Hardware Connection December 2016

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When it comes to demanding jobs, the pros demand CHANNELLOCK ®. Since 1886, we’ve been earning our reputation for quality and reliability – one tough tool at a time.

Athe way i see it

By Tom Chasteen

Moving On to Build a Better Future

s an independent hardware store owner I’ve had the pleasure to hire and work with people from other countries. I have had the honor of being asked to write a character letter for a young man applying for American citizenship, and he was sworn in two years ago. It was one of the highlights of my life when he became a U.S. citizen.

Last night I was at a fellow hardware retailer’s home for a Christmas dinner party and was captivated by a guest’s story of how his father came to this country in the 1970s penniless. He worked as a janitor at night and in a factory during the day. He learned to cut hair and began investing in small homes and apartments and did extremely well over the years. His son, who is my age (60), became a respected attorney and, like his father before him, invests in real estate to help young families purchase their first home.

What a wonderful story—it’s the American dream. If you come to America, work hard and abide by our laws anything is possible, even for an immigrant from Lebanon who didn’t speak English.

Now that the election is behind us it’s time Americans roll up our sleeves

and get down to the serious work of continuing to rebuild our economy and figure out how to develop an affordable health care program. However, our biggest challenge will be to learn how to respect one another as Americans, regardless of race or religion, and help encourage those people who have come peacefully to this country in search of a better life.

The best quote I heard after the election was on Facebook and it said, “Not wanting our President to succeed is like hoping the pilot of the jet you are flying on can’t land the plane.” Regardless of who we favored for president, we are Americans first.

If we are to succeed as independent hardware store owners in the two-step hardware channel we need to address four issues. We must find ways to take advantage of economies of scale wherever we can in our industry. We must embrace technology to help us reduce costs and provide us with better information to make good decisions. We must engage our customers so that when they leave our stores they feel good about coming in. And finally, we must accept the fact that succession

the way i see it

planning is not an option, it’s a necessity if we hope to succeed in the long term. Manufacturers have shared their concerns about the higher costs of doing business in the independent hardware channel. The one topic that is always at the top of the list is the number of hardware shows manufacturers need to attend and how bunched up they are in time. This is an area that will need to be addressed as an industry. To wait for a crisis to arrive is extremely shortsighted. Every national competitor we have is investing huge amounts of time and money in technology looking for ways to lower their cost of doing business. They are also looking for ways to get in front of our customers in our local markets. If you are not using your point-of-sale computer to its fullest potential for your business, then you are missing profit opportunities. We need to invest more of our time to see how we may use the data we are collecting to evaluate merchandise mix, look for areas where our sales have increased and make sure we’ve increased our inventory on hand to accommodate the increased sales. We also need to spend some time looking for those items we can raise our prices on.

Engage your customers. A dear friend of mine, Bill Hettling, told me more than 20 years ago that independent retailers will need to “entertain” their customers to retain their loyalty. That may be as simple as engaging them when they come in the store. It may mean putting up old pictures

of your town or local sporting teams so the older customers can feel at home reminiscing or new customers can get a better feel for the area they have moved into. It may mean hosting a “Customer Appreciation Day.” Either way if we don’t make our customers feel special about our stores then someone else will. If you haven’t been to a Bass Pro Shop, go visit one and watch the people just looking around. It’s pretty impressive how they engage and entertain their customers.

Succession planning is absolutely critical for each of us, regardless of how old we are. Although succession planning is not critical to day-to-day operations or profitability it will be invaluable to our long-term business plans and the financial feasibility of each of our businesses in the long term. None of us lives forever and at some time in our lives we must address what to do with our business, both from a personal standpoint and a financial standpoint. As my father once told me, you can either make the choices yourself or hope someone else makes the right choice for you.

As we close out the year and look forward to the family holiday season I would like to personally thank you for allowing The Hardware Connection to be a part of your life and your business. I hope you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous New Year. Share your thoughts, from one retailer to another, by contacting me at tom@thehardwarestore.com. n

“We

Dan Henderson, Owner | Lakeview True Value Hardware

From Tom’s Shop

HARDWARE PRODUCTS REVIEW

2016 has been a really good year for new product innovations and with the expected technological advancements, 2017 is looking like we will continue to see some really great new products.

LED lighting continues to lead the way and now we are starting to see LED products coming down in price as manufacturers continue to enhance their

By Tom Chasteen

PRODUCT #1: ILCO EZ®-4U

KABA ILCO

production capabilities. I think we will see some changes in the battery technology of battery-powered tools in 2017. Energy-efficient products will continue to be at the forefront of new product design and solar energy is really making some huge advancements, so we can expect to see more solar energy products in the hardware channel. door or gate remotes. As a guy who products in the hardware channel.

