As your indie retail business grows, leading a team becomes a crucial part of your store owner responsibilities. And while being a leader may not come naturally, being a better leader is thankfully a skill that you can cultivate. In today’s episode, I’m sharing the five essential skills you can quickly learn to be a better leader. You’ll be known f…

Let’s face it: being an indie retail store owner isn’t easy. There are shipments to bust, products to merchandise, backstock to organize, floats to reconcile, and tasks to delegate. Beyond the day-to-day operations, there are even more high-level tasks that eat at your time and brain power, like choosing what products to bring in and figuring out h…

For indie retail store owners who run vendor or consignment-style stores, there’s an extra layer of work on top of running a store: managing vendor relationships. Vendors at these stores normally rent a specific booth or section of the store to display their products. And while each vendor is in charge of managing their inventory, cleaning their ar…

Encouraging your customers to pay in cash is not only great for your business (buh-bye, credit card transaction fees!), but great for your community. Accepting cash diversifies payment options, keeps money out of banks’ deep pockets, and gives people without bank accounts access to goods and services. Cash is a win for small businesses and customer…

Have you ever decided to shop small, confirmed store’s hours online, driven over to the store…only to find a “sorry, we’re closed” sign hanging on the door? That frustration you’ve felt in that moment is NOT what you want to give to your customers in case of a temporary store closing! Communicating with your customers about a store closing, whether…

With Q1 of 2024 behind us, it feels like a good time to share some impromptu Savvy Shopkeeper updates. There have been a lot of changes within my business and personal life, and I’m excited to share them with you! Listen in to hear about leaving my retail store behind, finishing my coaching certification, an in-person event you’ll want to save the …

Posting on Instagram can feel exhausting and overwhelming, especially as a retail store owner with a million other things on your plate. That’s why I’m sharing a metric for you to track that can make your social media efforts feel worth it—and that no one else is talking about! Listen in to learn about this hidden metric, plus get a brand-new free …

Between an upcoming leadership month in Master Shopkeepers and wanting to share how I’m learning to lead the Savvy Shopkeeper team, leadership has been top of mind for me. That’s why I was so excited to chat with Shelli Warren, the founder of Stacking Your Team. After a 25-year stint at Proctor & Gamble, Shelli ventured into leadership coaching for…

From plugging your retail profit leaks to scaling your indie retail business, this year’s Savvy Shopkeeper survey covered a bit of everything. I’m excited to share the results with you, especially because it might show you what’s possible for your store. I’m also sharing how you can attend my upcoming masterclass, Stop The Drip. In this two-hour cl…

If you’re an Aspiring Shopkeeper, figuring out how and where to buy wholesale inventory is a crucial step towards opening your store’s doors. Luckily, there’s a program that makes it super easy to curate, order, and buy inventory for a retail store: Open With Faire. Built by one of the most reliable online wholesale platforms around, Open With Fair…

As indie retail store owners, it’s all too easy to focus on the negative. We’re always thinking about which stores are closing, what’s to blame for industry-wide difficulties, and how each new hurdle might lead to our store failing. And while our glass-half-empty view isn’t surprising (we’re only human, after all!), we can and SHOULD try to change …

Kate Simpson, owner of Cerulean of Cape Cod, was always a maker and a nurturer. She created her own jewelry, sold it at weekend markets, and even had a spot at a vendor-based retail store, all while working full-time as a nurse. Eventually, though, she wanted to take the entrepreneurial leap into nurturing a retail store of her own. That’s when Cer…

Bookkeeping is crucial for any business, and indie retailers are no exception! It's the key to understanding your finances, making smart choices, and pushing your biz forward. Today, I’m sharing six bookkeeping tips from a recent live lesson I taught to Master Shopkeepers. Listen in to learn what you need to do to keep your books in order so you ca…

Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters are on the rise. Thankfully, Heart on Main Street is there to support independent retail businesses when disaster strikes. After growing up on the wholesale side of retail, Patrick Keiser founded Heart on Main Street to provide indie retailers with the resources, tools, and educational op…

Our laptops are not only an extension of our physical workspace, but often an extension of our minds. Digital clutter in the form of tons of too many tabs and multiple windows can bog us down. But there are ways to increase your web browser efficiency—and just as with other key systems for independent retailers, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve t…

After many years of attending AmericasMart as a buyer, this year was my first time attending as an observer. It was fascinating to chat with members of the Savvy Shopkeeper community, spot market trends, and be a fly on the wall at showrooms! In today’s episode, I’m sharing my five key takeaways from AmericasMart 2024. Listen in to learn what trend…

