When
your business is struggling and the consequences are dire, when an industry
that you have put your life into appears to be in a downward spiral, when all
the trading tricks you have crafted over the years don’t seem to be working,
when you are facing some very serious decisions about your future, it is not
easy to be logical. But, clearly, logical thinking has never been more
important for QVM market traders than right now.
And
maybe one of our more experienced traders had a word of wisdom for every trader
- “Forget the past - we are starting all over again.”
What
do we know? Global retail trade has been given a massive shake-up and
traditional forms are in decline. There are positive courses of action that we
can take -
1.
Offer exciting retail experiences.
2.
Enhance customer convenience in the way we
communicate, and deliver.
3.
Engage through different channels (websites
and social media).
4.
Raise the bar on all aspects of our
business.
And
there are protective things we can do –
1.
Control and eliminate costs, (pull in the
belt).
2.
Measure what we do, and
3.
Be really smart about our profitability.
There
are of course other more drastic options -
1.
Change product category.
2.
Expand business footprint by adding outlets
to take advantage of economies of scale.
3.
Downsize stall.
4.
Upsize Stall.
5.
Reduce number of trading days.
6.
Increase the number of trading days.
7.
Add trading opportunities perhaps through
the night market or other markets.
8.
Supplement income from other sources.
9.
Get out of the retail industry.
On
the one hand, these are decisions only we traders can make. We are independent
entrepreneurs and the buck stops with us. On the other hand there are many
reassessment discussions happening at QVM right now involving management and
traders wanting to evaluate their options.
At
these important decision making times we rely on our business network,
including our families for advice. Fellow traders can be helpful although we
need to avoid those who just want to blame others for our dilemma. The sooner
we as individuals start on a course of action the greater our chance of
success.
Of
course we cannot underestimate the complexity of this process. Traders want
clear guidelines around things like repetition and quality of offer, and they
are important, but the impact of change on individuals is not to be ignored.
Management need to set clear guidelines and individual traders may need to
compromise. Oh, and we need flexibility to accommodate individual cases. If you
say it quickly it sounds easy, but the reality is more complex. A lot of
understanding is needed here.
And
finally, let’s talk about flexibility. Flexibility is a key advantage for
Market Traders. The ability to twist, turn, react, and go in a different
direction, is seen as a key ingredient for all modern businesses. As we
recently quoted on Victraders “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be
right once.”
Have Your Say - click here.
COMMENTS:
18/12/2017
12:26:18 Decision time "Greg
All well to
write smaller/bigger stalls ,5days 3 days
Stock higher
/ cheaper . Who do u talk to for as per your (. Oh, and we need flexibility to
accommodate individual cases. If you say it quickly it sounds easy, but the
reality is more complex. A lot of understanding is needed here.)stock and time
does not come free and with management changes ang management changing their
mind every week
HOW ???????" JR Hi JR. I think you are saying that with all the changes (in processes and personnel) it is very difficult to progress. I agree. But we have to start somewhere. If you have an idea of what you want to do, and you talk to your Precinct Manager (Russell Wheelhouse) about the options open to you, then the complex process starts. Just don't expect everything to be in black and white. The waters are going to be muddy for some time. - Ed.