Kaba Ilco has come out with a really neat product called Ilco EZ®-4U. It’s a small device about the size of a small box of matches and it enables the user to operate up to four separate garage door or gate remotes. As a guy who is constantly challenged with the TV remote, I was more than a little skeptical about this product at first.

However, each of our testers came back with the same comments of how easy it was to program and use. Click on the instructional video below to see how easy it is to program the EZ-4U remote.

Other features of the EZ-4U remote include: dust and splash resistant, CR2032 replaceable battery and it’s

compact (much smaller than most factory remotes). All of our testers rated Ilco’s EZ-4U remote a winner. To see the instructional video, click here.

PRODUCT #2:

WISS® FOLDING POCKET KNIFE

APEX TOOL GROUP

Apex Tool Group continues to churn out new and innovative products and the Wiss® folding pocket knife is no exception. The size of this product when folded is about the size of the average utility knife, but that is where the similarities end. The Wiss folding knife has a titanium-coated, stainless steel blade that is three times harder than steel and will not rust like a steel blade.

The full metal frame of the body fit our testers’ hands perfectly and they all commented on how sturdy the Wiss folding pocket knife was. The blade is just under three inches long and has a piercing tip, a flat and a serrated cutting surface, which makes it a perfect blade to cut everything from cardboard and plastic to rope. The blade is also spring-assisted, making one-hand opening a breeze.

Another nice feature is the belt clip, which makes for easy access when

doing a job. In our testers’ opinion, Apex Tool Group has hit another home run with the Wiss folding pocket knife.

Click on this link to see a short video.

As we close out 2016, I would like to thank all of the manufacturers that have sent product samples for our testers to evaluate. Also, I would like to thank our product testers for trying out these new products and giving us their comments so we can share with our retail readers.

Developing new and innovative products is an expensive and timeconsuming process that typically takes 12 months or longer before the product is ready to distribute. There are no guarantees a new product will be a hit in the marketplace. New products are the lifeblood of our industry and retailers are always looking for new products

NEW PRODUCTS ARE THE LIFEBLOOD OF OUR INDUSTRY AND RETAILERS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW PRODUCTS THEY THINK WILL APPEAL TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.

they think will appeal to their customers. If you have other favorites that you find helpful in your business or personally, please share them with me (tom@thehardwarestore.com) and what you use them for so I may share them with our readers as well. ■

The product that ends clogged

filters and suction

loss. The problem

Women in hardWare

Taking Business to a new Level

Shelly Wagler grew up in the hardware business and now, the business, A&R

Supply in Washington, Ind., has grown up along with her.

Wagler’s dad, Abe Gingerich, started a heating, plumbing and electrical business with a partner in 1969 operating out of a yellow school bus. Abe and Ron—hence the A&R name— traveled around southern Indiana with that bus. The two partners split after a year with Gingerich continuing on as owner.

In 1978 Gingerich moved to Washington and established a heating

By Chris Jensen

Shelly Wagler

A&R Supply

Washington, Ind.

Left: Shelly Wagler has helped guide A&R Supply in Washington, Ind., to new heights.

The nearest big-box store is 15 miles away, so signage reinforces the store’s price competitiveness.

and cooling business on Main Street.

“He was always sending guys to stores to buy toilet flappers at retail, so he opened a hardware store in 1986 to supply himself with goods,” explains Wagler. “He figured, if nothing else I’ll be my own best customer.”

Business started growing right away, so he added a lumberyard to supply 2x4s with a focus on DIY business and small orders to contractors. Growth really hasn’t slowed since then.

Wagler was one of three sisters in the family, but she was the self-professed tomboy.

“I grew up on a farm but was always more focused on the hardware business. My dad was a licensed plumber and electrician and I would go on calls with him,” she recalls.

It was a natural that she would follow him into the hardware business after attending college, picking up his wisdom on how to run the business and interact with customers.

Then her dad got sick and she only had six months of talks with him before he passed away. It left Wagler with big shoes to fill and a lot of responsibility on her shoulders.

“I knew I was in the business for the long haul and the business never missed a beat once I took over. But without faith in God and a good team I never would’ve made it,” she says.

She eventually bought out her two sisters and now owns A&R Supply with her husband Leon, who focuses on the heating and cooling supply side. The transition from helper to owner, at first, was difficult for her.

