If you’re serious about transforming your retail newsagency or any other local small retail business with which you are involved, whether it’s a traditional setup or one that’s already evolving, the journey begins with a clear understanding of your current position. It all starts with your data.

Knowing exactly where your business stands is the bedrock upon which all future progress will be built. This means taking a comprehensive look at your operations from various angles. You need to gather the following:

• An up-to-date profit and loss statement. This provides a snapshot of your recent financial performance.
• A current debtors report and a current creditors report. These show who owes you money and who you owe money to.
• A complete list of all monies owed by the business, both formal loans and informal debts.
• A stock listing showing the total value of your current inventory.
• A dead stock listing, detailing all items with zero sales recorded in the past six months or more, along with the total value of this stagnant inventory.
• A floor map illustrating the gross profit percentage contribution by each product department or category in relation to its allocated floor space.
• Your total rostered hours for a typical week, including all owners regardless of whether they draw a formal wage, alongside a calculation of your revenue per hour.
• A revenue comparison down to the individual category level, comparing the most recent six-month period with the same six months from the previous year.

Simply stating a desire to transform isn’t enough. You need to deeply understand your current situation and the business’s capacity for change. The information listed above will reveal immediate opportunities and provide insights into the business’s ability to fund the costs associated with transformation. This list is the essential starting point for any business I work with on making significant changes.

As you delve into this pool of data, my strong recommendation is to first seek out easy wins that can pave the way for a more focused and productive approach moving forward. For instance, if you discover $10,000 or more tied up in dead stock that has already been paid for, get rid of it! The freed-up cash and valuable space will give you an immediate boost. To clear this stock effectively, consolidate it into a designated clearance area – perhaps a table or a few tables. Apply a consistent discount across all these items; I suggest a straightforward 50% reduction.

While you’re tackling the dead stock, simultaneously work through the rest of your data. Aim to understand the current performance of your business and carefully examine the comparison report for any readily apparent “green shoot” opportunities within your existing product categories. This could reveal a simple first step you can take.

As you analyse your data, compile a comprehensive list of ideas and potential action items. You might uncover some easy wins you hadn’t previously recognised or had been overlooking.

Over the years, we have spoken with retailers considering business transformation or improvement who have been tempted to rely on their accountant for guidance. Unless your accountant has current, hands-on retail experience specifically within your type of shop, we believe this is a misstep. Others have been keen to engage business consultants. Similarly, unless they possess current retail experience in your particular sector, We would advise caution.

The key takeaway here is that this is your business. You’ve reached a point where you want change, a transformation. The next steps are yours to take and are best executed by you, ensuring you have ownership of the changes.

This initial phase begins with diligently gathering your data, cleaning out the stagnant aspects of your business, and getting your business “fit” for what lies ahead.

All of this groundwork is about preparing you to be “match fit” for the more substantial changes that will follow.

newsXpress helps local small business retailers thrive.

Let’s talk about labour costs and how they impact your newsagency or any retail business. The newsagency benchmark suggests aiming for a labour cost that sits between 9% and 11% of your total revenue – that’s your product sales plus any commission you earn from agency lines.

To put that into perspective: if your combined revenue from products and commissions totals $1 million, your total labour expenditure should ideally be around $110,000.

It’s absolutely vital that this labour cost calculation includes a fair market value for the time you, as the owner, invest in the business. Too often, we see newsagency owners clocking up a staggering 60 to 80 hours each week, and frankly, a significant portion of that time isn’t generating productive outcomes.

Think about it – a small business simply can’t afford unproductive management time. Your larger competitors don’t carry this overhead, and neither should you.

This is why we strongly advise against having a dedicated back office, or if it’s absolutely unavoidable, to keep it small and certainly not a comfortable space. There’s a hidden advantage to this lean approach: it naturally pushes pricing and other administrative tasks out onto the shop floor. Embrace this shift, and you’ll likely see your revenue increase.

While the dream of business ownership often involves stepping away from the frontline, remember that the shop floor is where the money is made. That’s where your best people should be, and arguably, where you should be spending a significant portion of your time too.

