twinkie

In my opinion, one of the main things I would change if I owned an LQS is lowering my mark up percentage. Many shops want to double the cost of their fabric and that makes the price unreachable by many on fixed incomes. Many times I shop at Wal Mart fabric departments because that is what I can afford. If I had to pay $10 to $12 a yard, I could not make quilts. When I had my restaurant, years ago, I lowered my profit margin and did a tremendous volume of customers. That made my total profit as much or more than it would have been if I had charged more for the meals. 100 customers multiplied by $1.00 a meal profit is worth more than 25 customers multiplied by $2.00 a meal profit. It worked for me. Another thing that has always bothered me is when the owner of a vacant building insists on charging a business the full price for rent. What about this? If I have a building that is vacant, how much do I earn each month? If I offer a new business a 2 year lease with a very reasonable rent for the first year to let them get their feet on the ground, then the normal rent after the first year, am I not making more than if the building were vacant? Just my thoughts.

Although the merchandising points mentioned in this thread are important and I agree with them 100%., there are many ways you can be successful. This is what I told my waitresses, "Make your customer the most important part of your job and you will have a happy customer". A happy customer will always return to your place of business.