“When my dad died I had problems with the bank,” explains Wagler, who was a finance and banking major in college. “The banker had no faith in me because I was a woman. The numbers looked good, but you never really know. I was going out on a limb,” she explains.

Left: The shelves were raised this year so assortments could be expanded.

Middle: Carrying a convenience assortment of toys keeps people shopping local.

Bottom: Shelly Wagler is proud of her accomplishments in following in her father’s footsteps, but knows she is only successful because of a strong team of associates.

Women in hardWare

The next crisis was unexpected. “Dad didn’t have a drug-testing program, but I enacted one. It was a big hurdle to overcome,” she says, recounting the fact that she lost nine employees in the first drug screen. “I believe in three strikes and you’re out, but no one wanted to risk a second strike and they all quit,” she adds.

A&R Supply now has 39 full-time employees, all drug-free, and Wagler says one of her biggest challenges is finding and keeping employees. “It’s very hard to find anyone with HVAC experience. We do half of our business on installation services. When we do a commercial refrigeration job it takes a specially trained person to handle that,” she points out.

Once she finds someone who is dedicated and a worker she knows she can teach them retail hardware. “They need to be self-motivated. There’s plenty of work to do around here, but if you’re a leaner you won’t last long,” she says. “It’s a big team, but we all help out where we can. No one has a job title— everyone empties the trash including me. We’re also pretty family-oriented if you need time off.”

Finding affordable health insurance is another big challenge. “Our cost went up 38 percent this year and the year before it went up 18 percent. I’ve heard 47 percent for next year,” says Wagler, who points out the company now spends $283,000 for health insurance,

The business has maintained a specialty in plumbing and electrical products from the beginning.

up from $15,000 six years ago. “We’re looking into paying more per hour if we would have to drop insurance.”

They did cut their utility bills a lot by switching to LED bulbs. “Our cooling costs also went down, because LED lights don’t generate as much heat. The light output is so good it’s amazing,” she points out.

A&R Supply has been with Orgill from the beginning. “They have been a tremendous asset for us,” says Wagler, who serves on Orgill’s advisory committee. “They listen to their customers. We share ideas twice a year and it’s been a valuable tool.”

The store features a 10,000-squarefoot sales floor, an indoor yard and another 10,000 square feet for storage and the heating and cooling business, which has a separate entrance for contractors. Keeping to its roots, the home center still specializes in plumbing and electrical products and know-how.

When taking care of male customers, Wagler says she is frequently told they would like a guy to help them. “I try to entice them to let them know I’m knowledgeable. Longtime customers

Sliding racks enable more SKUs to be carried in categories such as power tool accessories.

The store attracts a 50-50 split between pro and DIY customers, so pro-grade power tools are stocked.

Women in hardWare

know I know my stuff,” she says. “There are some male chauvinists here who aren’t going to change, but what are you going to do?”

The store’s main initiative this year was raising the shelving height, which enabled them to greatly expand assortments. Future initiatives include expanding the parking lot, changing the entrance for contractors so they exit differently, putting in automatic doors for both entrances and converting the greenhouse to showroom space.

Upper Rigth: A&R Supply features a 10,000-square-foot sales floor.

Lower Right: A&R Supply acts as a distributor of Carrier heating and cooling products and has a large installation business.

The banker who questioned Wagler’s ability to steer the company might be surprised to learn A&R Supply has been completely debt-free for two years with the building paid off, but such accomplishments don’t surprise her. After all, the greatest gift her father gave her was confidence in her own abilities.

“Business has been good this year— we’re up 7 percent,” Wagler says. “We’ve grown every year since I took over and I know my dad would be proud.” n

Trixy O’Flaherty started working for Gordon Do it Best Hardware while in college and later bought the business.

Brothers Max and Ben Gordon established a store in DeKalb, Ill., in 1946 where customers could purchase a wide variety of hardware products while receiving expert help from knowledgeable people.

The tradition continues today at Gordon Do it Best Hardware under current owner Trixy O’Flaherty, along with a focus on carrying hard-to-find items and full lines of stock, especially in plumbing and fasteners.

O’Flaherty started working for the store in 1998 while in college. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my career. I found out I like the hardware business,” she says. “You feel like you’re

Women in hardWare

Carrying on the Tradition

Trixy O’Flaherty

Gordon Do it Best Hardware | DeKalb, Ill.

helping people. There’s a lot of creative problem solving and it’s nice being part of the community.”