Allocate your “boss time” strategically, in proportion to the size of your business. For a typical small retail business turning over $2 million or less annually, we suggest limiting your dedicated management time to no more than around five hours per week. Of course, this depends on how you utilise that time. If you’re handling bookkeeping yourself, thereby saving on external costs, then a bit more time might be justified.

Here’s a more practical way to visualise the impact on your bottom line: simply cutting three hours of paid adult labour each day, from Monday to Friday, can directly boost your business’s profitability by over $20,000 per year.

If you’re thinking that’s not achievable in your situation, take a hard look at where you’re currently spending your “boss work” hours. Could some of those tasks be done at the counter or while you’re on the shop floor? By effectively multi-tasking, you could potentially reduce your paid labour hours. Ultimately, it comes down to whether you’re committed to making your business more profitable.

Consider the experience of one newsagent who heeded this advice. They successfully cut their labour costs by a remarkable $50,000 in a single period, and during that same time, their revenue actually increased by 6%.

Gaining control of your labour costs and ensuring they align with the benchmark starts with a well-thought-out and efficient roster.

This is more advice from newsXpress a marketing group that helps local small business newsagents thrive.

Discovering a suspicion of theft involving an employee under the age of eighteen requires a particularly cautious and considered approach. It’s crucial to take a step back and plan your actions thoughtfully before confronting the individual or even initiating a formal investigation. An ill-conceived approach can have significant and challenging consequences for you, your business, and the young person involved.

Our advice is that the moment a suspicion arises, arrange a meeting involving the young employee and their parent or guardian. It’s also wise to have a second person, ideally independent of your business, present as your witness during this discussion.

In the meeting, present the evidence you have gathered in a calm and factual manner, and then provide an opportunity for them to respond. It’s paramount that you remain civil, stick to the facts, and avoid letting emotions cloud your communication. Actively listen to their response and take it into consideration.

Be prepared with a reasonable course of action if they ask what you intend to do about the situation. If there is agreement on your proposed resolution, you can then move forward accordingly.

However, if there isn’t agreement on your proposal, or if the young person denies the theft, you must have your next steps ready. This subsequent action should be fair, reasonable, and primarily aimed at uncovering verifiable truth.

If there is an admission of theft and the employee is casual, our recommendation is immediate termination, ensuring all legally owed entitlements are paid out. It’s often best to draw a line under the matter at this point and move forward. Avoid discussing the situation outside of your business. In close-knit communities, particularly outside major cities, constantly revisiting such issues can be incredibly damaging to your reputation.

If an agreement cannot be reached, ask the other party what resolution they propose. It’s possible that even while denying the theft, they may be willing to part ways with the business. If this isn’t the case, you could suggest mediation as a way forward. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s office may be able to offer assistance in this area. Alternatively, you could suggest that both parties report the matter to the police.

It’s vital to understand that once you involve parents or guardians, you need to be prepared to see the matter through to a reasonable conclusion.

The key message here is that handling suspected theft by someone under eighteen demands careful consideration and thorough planning. This will help ensure that you, your business, and the young person involved are all treated fairly and safely throughout the process.

This advice is provided by newsXpress for the benefit of all local small business retailers who stop by here. We are a marketing group that helps local retailers thrive.

If you are anywhere near Cronulla check out White Scarlett, the online gift shop for the wonderful Cronulla Paper Shop. It’s a wonderful gift shop in Cronulla.

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Free Shipping and a Special Gift

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Visit White Scarlett Gift & Homewares today to explore their unique collection and find the perfect addition to your home or a thoughtful gift for someone special.

Now, for something about the people behind White Scarlett:

Our aim is simple: to offer a diverse and quality collection of products that you’ll be genuinely excited to purchase, proud to give as a gift, or delighted to feature within your own home.

For us, family and home are at the heart of everything we do. We understand the joy of both giving and receiving a special gift, and it’s this sentiment that we strive to reflect in our online store.

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For those local to Sydney or visiting our beautiful coastline, many of the treasures you discover online can also be found in our established bricks and mortar store, “Cronulla Paper Shop”. Situated proudly at the top end of Cronulla Mall, overlooking the iconic Cronulla Beach, our physical store has been a beloved part of the Cronulla community and a favourite for holidaymakers for many decades.