Hey. It’s Bob Negen. And in this episode of Real Retail TV, we’re going to explore the three building blocks of your retail success.

So when we think about retail success, it’s always helpful to put it in a framework, to give it context.

And so here’s the context for you to think about in my humble opinion.

So it’s mindset, skill set, and structure.

And it always starts with mindset. How you think will determine the success that you have. Henry Ford, I might not be quoting it exactly, but the quote goes something like, if you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.

You know, in last week’s episode of Real Retail TV, we talked about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. And this idea that if you have a growth mindset, you’re seeing problems as opportunities.

You’re always looking for, things to learn and chances to grow and lessons to apply to your business and your life. So when you think the right way, when you develop the right mental habits, when you have the right beliefs, you have laid the foundation of your success. Now on top of that foundation of mindset, next comes skill sets. Because you can have all of the confidence in the world, but if you don’t have skills, you are not going to get where you want to go. And so in the Retail Mastery System, there are eleven modules. Each of the modules talks to teaches a specific skill. So going back to what I shared earlier about a growth mindset, When you have a growth mindset, every problem points to the need to develop a particular skill.

So as you grow your business, when problems arise, you develop skills. Not getting enough traffic? The skill of marketing is the skill to develop.

You don’t have a great team that’s giving your customers the experience you want them to get in your store. You need to develop the skills of leadership and management.

Your backroom likes looks like a hurricane rolled through it two weeks ago. You need to learn store operations.

You’re carrying way too much inventory?

Learn inventory management. So all of these retail specific skills are so important to your success.

But if you don’t have a growth mindset, you’re not going to proactively go out and learn the skills that you need to learn. Or if you do, you’re going to do it begrudgingly, not joyfully.

And, you know, this is what I really want for you. I want you to say, wow. This is fun. Wow.

I’m learning something new. Wow. I’m getting better. Wow. I’m seeing the results from the skills that I’m learning.

When you see results, you become more confident and you become more enthusiastic about developing your skills.

So mindset, skill set, now we’re cooking with gas. And then the final layer on top of it, the the the final pillar is structure.

And structure is so important because when you’ve developed the skill sets and put them into structure, now you are really, really building a business that has legs. You’re building a business that allows you to go on long trips. You’re building a business that makes a lot of money. You’re building a business that doesn’t need you.

One of the our most popular programs, I’ve done a full day workshop on it, is called how to run a business that doesn’t run you, and it’s mindset, skill set, structure. What are the structure pieces that I am, talking about here? Number one, you have to have organizational structure. You need to have a organizational chart so that everyone knows where they sit, what they are expected to do.

And so all of a sudden, everyone has the freedom to do what they’re supposed to do, and you don’t have the problem of everybody trying to do everything and nobody doing anything well. So the structure, the organizational structure is an important part of this piece.

The second important part is inventory management.

The structure in inventory management is open to buy planning.

You need to have an open to buy, this structure that allows you to manage your inventory skillfully.

Having the right stuff at the right price in the right quantity at the right time. That’s what open to buy. That’s what that structure will do for you. And then the third piece of structure, and this is really, really important, is training.

So training, there’s three parts to training. One is your store specific.

What does someone need to know to work in your store successfully? They need to know what are your return policies, how do you check stuff in, what are your nonnegotiable standards? So there is your store specific training. There is product training so that your team members can go out on the floor and talk knowledgeably about the products you sell. And then there is sales training.

Recognize this. Selling is a skill. And if you don’t give your people the skills they need to be successful on the floor, you can’t be frustrated with them when they don’t do a good job. Training is all about that. If you don’t set standards let me say that differently. If you don’t clearly communicate in writing or on video your standards, your team has no, no choice but to create their own. And when they create their own and their standards don’t line up with yours, guess what?

It’s your fault.

So just recognize that when you build that structure on top of your mindset and your skill set, now you have a business that gives you true freedom. You will get financial freedom. You will have a business that makes money.

You will get physical freedom. You will be able to leave your store and go somewhere else and not worry about your team.

And you will also have freedom in your mind. You will not always think about your store. You won’t always stress out about whether your team is giving your customers a great experience.

You know, you will have those freedoms, and it’s so wonderful.

And I aspire to that for you, this idea that you’ve got what it takes to build the business of your dreams.

You just have to make a commitment to it. Right? You have to make a commitment to it and understand that these are these three pillars and get to work. Take that commitment, put it to work, do the work, Get the results. You deserve it.