When I speak with my 25-year-old daughter Miranda, the former Buck Wheat of these pages, THE kid assures me: she's not lost!
Though she admits, she doesn't know where she's going!
My grandmother would have said that Miranda has shpilkes (pronounced shpeel-kes), the Yiddish word to describe a kid with ants in their pants. Her wondering often leaving THE kid as the brunt of her father’s jokes!
But last April the joke was over when a stalker made disclosures of even Miranda's general location, unwise.
THE Devil You Know!
Nearly all whom I tell that Miranda is traveling (mostly) alone through Mexico ask the same question. THE girl's mother getting right to the point!
I remember calling my mother after a 16-year-old Miranda drive solo for the first time and asking THE old lady how long it would be till my shpilkes settled down? "You'll get used to it." my mother shared.
Which I can work on again, now that she's safe.
During December to Remember I was so idle I had time to consider retirement. Causing my fiancéeic Gaetana to wonder aloud, “Retire from what?”
A fair question considering Guy gets dressed for work in the dark so as not to disturb my slumbers, only to return home each night to find me already in my pajamas!
But despite the casual attire two consulting gigs are waking from their holiday lulls.
Both of these gigs are with paint and decorating retailers readying their businesses for expansions which require greater control over ordering, inventory, special orders and sample book loan programs than most one and two-store dealers engage in.
Thought they all should!
I'll Meet You There
I'm was more fond of meetings while a retailer than I was during my time in a corporate setting. Corporate meetings being inertia's enemy.
But in an independent's more intimate setting, team meetings can be the engine of progress so I'll be working with both dealers to plan a series of meetings to ensure that our new practices are being well executed.
Team meetings will also give these dealers the opportunity to hear from store staff if any of our new practices are not working as intended.
Because they’ll know before we will!
At the end of the year the common language developed during the team meetings will aid these dealers as they perform their year-end performance reviews.
THE Pod
In addition to my work with these two dealers, I’ve been seeking out guests for a new season of my podcast, In the coming months I plan to update my coverage of the Kelly-Moore acquisition, plus there's word of another strike at Sherwin-Williams!
I also plan to shine the spotlight on several retailers dealers during the upcoming season. They are the reason we meet here each Monday!
So if you’re an independent paint or paint and hardware retailer seeking fame and fortune email me here and I'll see what I can do.
After THE dealers I plan to feature manufacturers, distributors, trade organizations and other stakeholders from the independent channel.
So if you're a stakeholder in the independent channel and you think that dealers might find your "story" interesting, email me here and I'll tell you what happens if I agree.