Buz Blair also started working there in 1998, and he and O’Flaherty took the plunge and bought the business together in 2006. “I was majority owner and eventually I bought Buz out in 2013,” she explains, adding that Buz still works part time in the store.

The current nuts and bolts room is where the store originally was located.

In the mid-1950s appliances were added to the building next door and that section is currently the main part of the business today. Over the years the store expanded to a third adjoining building.

Gordon Do it Best Hardware captures 70-75 percent of sales from commercial/ industrial accounts. Those customers

include contractors, small manufacturers and property managers. O’Flaherty operates without outside salespeople.

“It’s pretty much just me reaching out to commercial/industrial customers one on one. I go onsite to visit C/I accounts occasionally,” she says.

“There’s a small enamel manufacturing plant that

Left: Boots and gloves are kept in stock for commercial and contractor customers.

Rgith: Gordon Do it Best Hardware carries all the core categories, but 70-75 percent of sales come from commercial/ industrial customers.

Introducing the Viper Scraper ®

more clear: scraping projects were a huge hassle for both contractors and DIY'ers for two reasons: the effort associated with scraping and the clean up afterward.

Oneida Air Systems, the leading US manufacturer of dust collection systems, believes it has solved both problems via

REVERSIBLE “PULL MOTION” BLADE INCLUDED.

OPTIONAL “PUSH MOTION” BLADE SOLD SEPARATELY.

The Viper can be used alone with a wet/dry vac and is compatible with Oneida Air Systems’ Dust Deputy.

its introduction of the Viper Scraper, an ergonomically shaped scraper that features a hollow handle to attach to a wet/dry vacuum and utilize its suction to capture scraped debris right from the source. The result is a much cleaner and less time consuming process as compared to the traditional method.

OAS Chief Technology Officer, Jeff Hill, commented, "Our engineers, the same team that revolutionized home dust collection with the development of the Dust Deputy,® spent months in R&D developing the Viper. The end result is a product that not only eliminates post-project clean up, but that also feels very comfortable in the hand, which is essential for really tough scraping jobs."

"Shout out to the Viper Scraper... It makes scraping super easy."

Women in hardWare

buys from us, so I’ve gotten to know what their needs are.”

Being in a college town there are a wide range of prospective customers from maintenance people to professors. “The business has changed over the years. What customers are buying has changed,” O’Flaherty says. “They may shop Grainger’s but still shop here for fasteners.”

The state of the Illinois economy is the biggest challenge she faces now. “We do a lot of business with Northern Illinois University in town, but because of declining funding from the state the college has not been spending as much with us,” she points out. “We’re not

Women in hardWare

seeing the growth in the community because of the college’s funding issues.”

Another future concern for O’Flaherty is how will she be able to reach out to people her age and younger. “They look up products on their phone and go to buy from there,” she says. “How do I market to the younger demographic is definitely a critical issue for the business. It goes hand in hand with how do you attract young professionals in the trades?”

O’Flaherty recognizes that she is fortunate to own a business that has received strong support from the community for 70 years. “We’re really lucky

Upper: A convenience assortment of cleaning products is carried.

Lower: The store is known for its fasteners section.

how long the store’s been in the area with loyal customers. We have a broad range of inventory plus some oddball items that the big guys don’t have in stock,” she says.

Do it Best helps bring in traffic with its website, but O’Flaherty admits she needs to do more with social media. “We will never win the battle to be perceived as the best value, but we want to win the perception as having the best service,” she says.

Like other female hardware retailers, O’Flaherty occasionally encounters customers who are dismayed to have a woman helping them. “Once people get to know me they know I am knowledgeable. Occasionally I’ll hear someone ask ‘Is your dad here?’ It’s becoming less of an issue with male customers, but it’s always going to happen some,” she says.

O’Flaherty adds, “People are embarrassed by what they don’t know. Just as many women as men don’t want to talk to me. One of the first things I do when I hire young women is say ’Don’t take it personal. Just show them you know more.’”n

The Art of Brushmaking

Purdy brushes are handcrafted from the finest materials by experienced Purdy brushmakers who undergo two years of training before they can craft their own brushes. Like every true artist, every Purdy brush is “signed” by the person who made it – a mark of pride in a job well done, offering peace of mind to professional painters that the tool in their hand was made with the highest level of quality.

WOMEN IN HARDWARE

Sibling Teamwork

Aimee Nichols

Berger True Value Hardware

Hawthorne and Port Chester, N.Y.

As Aimee Nichols explains it, she became a hardware retailer completely by accident. She has a degree in biology with a premed track and was going for a master’s degree in public health with thoughts about going to medical school.

