Management One’s Marc Weiss shares the top 10 strategies for weathering the storm, along with other resources and information.

What are the defining qualities I see in great leaders?

Leadership is not about being the boss; it is about leading your business into the future and not chasing the past. What are the one or two major decisions you will make in 2020 that will secure your business’s future?

Sell What is Available Today.

2019 marks the 10th year of Small Business Saturday- a tradition started by American Express in the wake of the early 21st-century recession to help support local businesses around the country.

Truth be told, I wish retailers would stop using LY as their benchmark for measuring their own success. It is why I don’t endorse the 454 calendar. It is backward looking. In my own business, I focus on how we are doing against our budget, both expenses and revenue. Last year is ancient history.

Not all classes are created equal. Spinning the Middle is a retail term that refers to that portion of a classification, called the middle, that sells well but the end parts perform sluggishly. This type of situation can stall growth, and reduce planned receiving, for needed open to buy to satisfy demand for the middle that is turning profitably.

Slowing growth manifests itself in pulling back, on both the part of the customer and the retailer. The threat to a retailer is where…and how far? Pull back too hard and you will lose market share. Don’t pull back far enough and you can spend yourself out of business.