Asking your customers for feedback can be scary—trust me, I know! Most years, I ask my customers and community to complete the Savvy Shopkeeper survey. While getting feedback directly from the people I serve can be nerve-wracking, it’s an overwhelmingly positive experience. Read on to learn how you can fill out this year’s Savvy Shopkeeper Survey a…

Managing cash flow is a difficult task for most indie retail store owners, but it doesn’t have to be! I’m excited to share a virtual banking solution that helps you automate your cash flow management: Relay Financial. When I first read Profit First, I was skeptical. The cash flow management system proposed in the book required setting up multiple b…

For indie retailer store owners, tasks like writing product descriptions, planning promotions, and mapping out quarterly plans can take a LOT of mental energy—especially after a full day of running your store. That’s where my Free ChatGPT Resource Guide comes in handy! This empowering guide will help you use ChatGPT effectively to support your reta…

Supporting the shop local and shop small movements has always been a core value of mine. One way I was failing at that, however, was with my book-buying habits. Instead of supporting local bookshops, I often bought books with 1-click checkout at Amazon. Thankfully, I’ve discovered a new way to buy books online that also supports local bookshops! Li…

After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it can be nice to take a brain break before diving into the planning and goal setting we need to do for the year ahead. Sometimes, a little motivation and inspiration can be helpful, too! Personally, I enjoy watching TV shows to give myself a brain break and get inspired for the next 12 months. Today, I’…

For many indie retail store owners, digital marketing doesn’t come naturally. With the ever-changing social media landscape, a constant stream of new features, and best practices that vary from platform to platform, it can be difficult for retailers to parse what’s worth the effort (and what’s best left on the backroom floor). Enter Crystal, our go…

For independent store owners, the fear of discounting inventory is very real—especially when they’ve got dead stock hanging around! It’s all too common for shopkeepers to have lots of negative thoughts about dead stock, discounting, and what those things mean about them. But if you can change those thoughts, you can make better decisions and see va…

I'm here with a bonus episode, post-Christmas, to share an announcement and what's ahead for me and the Savvy Shopkeeper community in 2024! Kathy Cruz is an Independent Retail Coach who helps store owners work smarter, profit more, and grow their brick and mortar businesses. Connect with Kathy and learn more here: Website: https://savvyshopkeeper.c…

When you first hear the term “emotional adulthood,” you might think it’s connected to when our brains finish developing in our mid-twenties. But emotional adulthood has everything to do with your awareness of how your thoughts affect your feelings—and very little to do with when your brain finished forming. I realized I was still in emotional child…

With 2024 approaching, now is the time to start your retail business forecasting! If you’ve never done this process before, today’s episode will walk you through the first step: looking at the commitments you’ve already made, the trips you’ve already booked, and any events you know are on the books. Listen in to learn what retail business forecasti…

New Year, new store? If you’re like most independent retail store owners, a new year can feel like the perfect time to make a fresh start by reworking your product lines, introducing a new category, revamping your staffing…or even changing business models. But before making such a drastic change, there are a few key things to consider. Changing bus…

The Savvy Shopkeeper online shop has been revamped, renamed…and is relaunching with a Post-Black-Friday sale event! Introducing The Shopkeeper’s Marketplace: an online shop just for indie retailers. Full of useful digital products, merch, and swag, it’s the perfect spot for indie retail store owners to find products made just for them. Listen in to…

I’m not a big gratitude journaler. I rely on my journal when I need to get things out of my head, which helps me gain clarity and see the complete picture. But there is a straightforward gratitude exercise I love, and today, I’m sharing it with you. Listen in to learn why this simple gratitude exercise has helped me gain a new perspective after a c…

With 2024 in our sights, we’re not far off from the next round of presidential elections. One of our Master Shopkeepers members, Julie, recently asked if I could share any insights into this question: “do election years affect retail sales?” There are many small business owners—and in particular, independent retail store owners—who firmly believe t…

Many shopkeepers avoid hosting retail store clearance sales. Whether they’re worried about the perceived value of their goods or what other store owners might think, it’s common for shopkeepers to avoid marking down their old stock. Sadly, these worries can affect their bottom line and the health of their business. A well-executed retail store clea…

Many of the store owners inside Master Shopkeepers and the Savvy Shopkeeper community at large are also creatives, makers, and artists. After establishing their stores, the next question those makers ask is, “When should I wholesale in my business?” In today’s episode, you’ll learn how to decide if it’s time to start wholesaling in your business fr…

Whether you’re a Savvy Starter with a newly opened storefront or a Growing Retailer expanding into a second location, your first point of contact with customers isn’t happening at your store. It’s happening on the web! In today’s episode, I’m sharing how you can conduct a simple retail store website homepage audit to ensure that your website is hel…