Then her brother Chris and father Mark Rubeo decided to buy their local hardware store, Berger True Value Hardware in Hawthorne, N.Y. “They asked me to come on board and help out and it snowballed from there,” she explains. “I loved it from the start.”

Nichols started in the office at age 22 and it was a natural progression from there. She became a co-owner in 2004 by the age of 24 and she and Chris now own the business together.

“My brother and I work well together,” she adds. “We never sat down and said you’re going to do this and you’re going to do that. Chris handles all the

Aimee Nichols and her brother, Chris Rubeo, make a good team running Berger True Value’s two stores.

advertising and is more prominent on the sales floor. I’m very organized and came up with procedures for special orders and an automated ordering system, behind the scenes stuff.”

Working with family can be crazy at times, but it’s all good, according to Nichols, who points out that Chris is one of three older brothers she has. “Our parents raised us to not sulk and to work issues out and not take offense at everything. So far it’s been good to work with my brother with very few disagreements,” she says.

Nichols was heavily involved in all aspects of a major store remodel and complete reset at Berger True Value in 2007. Giving the store a fresh look helped revitalize sales and attracted new customers. “Home Depot came to town shortly after we remodeled. We reinvested in better training and made sure we were doing everything possible to offer outstanding service,” she adds.

Berger True Value was recognized as “Best Hardware Store in Town” by True

Value Company in 2011 and named “Best Hardware Store of the Century” by Westchester Magazine.

To ensure the business continued growing, the siblings bought a second store in Port Chester, N.Y., in 2012. “We had been looking for a long time. We liked that store, Feinsod Hardware, and knew the owner (Jay Feinsod),” Nichols explains. Both stores feature about 10,000 square feet of space.

Aimee Nichols is heavily involved in supporting school activities in the community.

After two years of juggling, Nichols decided it made sense to combine the behind the scenes stuff like payroll to one store, so all that is now handled out of the main Hawthorne store.

“Chris and I spend most of our time in Hawthorne. I go to the Port Chester store once or twice a week to check on things,” she says.

Tricia Ramos has been the manager of the Port Chester store for two years and before that it was managed by Nichols’ cousin, Christina Liberati, so it has been female-run for a while. “Tricia has done a great job for us and we’re lucky to have her,” Nichols says.

Aimee Nichols was named 2016 Young Retailer of the Year.

Nichols was honored that she was selected to be a 2016 Young Retailer of the Year by NRHA. “It was nice that they saw something special in our store. I view it as an award for both of us, because Chris has been just as instrumental to our success,” she says.

She was also recognized as a 2016 recipient of “Women of Distinction Award” by the New York State Senate. Despite all the accolades, she says her proudest accomplishment is the fact that their business has been there for so long. “Eddie Berger and his son John built a great store, and Chris and I are extremely proud we have been able to maintain the business and improve it. Customers tell us they love coming in here and that’s very important to us,” she says.

To keep customers coming in the two siblings strive to make sure the store’s service stands out. They conduct training meetings and talk about add-on selling and project tips as a way to help the customer out rather than just selling them something they don’t need. “We go through scenarios so associates can see how to handle it. We tell them to never say no to a customer, but to let them know we’ll get whatever they need,” she explains.

Housewares has really grown into a big department stocking kitchen

gadgets, canning supplies, pots and pans and more. “Women who come in really love that department and so do the guys,” Nichols says.

A future initiative is to add an outdoor garden area. “We do sell some flowers now, but not to a great extent and we’ve been missing out on sales,” she says.

“We try not to give customers a reason to go elsewhere. We already sell the other related lawn and garden products people need.”

Community involvement is another essential ingredient to their success. Nichols and her brother are both soccer coaches. He is involved in the Lion’s Club and the Westchester Cornell’s Cooperative. Nichols is president of the local Chamber of Commerce, serves on the board of directors for the Valhalla Ambulance Corps and is a volunteer EMT and firefighter. “We support every team or school function for the three local school districts whether it’s a play or the soccer team or whatever people ask for,” she says.

The business’ biggest fundraiser is in support of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Berger True Value holds an annual bake sale and has helped raise over $10,000 over the past five years to support pediatric cancer research. “We became involved in it when my husband, J.T., had been sick with cancer, so it was meaningful to us. We have a big sale and have Santa in the store. It’s an important part of our business and it brings the community together,” she says. n

Women in hardWare

recovering from disaster

Lisa Williams

Leeper Hardware | Jefferson City, Tenn.

