Often in discussions about the future of QVM I hear reference to
the high proportion of older traders in our market and that is usually not seen
as a good thing.
There is a perception that many older traders have been around
too long and are too fixed in their ways to make a real contribution to a
market about to go through significant change. And it is true that we have our
fair share of dinosaurs at QVM. These are the traders who often talk about the
good old days and the way we used to do things without having much input for
the scary new days and what adaptions are necessary. To state the obvious -
retailing has changed a lot.
But let's not write off the contribution of older traders.
Experience and knowledge has its place particularly if it is used to guide
change. Most changes benefit from detailed analysis and past experience can be
very useful in assessing the detail.
Older traders need to understand their role in all this. One of
the problems is that ambition is seen as a necessary ingredient for
contributing to change and that is simply not true. Willingness to seek and
embrace change is quite different to ambition. We don't expect older traders to
be planning their careers as they head into retirement, but we do expect them to
maintain their desire to learn, experiment, and adapt. Retailing can be a great
stimulus to creativity. That ability to direct your business on a daily basis
by tweaking this, and changing that, is often what got us into this industry in
the first place.
Some older traders probably do need to make the decision to move
on. If you have lost the zest for retailing, and are simply waiting around for
some unlikely payout, then perhaps you need to make the hard decision. For the
rest of you, I urge you to pick something new for your business every trading
day and implement it. Learning and experimenting never stops and it sure beats
the hell out of waiting for things to happen. As the old proverb says -
"It’s
what you learn after you know it all that counts."
Greg Smith - QVMAC Trader Representative and Older Trader.
COMMENTS:
03/04/2015 13:26:07 Older traders "I feel that your comments are very ' tongue in cheek ,.... You cannot be in business today without refreshing, revitalizing and modernizing the product that you sell. I come to work each day with a new vision and focus, I am keen to work. The problems that exist,car parking,and the ability to get customers to spend exist everywhere, age and longevity should not be factored into the equation."
Thanks for your comment - Ed.
03/04/2015 14:33:47 Old age "What happened to experience counts Greg? Are u in this category that u are writing about?? Of course u r!!!" Rosalie
Thanks for your comment Rosalie - Ed.
03/04/2015 16:20:30 Older Traders "You cannot put all the older Traders in one train of thought. We are in the older group and have no problems with going forward or changing we look forward to the challenge as long as no trader young or old is affected. The people who are making these changes will not be around to see any damages as a result. What do you suggest we should change daily" A & J E shed -
Thanks for your comment A&J - Ed.
04/04/2015 09:28:00 older trader "loved the piece you wrote Greg, a lot of truth in that...I must say i did laugh when i saw the end, signed Greg old trader." Andy
Thanks for your comment Andy - Ed.
06/04/2015 20:28:28 Older Traders "It's not just the older traders that need to consider their business futures,how they operate or present themselves or the reality of changes to the Markets operating hours. Running a business is a time & energy consuming operation and we should always be trying to find ways to improve. Retail and customer demands are ever changing. It is hard to look to the future if we dwell on the past. When the finer details in the Draft Master Plan are released then traders futures and future decisions may become clearer both short and long term. " Steve. D shed
Thanks for your input Steve - Ed.
03/04/2015 13:26:07 Older traders "I feel that your comments are very ' tongue in cheek ,.... You cannot be in business today without refreshing, revitalizing and modernizing the product that you sell. I come to work each day with a new vision and focus, I am keen to work. The problems that exist,car parking,and the ability to get customers to spend exist everywhere, age and longevity should not be factored into the equation."
Thanks for your comment - Ed.
03/04/2015 14:33:47 Old age "What happened to experience counts Greg? Are u in this category that u are writing about?? Of course u r!!!" Rosalie
Thanks for your comment Rosalie - Ed.
03/04/2015 16:20:30 Older Traders "You cannot put all the older Traders in one train of thought. We are in the older group and have no problems with going forward or changing we look forward to the challenge as long as no trader young or old is affected. The people who are making these changes will not be around to see any damages as a result. What do you suggest we should change daily" A & J E shed -
Thanks for your comment A&J - Ed.
04/04/2015 09:28:00 older trader "loved the piece you wrote Greg, a lot of truth in that...I must say i did laugh when i saw the end, signed Greg old trader." Andy
Thanks for your comment Andy - Ed.
06/04/2015 20:28:28 Older Traders "It's not just the older traders that need to consider their business futures,how they operate or present themselves or the reality of changes to the Markets operating hours. Running a business is a time & energy consuming operation and we should always be trying to find ways to improve. Retail and customer demands are ever changing. It is hard to look to the future if we dwell on the past. When the finer details in the Draft Master Plan are released then traders futures and future decisions may become clearer both short and long term. " Steve. D shed
Thanks for your input Steve - Ed.