After years of leading groups with hundreds of store owners, I can confidently report that ALL POS systems go down. Yes, all of them! There’s not one system that’s better than another when it comes to this. So if—scratch that, when—your POS system goes down, do you have a plan? Listen to this quick, valuable episode to learn what options you have w…

Credit card fees are a contentious topic among retail store owners. As credit card fees continue to rise, shopkeepers are wondering what they can do to lower this expense. One popular solution to this issue? Charging customers for the privilege of using a credit card. While I’m not usually one to offer prescriptive advice, this is one instance wher…

What’s less than 8 weeks away and right in the middle of the busiest quarter for indie retailers? It’s the biggest weekend of the retail holiday season: BFCM Small Business Saturday Weekend. With this mega retail weekend quickly approaching, it’s time to start planning! Listen in to learn why indie retailers love this weekend, which days to focus o…

Did you know you can sell from your window display, even when your store is closed? In today’s episode, I’m sharing my QR code tutorial for brick and mortar stores. This is a fun way to make your window display attract potential customers, provide them with product information, and even drive them to your online shop! For show notes, including a li…

I get asked a LOT of questions about Master Shopkeepers. As a retail store mastermind coach, I completely understand why you have questions and want to put your mind at ease. With applications closing for 2023 on September 30, I’m answering the five most common questions store owners ask me about Master Shopkeepers. Listen in for the five Qs & As—a…

Being a mompreneur is incredibly rewarding, but it’s also challenging to find a balance between motherhood and owning a business. We love our kids, but we love our businesses, too. Finding the time to do it all while still making ourselves happy, well, that can seem impossible at times. No one knows this better than Megan Moran, a third-generation …

I can’t tell you how often I’ve seen a shopkeeper open a second retail store location and want to tell them, “Wait, don’t do that quite yet!” I’ve also seen many store owners go on to close their second retail store location later on. This doesn’t mean that second, third, or fourth locations don’t work out for ALL retailers. They absolutely can wor…

Your brain might tell you that every other business immediately succeeds—and that you’re a failure when yours doesn’t. But what if you could reframe your failures as experiments instead? Failing versus experimenting might seem subtle, but this reframe can be a pivotal mindset shift for retail business owners! In today’s episode, I’m sharing my 3-st…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve shared why an operations manual is beneficial, five systems you should document for your retail store, and a free resource to give you a head start on creating your operations manual. All of these podcast episodes have had one goal: to help indie retail store owners optimize their operations. Today, I’m excited to shar…

Whenever I talk about creating an operations manual, getting started seems to be the main roadblock keeping store owners from creating theirs. From figuring out what chapters to include to how thorough each section should be, just outlining your retail store operations manual table of contents is daunting! In today’s episode, I’m sharing a brand ne…

A fact that might surprise you: EVERY indie store owner has a set of brick and mortar store systems. Yes, even those of you who don’t yet have an operations manual! You might not have them anywhere but inside your head, but you do have a set of systems and processes that you follow. We're diving deeper into operations manuals in the second installm…

Creating an operations manual can feel intimidating and overwhelming, especially for indie/micro business owners. That’s why in today’s episode, I’m sharing the top eight benefits of a retail store operations manual. Whether you’ve got just one employee (you!) or lots of employees at several locations, an operations manual is where you can outline …

Exciting news: the 2023-2024 Savvy Shopkeeper Digital Planner is now available! I am thrilled to share what I believe to be the BEST planner for independent retail store owners with you. The planner has a new look, new worksheets, and new bonuses to help you work less, profit more, and grow. Listen in to hear what’s new with this year’s version of …

Visit the Savvy Shopkeeper website and click on “Credit Card Reform” in my main menu or click HERE to complete the Voter Voice form. I recently traveled to Washington DC to advocate for credit card reform on behalf of the Savvy Shopkeeper community and here's why... Visa and Mastercard dominate the U.S. credit card market. They account for 80 % of …

The 2023-2024 Savvy Shopkeeper Digital Planner is launching soon! That means it’s the perfect time to revisit the five things I wish I’d known about planning for my retail business early on. When your store is brand new (or still just a dream!), it’s challenging to think about the future because you’re focused on the now. During my Aspiring Retaile…

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said, “just grab a good old pen and paper” on the podcast. Not only am I a fan of getting things out of my head, but I’m also a fan of writing things down so I don’t forget them. But after five years of paper piling up on my desk, I was beyond frustrated. I never felt I could find what I was looking for, and my …

As I looked back at all of the content I’ve written, recorded, and shared with store owners, I realized I’ve covered how to destock your store more than nearly any other topic! There are at least three episodes of this podcast and a few blog posts that address destocking your store in one way or another. In today’s episode, I’m excited to share a n…