According to the Small Business Administration, the second leading cause of business failure is insufficient or delayed financial support. In many cases, this is brought about by a poor business credit score. If you are unaware, a business' credit score is similar to a personal credit score. A person's credit can be improved by paying loans on time and avoiding any reoccurring debt. Business credit is almost exactly the same with minor differences. In today's blog, we will discuss the...

Being environmentally friendly is nothing new, and in most markets, it is becoming more important from a business perspective that you attempt to protect the planet. There are a million ways to reduce energy use, recycle or use recycled goods, and eliminate environmentally harmful products from circulation. In today's blog, we are going to discuss whether or not charging for plastic bags can make a difference and the other benefits it can provide for your store.

While we have numerous customers scattered across the country with unique qualities, this month's Merchant Spotlight provides a wide range of products and services for their customers that many others can not match. Knicker Knacker Market and Grocery Store has built a business for anyone that may come walking through their doors, which is why they have become so prevalent among the people in its community. If you are located in the Montgomery area or perhaps, just passing through, make sure to...

A large part of gaining favoritism among legislation is bringing these officials to your level as a store owner and showing them how valuable your business is. In recent years, the value that C-stores provide to their community was lost in the eyes of legislators. Laws did not exist to protect the C-store industry from data breaches or loss of people's financial information. NACS is seeking better representation from legislators and government officials in the hopes of turning this around....

It's unfortunate to admit but with past legislation, many C-Stores were left on the hook for crimes not caused by themselves. Recent years saw many convenient stores covering for issues caused by processing companies and credit consolidators like Equifax. These issues, mainly data breaches, cost millions of dollars to consumers and business owners when they happen. The tides are shifting and current legislation has made small businesses more of a priority by holding big processors accountable.

Technology is always making advancements to help whatever industry they are implemented in. Retail is no different and over the past decade, plenty of innovations have hit the market to make business life easier and improve a customer's shopping experience. In this blog, we will list our top 10 favorite developments, that we believe, can put your business at the forefront of the market and help you succeed.

In business, time is money, and if you are spending too much time trying to maintain your store, you may be losing money in the process. Organization is more important than most people realize and it can drastically affect how customers perceive your business and how you run it. If you're struggling to keep your products in order, reduce clutter, and track all purchases/invoices then here are a few tips to get your business back on track.

Issues with high sales and low profits usually relate back to your store's product margins. Margins refer to the amount you spend on a good versus how much you sell it for. Simply put, when you subtract your cost of a good from the amount that you sold it for, the remaining amount is the margin. The goal of any business owner is to maximize their margins so that they are gaining as much profit as possible from every product they carry. For many businesses, combining the cost to ship and...

As the title mentions, this blog is meant to assist the businesses who struggle with high traffic coming into their store, and their ability to cater to all their clientele efficiently. While the profits from consistent rushes are great for your wallet, if you are unable to help every customer who comes through the door then you might lose business over time. Now, these tips are not just for those businesses who have high volume, but can also help businesses who are looking to increase their...

Delivery services have been established for decades now, but have not seen a lot of change until "recently" with Amazon. When I say recently, yet Amazon revolutionized delivery a few years ago by offering same-day delivery. It didn't take long before other companies began to offer the same thing, and not long after that, people's favorite fast-food restaurants began to make getting a Big Mac easier than ever before.