As a boutique owner, have you ever thought of a day where your boutique business will have to run without you? I’m talking about you having to go away for a while with the option of entrusting the business into the hands of someone else… And the question is, are you prepared for that?
Closing up your business is NOT an option because “the show must go on”, with or without you. So, how do you ensure that your business functions to its optimum capacity even in your absence? Here’s how.
It’s not just about leaving it in the care of someone, no matter how much you trust the person. It’s not a matter of trust but a matter of capability. You wouldn’t want to leave your business and still have to call every two minutes to check it… you want peace of mind and I’m here to tell you just how to go about it.
Here are seven ways to prepare your business for your absence:
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Write ‘Down To The Last Detail’ Manual: This will contain any and every question that your delegate will possibly have about the business as well as any scenario that could possibly play out. A good idea will be to begin to construct this manual several weeks before you actually handover as it is easier to construct such a manual in the actual business environment as real life situations play out than for you to just make conjectures. - Make sure to run this manual through with your delegate so that if he/she has questions, you can simply add it to the manual.
- Other Content of The Manual: Asides general instructions for the running of the boutique, the manual should also contain
- Contact information, which could be yours and those of others they will need to contact like the cloth suppliers etc
- The rules and regulations of the store/boutique (this includes detailed information on how to balance the accounts at the end of the day, personal conduct etc)
- Customer service (how you deal with your customers)
- Loss prevention (and what to do in case of loss I.e theft, burglary, fire etc
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Have a Plan B Delegate: This entails making sure that you are 101% sure of the person that you are passing the baton to., it is also good to have one or more alternatives that you trust and are loyal that will be able to step in and control any situation that arises if need be.
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Empower Your Staff: A hardworking and versatile staff will go a long way to determine how healthily your business will thrive in your absence. It’ll be great to define each person’s (if they’re more than one) duty if they aren’t already defined, so that no part of your business suffers while you’re away. State the part that you are supposed to be in charge of and specify where he/she is to act off his/her basic business instincts in order to make the right decisions for the business.
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Test Run: A good idea would be to step back after putting all these in place and find out how it works out. This will enable you to trace and eliminate the glitches in your plan and find a Plan B in case the Plan A fails.
You can try bringing in a strategic customer whose main aim will be to cause a ruckus in order to see and evaluate how your delegate and handle the situation.
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Plan And Prepare For Your Leave In Advance: If you’re leaving for a day or two or even months, tell whoever is supposed to step in enough time notice to enable them to prepare.
While doing this, keep the following in mind:
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Collect Necessary Information - Get the contact information of those you might need to be in contact with while you’re away in order to check up from time to time - Prepare Your Contacts - It is wise to also let your vendors/suppliers and other business partners that you are stepping away so they know they are dealing with your delegate(s). This way, you get first hand information of how your delegate handled the situation in your stead.
Stepping Away: It will be no issue to step away from your business when all these are in place!
