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Issue 7
| You're buying a WHAT! |
“You’re buying a WHAT?!”
When you first mention to friends or bank managers that you are considering buying a newsagency – many of them throw their hands up in horror and ask if you are mad!
“Don’t you know you have to get up at 3 in the morning and they don’t close till 7 at night – they are seriously hard work?”
Well, it’s true that some newsagents do get up at 3am and it’s also true that some of them don’t shut until 7pm but does the owner stay there all the time? Really? What about the newsagencies that are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year – does that mean the newsagent works 8760 hours a year! Of course not!
So if that newsagent doesn’t work all the time the shop is open why would you? It’s called delegation or rostering and depends on how much you want to work and how much you can let go. For some people, letting go is very hard as they believe that no one else could do the job as well as they do it and so will not take the time to train up their staff so the owner can take a well deserved break. There are also "Relief Managers" who you can hire to give you time out of the business.
Good staff are absolutely vital to the running of your business and you should start by hiring good people and then develop them by thorough training in all facets of the business so if you have to go away unexpectedly you can, knowing your shop is in good capable hands.
You should have an Operations Manual – sounds pretty daunting doesn’t it? It can be as simple as a 50 cent exercise book that lists in order all the things that have to happen in the shop on a day by day basis. Start with the most obvious – unlocking the door – is it the back or the front – which keys – do you switch on the lights or switch off the alarm system first? Is the next job to switch on the jug for the morning heart starter?
It’s very simple to keep a record of what happens each day as by and large each Monday or Thursday or whatever is the same. This system will allow a complete novice to be able to open up and to a limited degree run the shop for you should you not be in a position to do so.
So is the newsagency hard work? That really depends on you and if you want to have a life – there is no point of earning truck loads of money by working 12 hours a day 7 days a week if you can’t enjoy the things that money can give you. Like quality time with your family, a game of golf, sailing or a day at the races. Whatever it is – it can be achieved by you having the confidence in your staff so you can delegate and then relax.
When buying a newsagency you may often see a difference between the wages paid to staff on the Profit & Loss sheet and those shown on a data sheet – that’s because usually when you first buy the shop you tend to work a bit harder. Then as you begin to realise that there is more to life than working, you start to put on more staff and take time off to smell the roses. Therefore your wages bill often increases the longer you are in a newsagency.
You must also know that many friends and advisors really have little knowledge of what is driving you nor what you are capable of and prepared to do. This is very important! You are the only one who knows what your circumstances are and what you are prepared to sacrifice to achieve your successes in running your own business – don’t be talked out of something that you have your heart set on.
Contact us and we will happily answer all your questions.
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