How do you grow your business? How do you budget your sales? And how do you create a strategy for your product business and what should you be looking at? If those are the questions you’re asking, then you’re in luck as today on Start Scale Succeed, Nicole is joined by Claire Morris of Retail with Clarity. Claire is here to help you plan your strategy and sales.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• You need to look at not just the sales you’ve made but the profit behind those sales, what is that as a margin per cent in your business. You need to break your items down into categories and compare these numbers.
• Sell though is how much you sold as a percentage of what you bought of each product. It’s a really good indicator of a product's success. It is better than just looking at the total volume of sales for each product.
• The SWOT Analysis is a really useful tool for any business. The goal is to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats around your business so that you can use these to plan your upcoming year and beyond.
• Claire’s biggest piece of advice is to take into account the internal and external factors when doing your SWOT. Some things are within your control but some things just aren’t.

BEST MOMENTS 

‘I help them get a handle on the numbers that will be dictating their business decisions’

‘Know what happens under the hood of your business’

‘Unpicking the “why” of the numbers makes you more confident in your decision making’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Retail With Clarity

Claire | Retail With Clarity (@retailwithclarity) • Instagram photos and videos

Blog on SWOT analysis: Using a SWOT to review business performance — Retail With Clarity | Unlock your profit | Hertfordshire

Booking link for Pricing Power Hour: https://retailwithclarityconsultation.as.me/pricing-power-hour

ABOUT THE GUEST  

“I help small and medium businesses with merchandising – the numbers-and-analysis kind. People often think that merchandising is all about dressing and styling, but there’s another kind too. The kind of merchandising that I specialise in deals with collecting data about what you stock, what sells best, and how you price it – and then understanding and using that data to help your business. It’s all about planning.

For fifteen years I worked for large retailers, primarily taking care of their merchandise planning. I was based at their head offices, working closely with their buying departments. One buyer I worked with called me ‘Clarity’ because that’s what I brought to our work. I always secretly loved the nickname and it’s the inspiration for the name of my business.

Supporting small, local and independent businesses is a real driver for me. Although I loved my corporate jobs, I’d wanted to work on my own terms for a while. I started working on a side project, and 18 months later the time was right to escape the world of 9-5. I took a deep breath and launched Retail With Clarity, my flexible, boutique retail consultancy based in St Albans, Hertfordshire.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Buying & retail expert Nicole Higgins spent the last 18 years working for companies such as Primark, M&S, Debenhams and Asda, sourcing & developing products from all over the world, building strategies for blue chip businesses, and increasing bottom-line sales and profit, adding over £40 million in incremental business to the bottom line.

Nicole now uses that experience and works as a consultant and coach for entrepreneurs and small to medium sized business owners, helping them start and scale their product businesses as The Buyer And Retail Coach (TM)

Join the Start Scale Succeed waitlist. How to start & scale a product business. A 12 Week programme: thebuyerandretailcoach.com/startscalesucceedwaitlist

CONTACT METHOD

Website http://www.thebuyerandretailcoach.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/thebuyerandretailcoach/

TikTok www.tiktok.com/@thebuyerandretailcoach

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/nicolehigginsuk

Email nicole@thebuyerandretailcoach.com

Newsletter https://thebuyerandretailcoach.com/newsletter-sign-up/

Book a call with me https://thebuyerandretailcoachltd.as.me/discoverycall