Hey. It’s Bob. And there are three types of retailers, and the type that you are will determine the kind of success that you have. But before we get into this week’s, Real Retail TV, I’d like to encourage you to save the date, May 22nd at one PM.

You are going to meet your new retail best friend. It’s gonna be really exciting. It’s going to be an hour and a half, and we are giving away something really great to everyone who is there. May twenty two, one o’clock. Put it on your calendar and be there.

Three types of retailers and why this is important. Let’s talk about the three types. Type number one are the whiners.

And so the whiners everybody knows a whiner. Right? In every industry, there’s a whiner. In every shopping district, there’s a whiner. It’s everybody’s fault.

Their lack of success is everyone’s fault. People blame their vendors. They blame the government. They blame, their employees. They blame their customers. They blame everyone but the person who looks them in the mirror every morning.

Who is in that person is the person responsible for their success.

They are perpetual victims.

And the whiners, if you are a whiner, I’m going to encourage you to change your attitude today because whiners have no place in the future.

Being a whiner, complaining about everything is a surefire way to going out of business. People won’t want to work with you. People won’t want to shop with you. Your vendors won’t want to be your partner. Sure. They’ll sell to you, but they don’t wanna be part of your success.

So whiners going away. The second kind of retailer are the hopers, and hope is a real positive emotion. I’m a very hopeful person myself, but hope is not a strategy.

So while you can be optimistic and being optimistic is good, it’s not going to get you where you want to go. So the hopers sort of tread water, and you can tread water in business for a mighty long time. But if you rely on hope to be successful, your business life is going to be incredibly stressful.

Why? Because hopers don’t proactively build the skills. Hopers aren’t the third type of retailer, which is the type of retailer I hope you are. And I think you are if you’re watching this episode of re Real Retail TV. And the third type of retailers are the doers.

And, you know, the doers make things happen. The doers find a problem or see a problem and seek out a solution.

You’ve probably heard me tell the story about Ari Weig’s partner, Paul Saginaw, one of the cofounders of Zingerman’s family of businesses in Ann Arbor.

He has a great quote.

Don’t get furious, get curious.

That is the attitude of a doer. A doer sees a problem, figures out a solution, develops the skills needed to solve the problem once and for all.

The doers move forward.

The, whiners move backwards.

The hopers stay in neutral and the doers move forward. And, you know, expectations are up. Loyalty is down.

Business is hard, but you have a competitive advantage as an independent brick and mortar retailer. You have the ability to become the store of choice in the world of infinite options.

You can be mighty on Main Street, but the only way to do it is to have the attitude of action.

Let me say that again. The only way to do it is to have the attitude of action, to be a doer.

So your action item, should you choose to accept it, is to take a good hard look at yourself.

Think about how you approach problems. Think about your biggest problem and what you’re doing about it. I’ll share a quick story. Lisa Roberts, owns Rock Paper Scissors, a wonderful business in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

And she has solved her staffing problem once and for all. And as she tells the story, she said, I got so tired of hearing people complain about not being able to find great people.

And then one day, I realized I was one of those people complaining.

That’s why I’m asking you to take a good hard look at yourself.

How are you reacting to problems and frustrations?

What are you doing about it? Because, again, you have what it takes to become successful.

But the first part of it is to have that attitude of action and be a doer.

So I would love to hear what you have to say about what I shared with you right here. Put your comments down below. I’d love to hear them. And, again, if you haven’t written it down yet, if you haven’t put it in your calendar yet, May 22, one o’clock PM eastern time, you’re going to meet your new business best friend, and you’re gonna get a really, really great thing by being there. Alright, everybody. I’m Bob Negen, and we’ll see you next week.