be honest. If you’re having a hard time saying “no” to the artist, resort to the juried selection process. Ask him or her to leave a sample for consideration, after which you can say, “We’re sorry your piece wasn’t selected this time.” Even if you’re just

discussing it with your cat, using “we” makes it easier to reject someone’s work. CLEAR POLICIES Before you accept product for consignment, have a clear, written policy and agreement in place. Your policy should indicate who is responsible for what, specify a percentage split (most are 70/30 or 60/40), determine who sets the retail price, how/when the artist is paid (weekly, monthly, quarterly), who is responsible for damaged or stolen items, and what to do if the product isn’t selling. KEEP ACCURATE RECORDS Perhaps the biggest difficulty in consignment arrangements is the record keeping. Keeping accurate records of the item, retail price, date sold, percentage paid, and sales tax reported is essential.  Compiled by the editorial team of Retailing Insight. First published in December 2008.

Sharing the Gift of Wisdom

A rich and practical resource for creating ceremonies filled with joy, purpose, and magic.

An in-depth guide to Taoist alchemical practices to help awaken our true, limitless nature.

A collection of writings on the search for the ultimate reality beneath the narrative of our lives.

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44 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

fineprint Despite a lively holiday season, if you pay close attention, you will notice that most of your customers have one eye on their own futures. Your challenge will be to provide an ever-changing array of glitzy, fun holiday merchandise while simultaneously keeping your customers aware of what’s trending for the long-term. Here’s some help from mind/body/spirit book publishers! Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others Barbara Brown Taylor $25.99 H, ISBN 978-0-06-240656-9 Harper One I www.harperone.com

Raised to put her faith in higher education rather than a higher power, Taylor found her own way to traditional Christianity, with her search ending as an Episcopal priest. In 1998 she started teaching World Religion at Piedmont College in rural Georgia. This book recounts her journey into other people’s religions so that she could introduce those religions to her students. That journey renewed her faith in the God of her own Christian church and taught her to recognize that Higher Power in all spiritual practice. At a time when many people seem to be entrenching themselves behind the walls of familiar traditions, this book is a literal godsend. Taylor’s self-effacing honesty, coupled with her vibrant narrative style, makes this one a page-turner that leaves us feeling hopeful about the future of the human race. The Jewel of Abundance: Finding Prosperity through the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga Ellen Grace O’Brian $16.95 P, ISBN 978-1-60-868556-1 New World Library www.newworldlibrary.com

In a world where having the most expensive iPhone and taking the most exotic vacations appear to be the prime measures of status, books on prosperity abound. Why am I calling your attention to this one? Because this author is asking us to rethink our ideas about prosperity/ abundance and to measure it in the context of Vedic wisdom and the four purusharthas (objects of pursuit). O’Brian is an esteemed teacher of Kriya Yoga, ordained in the lineage of Paramahansa 46 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

New and notable books for body, mind, and spirit by Anna Jedrziewski

Yogananda. She doesn’t ask readers to shun material comforts, but does ask us to put spiritual abundance into the mix. Prosperity, she tells us, needs to be kept in balance with the other purushartas (action in community, divine union and pleasure). She explains the difference between material wealth and prospering. She asks us to remove the gap between true wealth and a spiritual life. She tells us that “learning how to prosper is a path of transformation.” Written in laymen’s terms, this is a how-to for feathering our nests without selling our souls. The Empathy Effect: 7 Neuroscience-Based Keys for Transforming the Way We Live, Love, Work, and Connect Across Differences Helen Riess, MD with Liz Neporent $22.95 H, ISBN 978-1-68-364028-8 Sounds True I www.soundstrue.com

The Trump presidency has generated a lot of discussion about empathy, which happens to be Dr. Riess’ specialty. She has been involved in research that strongly suggests that empathy can be taught. She has created her own protocol for doing just that and wants her methods to reach the broadest audience possible. Hence this book. Learning how to put ourselves in another’s shoes, enhances our ability to communicate with that person. If we listen and understand, it helps others to listen and understand as well. Mutual listening breaks up the logjam of opposing views. It opens the door for problem solving and makes others more receptive to our point of view and our goals. Every person in your business who deals with customers needs to read this book. Control the Conversation: How to Charm, Deflect and Defend Your Position Through Any Line of Questioning James O. Pyle and Maryann Karinch $16.95 P, ISBN 978-1-63-265143-3 Career Press I www.redwheelweiser.com

