Retail Insights - feedback wanted

[Island Dude]

Hi All, attached is pamphlet that I have been working on and revising for my IDC candidates that are looking to open dive stores. I started this because I get a lot of requests for advice from new and old dive store owners and wanted to have something for them to take with them. I am interested in your feedback (good, bad, indifferent), and looking for ideas to expand it. If you have something that works for your store let me know. If you think I am nuts, let me know that also!

 

[Bali-Freak]

It looks like a good piece of work, and I'm sure all your candidates would benefit from i (I have to admit however that I didn't have the perseverance to slog all the way through).

My initial thought however is that it skips the most important step - a business plan. I think one problem in our industry ("live the dream") is that too many people simply think they can make a dive business succeed without attempting any analysis first. This leads to failing businesses, which in turn leads to desperate measures down the road such as price-cutting to survive, and in the long-run we all get hurt.

Just my two cents worth.

 

[Island Dude]

Thanks Bali-Freak,

Yes, that is certainly an oversight on my part to put the business plan into the mix. It is something I just naturally did and overlooked in a way. To me, most of the aspects covered should be in the business plan but are usually left out by most I encounter. And just as important as the initial plan is that very few take the time to go back and review those original objectives and game plans then revise their plan based on trends they are experiencing in their own market. Mostly because they do not take the time to track those trends which to myself is why the spreadsheets are so important that I mention in the business section.

Yes, to an experienced person it would be tough to go completely through the article since some of it seems so straight forward you would think. I appreciate your effort in doing so and your feed back. I will assuredly be adding the business plan into the edit. If there is anything from your perspective that should be included into a business plan I would appreciate your feedback.

I am always amazed by the amount of stores in our industry that started out with great intentions and seem to have lost their way over the years. And just as you referenced, all seem to follow the same path when dire times occur. A path that hurts us all.

Thank you so much for your input

 

[mjrob]

Hey, thanks ID! I printed your attachment (sorry, trees but sometimes I just need to hold some paper) and look forward to reading through it. Anything that anyone can do to help us all is valuable, IMO!

Thank you for sharing!!!!

Mark