Retail: The Cold, Hard Truth

The Cold, Hard Truth

Not all businesses make money.  Not all business owners want to grow their businesses.  And retail, well, retail is really tough.  As a business consultant, I often take a deep breath when someone comes to me with a retail business idea.  Typically they are expensive to start-up because of high inventory costs, and the amount of revenue and profit very rarely earn the owner a living.  So why do people do it, you may ask? 

Passion. 

They love their products or services and want to share them with the community.  They love their customers and want to help meet their needs.  It isn’t that they don’t want to make money and earn a living with their store; it’s just that it isn’t always realistic.

This is why I feel that we need to protect, defend, and support our amazing retailers in Northfield.  Without them, our downtown and Highway Three areas would be colorless, lifeless, and dreary.  They need us to shop locally, not because it’s all the rage, but because it means the difference between paying their light bill or not.  They need us to recommend shops to our visiting friends and family so that others can experience the feel of small town service.

I often have to tell people that come to me for business advice that “just because the door is open, it doesn’t mean a business is making any money.”  The cold, hard truth is that retailers very often do it out of love and not money.  And as a community, we must place a high value on their sacrifice. 

I wrote this blog post before I knew about the closing of a beautiful store in downtown. Thanks to Sister’s Ugly for your time, effort, and service to the community.  I do not know why they decided to close, and I want wish them well on their next adventure.