Do you respond to questions or merely answer them? More importantly, how do your sales people deal with customer questions? We’re all aware of sales people who answer questions with a canned sales pitch, ignoring the real needs of the customer. In order to get a customer to listen to your point of view, it’s necessary to learn how to control the conversation without coming across as adversarial

or domineering. It requires a skillset that lets you determine the motivation behind a question and artfully use keywords, body language and answer enhancers in your response so that you and your customer move closer together. Part II of the book shows readers how to apply that skill set once they’ve acquired it. Whether its meetings, job interviews, negotiations, media interviews, or social interaction, these authors tell readers how to make the moment their own. Detailed, organized, insightful and cutting-edge, the book brings verbal interaction skills into the real world in ways readers can make their own. It’s a powerful tool no matter what your goals are. Natural Antibiotics and Antivirals: 18 Infection-Fighting Herbs and Essential Oils Christopher Vasey, N.D. $14.99 P, ISBN 978-1-62-055735-8 Healing Arts Press www.innertraditions.com

As the number of people embracing alternate healing modalities has increased, so has the popularity of books on essential oils, tinctures, and herbal remedies in general. I’ve read a lot of them and, while most of them are very good, this book has a particular clarity about it that makes it a stand out. Vasey includes quite a bit of scientific information in making his case for the effectiveness of herbal remedies. Somehow, he makes it easy to read and understand. He explains why bacteria doesn’t build up resistance to natural antibiotics like it does to pharmaceutical antibiotics and why plant-based remedies, unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics, are effective against viruses. He zeros in on 18 powerful plants and describes their properties and applications in detail. The book also includes information on probiotics and an index of 50 common illnesses and their herbal remedies. Forbidden Mysteries of Faery Witchcraft Storm Faerywolf $22.99 P, ISBN 978-07-3875652-3 Llewellyn I www.llewellyn.com

The faery tradition of witchcraft originated with shaman and poet, Victor Anderson. It was (and still is) mainly an oral tradition, resulting in a widely diverse group of practitioners. Gradually, much of the “secret” information made its way into the mainstream. Faerywolf became a practitioner of the craft in 1992 and became an initiate soon afterward. Faery Witchcraft is unique in that it embraces the world of Shadow, the dark side of our consciousness and the universe. The practice requires facing the demons that live within our personal abyss. Faerywolf explains it all in detail and gives readers all the basics for beginning to practice. The book is full of exercises, sigils, archetypes, symbols, rituals and, of course, poetry.

Japanese Knitting: Patterns for Sweaters, Scarves and More Michiyo Translated by Gayle Roehm $16.99 P, ISBN 978-48-053-1382-4 Tuttle I www.tuttlepublishing.com

Michiyo has been a notable knitting and crochet practitioner in Japan for the past decade. Recently Western knitters have discovered her simple, but trendsetting, needlework patterns and begun embracing her aesthetic as well. This book, brilliantly translated by Gayle Roehm, makes 23 of Michiyo’s patterns available to Westerners. Her combinations of texture, pattern and shape make the designs unique without being overly dramatic. I’m a lapsed knitter and I’ll admit that the photos in this book made me want to dig my knitting needles out of the back of the closet. My favorite pattern is the jumper/dress in lightweight wool that begins with a cable pattern at the waist and is then knitted up and down from there. Many of Michiyo’s patterns are knitted seamlessly in one piece. The patterns do require a certain skill level, but they are so intriguing that many of your customers might consider knitting lessons in order to learn to execute them.

QUICK GIFT PICKS FOR HOLIDAY RESTOCKING! Cute Christmas Cookies: Adorable and Delicious Festive Treats Hannah Miles Photography by Steve Painter $15.95 H ISBN 978-18-4975888-8 Ryland Peters & Small www.rylandpeters.com

