013 Theme your Days: Wednesday – Connect! Educate! Read!

Vicki Adrian brings a daily dose of inspiration
and education for entrepreneurs and savvy retailers! Today we're
continuing our series on productivity by "Theming Our Work Days"
aka Block Scheduling. Wednesday’s theme: Connect! Educate!
Read!

I have been a retailer for 33 years, in a very small town in
central Kansas… Just for a little background, I actually grew up in
southern California, in the LA area, and married a Buhler, Kansas
boy…then found myself in the middle of nowhere for the past 33
years! Many of those first years, I felt very isolated, didn’t know
very many other retailers, and pretty much built this business on
trial and error, with many mistakes made along the way.

I give you this background to help you understand how much I
value connection with other small business owners and retailers.
Several years ago, I began to intentionally connect with other
retailers. This takes effort and sometimes it can feel like trying
to make a new friend in Junior High…but I want to encourage you to
hang in there and reach out to others in your profession!

I decided to make it a part of my LIFE to reach out and connect
with another retailer at least once per week, and in order to make
that a HABIT, set Wednesday morning drive time (my drive time is
only 8 minutes, by the way) to call another retailer. Usually these
phone calls went out to someone east of Kansas because of the time
difference, but over the last couple of years, I also call someone
west of here in the afternoon.

I cannot even describe how valuable this has been to our
business! First of all, those retailers you call are usually
feeling just as lonely as you did and they love to hear from you.
If you’re thinking, “I don’t even know anyone to call…how did she
meet these people?” I exchange business cards with people I meet at
market, or vendors, or sales reps. Many times I will make a little
note on the card so I can remember what they looked like. Other
times, I ask to take a photo with them, so I can remember. If you
don’t know anyone, you can always give me a call…I love to talk
retail!

We’ve got a helpful FREE resource for you today! Would you take
a minute after this Periscope ends and stop by
RemarkableRetailer.com? On the right side of the page, you’ll see
my picture…click the button to sign up for our email list and
you’ll get a link to our Remarkable Retailer Resource book right
away. I think you’ll find some great information there!

Thank you! Please join our community at Facebook.com/RemarkableRetailer for more
information.

~Vicki Adrian

[email protected]