As the world becomes increasingly digitized, all things handcrafted become more valuable. This treasure from Hannah Miles captures the smell of a kitchen with cookies in the oven and the holiday excitement of a family gathered around the kitchen table decorating their own holiday treats. Engagingly illustrated by Steve Painter, the book captures the spirit of an old-fashioned Christmas and updates it for a modern audience. Seasonal treats like Coconut Snowballs, Coffee Cookies with Vintage Edible Transfers and Frosted Pine Cones are paired with child-pleasing creations like Meringue Snowman Cookies, Candy Cane Cookies and Mini Gingerbread Houses to make this a classic holiday baking favorite. Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 47

fineprint

Anna Jedrziewski

Over on a Desert: Somewhere in the World Marianne Berkes Illustrated by Jill Dubin $8.95 P, ISBN 978-15-8469630-8 Dawn Publications www.dawnpub.com

Formatted at the entry level as a counting book (one camel calf to ten desert fox kits), this delightful teaching tool quickly moves to additional levels. Each double-page spread is devoted to one desert area showing a geographical map for each desert and its country. Each spread poetically describes the behavior of a species native to that area, and like any good children’s book, there are hidden elements in each spread for young readers to discover. In keeping with Dawn’s educational initiative, lots of additional information is provided at the end of the book along with valuable insights from the author and illustrator. As with all Dawn books, the power of this book lies in the simple narrative which is paired with captivating, inviting environments filled with illustrated creatures awaiting the young explorers who come to visit them.

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Phone Call with a Fish Silvia Vecchini Illustrated by Sualzo $17.00 H, ISBN 978-08-0285510-7 Eerdmans Books I www.eerdmans.com

This awarding-winning, wifeand-husband team, has created a dynamic exploration of the power of non-verbal communication. Aimed at children, the import of the message for adults is clear, as are the overtones relating it to the autism epidemic. The book maintains a careful balance between the written word and pictorial representations, as one child, who speaks at home, refuses to speak at school. Only one of his classmates tries to figure out how to communicate with him. Her joy at finding a telephone connected to a fish tank in answer to her inquiry is realistically depicted. The book demonstrates problem solving at its highest level. Everyone benefits in this special, life-affirming tale.  Anna Jedrziewski is a new consciousness author and consultant, as well as founder and director of Spirit Connection New York, Inc. www.spiritconnectionnewyork.org

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09/18

playlist

Reviews of great music to sell and enjoy by Bill Binkelman

An Open Sky

Sattva - Temple Trance

River

Somewhere New

Ryan Judd Rhythm Tree www.ryanjuddmusic.com

Deuter New Earth Records www.newearthrecords.com

Don Latarski Heart Dance Records www.heartdancerecords.com

Sherry Finzer & Mark Holland Heart Dance Records www.heartdancerecords.com

An Open Sky is one of the most evocative “autumnal” albums of recent years, featuring Ryan Judd’s emotive fingerstyle acoustic guitar and Kristen Miller’s superb cello, blended into a wonderful “whole.” These semi-sparse tone poems are deeply pensive and strike the perfect balance between being both somber and beautiful. An Open Sky would serve as the perfect soundtrack to late fall drives through rural areas or a placid walk through the woods, surrounded by the splendor of nature’s explosion of colors. Gentle and slow-paced, the ten songs are sublime comfort for a troubled soul and the album is one of this year’s best, for sure.

Just when I thought that New Age music pioneer Deuter had run out of new musical wrinkles, he releases Sattva – Temple Trance and shows me that he can still amaze and surprise me with his creativity and imagination. There are only two long tracks on the album, “Circles of Light” (37:53) and “Temple Trance” (25:10). While Deuter has explored ambient music before (his fantastic Earth Blue, for example), this fusion of electronic textures, rhythms, and melodic elements covers relatively new territory for him. This is true trance music and would be perfect for that practice or for meditation. The first track is more ambient while the second is more grounded in world beat influences.

Guitarist Latarski was deeply affected by his travels from Oregon to Arizona in 2018, inspiring this sublime album. Essentially a solo guitar recording, River flows through an assortment of styles and tempos, merging a jazz undercurrent with subtle streams of minimalism, ambient, new age, and pop. The first nine tracks encompass the “River Suite” while the last three (“Tough by Nature,” Fall from Place,” and the 11+ minute “Bently”) also follow the same melodic pathway as their predecessors. The music is sometimes playful, sometimes reflective, but always extremely tuneful and masterfully played. It’s a terrific album for driving.

Two world-class flutists, Sherry Finzer and Mark Holland, come together on Somewhere New, an album that displays each of their respective musical specialties (Holland on Native/world flutes and Finzer on assorted concert flutes). Joined by some stellar guests (including ace percussionist Will Clipman, among others), Somewhere New traverses an assortment of moods and tempos, although with Clipman involved, there is frequently an element of world beat present (admittedly, subtle at times). However, jazz influences are also present at times, as well as new age. Whether meditative and reflective, or cheerful and gently spirited, these twelve tracks reveal two musicians at the top of their game (as well as the guest stars, too).

50 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Mindfulness

Woodland Moons

Paul Avgerinos Round Sky Music www.roundskymusic.com

Marcia Watson Bendo Heartnotes Music www.marciawatsonbendo.com

Paul Avgerinos goes solo on Mindfulness, an album that signals his return to a more classic spacemusic sound than some of his more recent recordings. Utilizing keyboards, programming, sound design, vocal choirs, and guitars, Avgerinos showcases his talent at crafting relaxing and spacious soundscapes, deeply meditative in nature and soothing to the ear. Almost the entire album is quiet so it should be (and deserves to be) listened to in an environment as devoid of noise and distraction as possible and through the best possible device (i.e. good speakers) to reap the most benefit from this amazing sonic paintings. Ideal for drifting away or as a precursor to sleep. Clear Light Stephanie Sante Self-released www.stephaniesante.com

As someone who has followed Stephanie Sante’s music career “arc” over the last two decades, I have marveled at her chameleon-like ability to jump between genres, from her earlier spacemusic releases through her straight-up jazz guitar phase and then her “Nu jazz/Chill-out” period. Clear Light signals both a return to whence she came but also a merging of all the elements she has developed over her 18 years of recording. Wholly electronic using synths and keyboards, Stephanie takes the listener on an imaginative musical voyage, featuring an assortment of electronic music styles, moods and tempos. Clear Light is a work of depth, maturity, and artistic self-assuredness.

Throughout my 20+ years of reviewing music, now and then a debut recording comes along that blows my socks off! Woodland Moons from Marcia Watson Bendo (Native flutes, keyboards, and orchestrations) is one of those rare “Are you kidding me?” albums. Woodland Moons blends sonorous Native flute melodies with lush orchestrations and features influences from both the classical and new age genres, as well as, obviously Native fusion music. Percussionist Rafael Pereira contributes on nine of the twelve tracks and the acclaimed Trammell Starks handled mixing and mastering. Watson Bendo’s flute playing is magical, but it’s the depth and breadth of her compositions and her spot-on perfect orchestrations that elevates Woodland Moons to its heights of beauty and artistry. Remembrance – A collection of Cinematic Portraits Jim Wilson Willow Bay Music www.jimwilsonmusic.com

Both the artist himself and others describe Jim Wilson’s music as being cinematic in nature (note this album’s subtitle). One spin of Remembrance will have you agreeing with that assessment. Pianist Wilson also performs and arranges some of the best orchestrations in contemporary instrumental music. Whether he is displaying power and drama (the opening “Shadow Falls”) or a softer, more nostalgic mood (“The Girl From Eastland County”), Wilson excels at “painting” in a visual manner (music-wise). More than once I

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 51

playlist

Bill Binkelman

found myself conjuring up images to suit these songs, perhaps a film’s opening credits or a montage of special moments. It’s this quality above all else that makes this album so special. Where the Heart Belongs - The Very Best of Curtis Macdonald Curtis Macdonald EverSound www.eversound.com

Here In Heaven Donna De Lory De Lory Music www.donnadelory.com

It’s a foregone conclusion that Donna De Lory is a fantastic— make that amazing—singer. What amazes me is not just her vocal talents but her composing skills as well, and across multiple styles. Eight of the nine tracks on Here In Heaven were either written or co-written by her (the sole exception is her cover of Kate Bush’s “Never Be Mine”). De Lory has great control of timbre, pitch, and volume. Her voice can sound soulful, impassioned, romantic, playful, or pleadingly intense. When a singer with her chops and lungs surrounds herself with excellent musicians, as De Lory does here, the result is nothing less than an album chock full of listening pleasure. The closing “Go Talk To Mary” and “Heaven Meditation” are stunning!

Curtis Macdonald excels at crafting superb “ear candy” music in today’s instrumental music arena. Piano-based melodies enhanced with ridiculously fantastic applications of orchestrations, keyboard/synth textures and gently chilled rhythms are laced throughout with a deep sensation of romanticism and warmth. The seventeen tracks on the album will cheer the heart of all but the most hardcore cynic. Some songs have an uptempo feel and sound (“Promise” “Ocean Avenue”) while others are supremely laid back (“No Place Like Home” “Goodnight Moon”). No matter the tempo or mood, the result is  Bill Binkelman has been reviewing New Age, ambient, and world music since Retailing Insight 6-2018.qxp_Layout 1 6/27/18 9:05 A always delicious and can be savored time and time again. 1997. Email him at bill@retailinginsight.com.

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g n i v i g f o t i r i p s Th e y i l m a F & s d n i e r F r o f s t f i G Editor’s Picks “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr

54 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

During this season let’s expect less and give more… love, respect, smiles, and gifts! In this issue, we want to celebrate the “spirit of giving” by selecting meaningful gifts for the conscious living community of families and friends. We hope that our gift ideas can be the source of inspiration for you!

Long Raindrop Earring, KE12 Charity Stewart Designs www.charitystewartdesigns.com

Aphrodite Kantha Necklace World Finds www.worldfinds.com

Practice You Daily Awakening Deck (54 cards) Sounds True www.soundstrue.com

Elephant Bag Rare Rabbit www.rarerabbit.com

Blue Lace Flower Top Colleen Deiss Designs www.colleendeissdesigns.com

Love and Happiness Stone Set KADLETZ/Cast of Stones www.kadetzcollections.com

Copper Fern Velvet Oversized Pouch Printfresh www.printfresh.com

Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 55

Double Unplug Key Ring and Holder Design Ideas www.designideas.net

Spara Journal Combo Kit, Orange WAFF www.ilovewaff.com

Cat Eyeglass Holder Matr Boomie www.matrboomie.com

Deluxe Scout Duluth Pack www.duluthpack.com

The Untethered Soul: A 52-Card Deck New Harbinger www.newharbinger.com

Gratitude Giving Bank Tool Kit Studio Pennylane www.studiopennylane.org

African Turquoise Bracelet Wish Beads www.wishbeads.com

56 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

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Crystal Bowl Healing 2.0 This audiophile CD creates sacred space for healing and meditation. Higher octave frequencies of gem-infused crystal tone bowls are amplified with ethereal tonal masterpieces by pioneering sound healer Steven Halpern. Steven Halpern | Inner Peace Music 800-909-0707 info@innerpeacemusic.com www.stevenhalpern.com

Exotic Stones Carvings Just in time for the Holidays Melon Head Supplies is introducing a line of finely-carved stone products. The line is made from high-quality stones from around the world. Wholesale enquires only. Melon Head Supplies 210-386-5589 stonesandbones@2fastmail.com www.melonheadsupplies.com Winter Edition | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM 57

takefive

Wrapping Up the Year by Royce A. Morales

It’s 5:15 on December 24th. You gift wrapped one final present for that very late customer rushing to a holiday party and, phew, you’re done! Another year of sell, sell, selling and perhaps worry, worry, worrying? But, after the madness, you can breathe a little easier for a while. Right? Yes, owning a shop is a 24/7 gig, especially fourth quarter. And planning for fourth quarter. Then cleaning up after fourth quarter and getting ready for the new year. Another phew! Here are some suggestions to help end the year with a positive bang, rather than an exhausted whimper. These five “R” words can help get you through to the next hurdle: 2019. Memorize them!

REVIEW After you close shop on December 24th, although you probably just want to go home and imbibe some (spiked) eggnog, spend 30 minutes reviewing the season. Did sales match expectations? Did you have enough help? Did some inventory not do as well as you’d hoped? What were your biggest issues or challenges? What worked? Make some quick notes and file them somewhere you’ll remember. Put a calendar reminder on August first to review them since, undoubtedly, you’ll forget some details in eight months. Written evidence works!

REFRESH Honestly, the most important part of marketing happens inside your shop. It’s called “visual merchandising,” and can literally make or break a shop. Displays deliver subconscious messages about what you’re selling, can make expensive items look cheap or can raise the perceived value of inexpensive items. Once the holiday season is over, it’s imperative to make some changes to your shop. Maybe the layout needs tweaking. Maybe you need to invest in some new display units. Maybe you need to seriously re-think the overall feel of your shop. Refresh displays suffering from post-holiday gaps with nothing coming to fill them in. Take down the entire display unit and re-adjust other displays to fill the space. Use ‘filler’ items like space-taking risers (bricks, logs, upside down bowls, etc.), fabric, rocks, crushed glass, plants, dried flowers, etc. Add a single book or greeting card in empty spots. If you’re one of those on-top-of-things shop owner who (wisely) planned ahead, you probably have Valentine’s Day orders in the back room ready to put out. Hold off displaying them until all holiday sale items have left the building so you can start fresh. Nothing is worse (although chain stores vehemently disagree) than seeing the next holiday merchandise out before the current holiday is done!

58 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Find out what that means to you! Whether it means spending some time in gratitude, or just feeling relieved to have survived another season, honor that. It could mean giving your employees a deserved reward for work well done. Take them out for a nice meal; treat them to a gift certificate; spring a holiday bonus or surprise them with something they’ve been eyeing from your shop. Most importantly, it could mean determining how to respect some of those difficult customers wanting to….

RETURN That dreaded R-word no retailer wants to think about! Here’s the truth: Returns happen. A common fear indie-shoppers have is harsh, or even non-existent, return policies. Big stores can afford to be lenient about returns, so at least try to be flexible. Have reasonable return policies stated on your receipts and posted near your cash register. If 14 days seems realistic to you, then state it. If gifts can be exchanged or given credit only, then state that. Perhaps be a bit more lenient after the holidays since ‘tis the season for returning unwanted gifts. Remember: Even the smallest thoughtful action can have a positive impact and possibly deliver a lifelong customer. It’s worth it to bend the rules, and at times, bend over backward for the sake of your business.

RENEW Fourth quarter busy-ness probably relegates self-care to the backseat of business concerns. Burning the candle at both ends can end up making you stressed, sleep-deprived and maybe even sick. Ironically, it’s all for the business you started because of some fantasized notion about working for yourself! Ultimately, you’ll be supporting a healthy business by prioritizing your own wellbeing. Even just a 15-minute veg-out break, a short walk to look at the sky, a (heaven forbid) day off, or maybe even grab a healthy bite called lunch (please eat it mindfully). Do something that takes care of you emotionally, whether it’s hiring a business coach, spending time with a good listener friend over wine, your four-legged bestie, or a compassionate therapist— nurture your psyche. Join a networking support group of other like-minded business owners, or create your own. Remind yourself that it’s okay (and healthy) to say no, set firm work boundaries (no screen time after eight; bills can wait!) and delegate tasks to others.

 Royce Amy Morales is the director of Perfect Life Awakening coaching,

and the author of Know: A Spiritual Wake-up Call. Morales is the former owner of Harmony Works, a soul-nurturing shop in Redondo Beach, CA.

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Akasha's Treasures..................................................32 254-245-8124 I www.akashastreasures.com

Kate’s Magik.............................................................22 520-743-1486 I www.katesmagik.com

Soundings of the Planet ....................................45 800-937-3223 I www.soundings.com

Alucik............................................................................ 8 760-853-0287 I www.alucik.com

Kheops International, Inc. ...........Back cover, 53 800-215-8705 I www.kheopsinternational.com

Sounds True ..........................................................44 888-303-9185 I www.soundstrue.com

Anastarr Designs.....................................................38 970-626-3181 I www.anastarr.com

Llewellyn Publications .......................................39 877-639-97-53 I www.llewellyn.com

Spirit Whisperings ...............................................22 503-701-1073 I www.spiritwhisperings.com

Aspiring Artists of the Earth................................53 267-337-1817 I www.aaote.com

Love Lingo ................................................................57 608-721-4311 I www.elevatemyvibe.com

Starlinks  ♥.............................................................48 800-867-4344 I www.starlinksgifts.com

Coventry Creations .............................................30 800-810-3837 I www.type40sales.com

Mandala Arts ........................................................17 800-344-8072 I www.mandalaarts.com

Steven Halpern I Inner Peace Music..................57 800-909-0707 I www.stevenhalpern.com

Craftstones ............................................................. 9 760-789-1620 I www.craftstones.com

Melon Head Supplies.............................................57 830-627-2922 I www.melonheadsupplies.com

Sun's Eye Inc. ................................................... 3, 36 800-786-7393 I www.sunseye.com

Crystal Distributing Co.  ....................................49 800-833-2328 I www.crystalbowlswholesale.com

NettleSea Studio.....................................................17 360-914-4463 I www.nettleseastudio.com

Tidepool Enterprises..............................................53 800-748-5790 I www.tidepoolonline.com

Crystal Earth Studio...............................................13 866-345-1910 I www.crystalearthstudio.com

New Earth Records .............................................51 888-245-4481 I www.newearthrecords.com

Uma Silbey................................................................37 800-326-2665 I www.umasilbey.com

Deva Designs ........................................................12 800-799-8308 I www.devadesignsjoy.com

New Leaf Distributing Co......................................13 800-326-2665 I www.newleaf-dist.com

US Games Systems Inc. .....................................23 800-544-2637 I www.usgamesinc.com

dZI Handmade .....................................................14 800-318-5857 I www.dzi.com

New Life Foundation ..........................................52 800-293-3377 I www.anewlife.org

VitaJuwel...................................................................11 952-291-7490 I www.vitajuwel.com

Esprit Creations Inc. .................................... 37, 57 352-316-6130 I www.espritcreations.com

Ohm Therapeutics Sound Healing.....................17 505-455-7556 I www.soundhealingtools.com

Wei of Chocolate.....................................................15 602-753-3214 I www.weiofchocolate.com

Gaia’s World.............................................................52 866-605-1191 I www.gaiasworld.com

Raiders of the Lost Art...........................................53 800-527-4367 I www.raiderocks.com

Wellstone ...............................................................30 800-544-8773 I www.wellstonejewelry.com

Goddess Design Studio.........................................21 570-982-3230 I goddessdesignstudio@yahoo.com

Ronin Publishing ..................................................52 www.roninpub.com

World Buyers............................................................13 800-996-7531 I www.worldbuyers.com

Hugger Mugger.......................................................38 800-473-4888 I www.huggermugger.com

Scents of Success ................................................10 800-580-5579 I www.rhavda.com

Zen and Meow.........................................................48 717-451-9159 I www.zenandmeow.com

INATS............................................................................ 1 707-293-9189 I www.inats.com

Sequoia Records ..................................................31 800-778-8777 I www.sequoiarecords.com

Zen Stone Garden, The..........................................33 541-961-1285 I www.kellybarker.com

Inner Traditions Int./Bear & Co .......................33 800-246-8648 I www.innertraditions.com

Shaman's Dawn........................................................36 855-229-7928 I www.shamansdawn.com/wholesale

Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation Publication Title: Retailing Insight. Publication Number: 2372-7997. Filing Date: 10/1/18. Issue Frequency: Six times a year (in January, February, March, May, July, September, November). Number of Issues Published Annually: 6. Annual Subscription Price: $65.00. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: Continuity Publishing Inc., PO Box 5108, Winter Park, FL 32793-5108; contact person: Joe Mount; telephone: 800-463-9243. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: Continuity Publishing Inc., Continuity Publishing Inc., PO Box 5108, Winter Park, FL 32793-5108. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher and Editor in Chief: Publisher: Joe Mount, Continuity Publishing Inc., PO Box 5108, Winter Park, FL 32793-5108. Editor in Chief: Roberta Gazzarolle, Continuity Publishing Inc., PO Box 5108, Winter Park, FL 32793-5108. Owner: Continuity Publishing Inc., PO Box 5108, Winter Park, FL 32793-5108. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Winter 2018 (November).

60 November/December 2018 | RETAILINGINSIGHT.COM

Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months Extent and Nature of Circulation: a. Total Number of Copies 6,681 b. Paid and/or Requested Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail) (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 5,978 (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 0 (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS 0 (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS 75 c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 6,053 d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 3541 526 (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies included on PS Form 3541 0 (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS 0 (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail 0 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution 526 f. Total Distribution 6,579 g. Copies Not Distributed 0 h. Total 6,579 i. Percent Paid 92%

No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date 6,221 5,926 0 0 80 6,006 215 0 0 0 215 6,221 0 6,221 96%

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Winter Edition/ Nov-Dec 2018

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