When a natural disaster strikes your business, it leads to the ultimate stress test. For Lisa Williams, who owns Leeper Hardware in Jefferson City, Tenn., along with her son Brian, she discovered lots of people had her back.

On the morning of August 18, Brian came in and noticed there was a river flowing out the back of the store. It triggered the store alarm and he discovered the customer bathroom had ruptured a water line and had been running all night. The water came in half of the first floor, which is on different levels.

Water also came in about five inches in the basement, adds Lisa, flooding from the bottom and then dripping down.

A company arrived in a couple of hours to help them start drying out. “The main thing was to keep the wet things from the dry,” Lisa says. “We set up with five storage pods in the parking lot to put inventory in; three were merchandised. Everyone was very kind and our employees worked long hours.”

Lisa and Brian Williams turned a natural disaster into a positive by using the opportunity to remodel their store and tweak their assortments.

Their supplier, House-Hasson Hardware, was on the scene within four hours helping them move stuff out.

“They were here for a week removing everything and putting merchandise in the pods, then two to three weeks for the reset, Lisa says.

They estimate they lost $50,000 of merchandise and about $250,000 of revenue over two months. “We had been having a record year and were up about $180,000 for the year before this,” she points out.

Women in hardWare

As Brian analyzed the situation, the flood was proof of why you always need to have a plan. “We had good insurance and a good plan. Being able to pay employees for a lot of overtime was critical, and we had business income loss insurance to cover that. Dealers also need to have a cash reserve fund for the unknown. It’s been a little tight, but we floated everything,” he says.

For the flood liquidation event, some items were salvaged as firsts to recoup margin, some were badly damaged and were slashed in price and then the third category was to blow out old inventory

Commercial outdoor power equipment has grown into the best-selling category for Lisa and Brian Williams.

and overstock items to make the event look bigger.

Lisa and Brian were surprised by the enormous response they got on the store’s Facebook page with 30,000 views.

“Customers were very helpful—some even volunteered to help move stuff,” Lisa says.

They started thinking: If the store burned to the ground and we were starting completely fresh, what would we want to do with everything? They knew they wanted to move paint and add dog food. They liquidated some inventory to make room for the changes they wanted to make and shifted 12 feet of product to the other room to expand more into commercial and general plumbing.

The store now apportions space better according to sales. They shrunk weatherstrip and fasteners while expanding lawn and garden and paint. They added eight feet in bird seed and feeders as well as 11 four-foot sections for dog, cat and chicken. They had a new, stronger floor installed that is reinforced.

For Lisa and Brian, this whole experience has been about trying to turn a disaster into a plus. “We’re really pleased

with how the first floor turned out. Everyone loves the new flooring with the wood look and we were able to create larger aisles from 45 to 58 inches,” Lisa says.

a Life in hardWare

Lisa has been in the hardware business her whole life—her father, R.J. Leeper, founded Leeper Hardware in 1949. “We used to have a toy store for the kids around Christmas time and I remember wrapping up gifts for kids,” she says.

Brian also grew up in the business, but he went away to college undecided about his future plans. He came back after college, re-entered the business full time and hasn’t looked back since. Rather than shadowing his mom around the business, Brian has spent the past four years carving out a new, lucrative niche by calling on commercial/industrial customers.

“We were missing a large opportunity. We’d been doing a great job of meeting the needs of customers in the store, but we’ve done a poor job of oneon-one interaction with customers in the commercial/industrial area,” Brian says.

Brian’s efforts have led to phenomenal growth in commercial/industrial sales, which now account for one-third of the store’s business. “Having Brian focus on the commercial/industrial side gave him an opportunity to become more familiar with products and

Above: The flood enabled them to install a new, more attractive floor, expand aisles and tweak assortments in categories such as lawn and garden, plumbing and paint.

Left: Lisa Williams is proud of the way her son Brian is growing into his responsibilities with the family business.

vendors, so he’s now more knowledgeable with other customers,” Lisa points out.

Outdoor equipment has emerged as another strong niche. They sell commercial mowers and do repair and warranty work as well as small engine repair.

As one of only three independent hardware businesses remaining in the county, Leeper Hardware has been competing with the big boxes for 11 years.

“We’re aware of big boxes’ prices and adjust accordingly. We’re constantly checking prices,” Lisa says. “Electrical wire is a big issue, but you can’t afford to have your prices out of whack on any product or you’ll lose a customer.” n

LADIES NIGHT

Ladies Night Events Are a Hit with Customers

If your store is not currently holding a Ladies Night event, then you are missing out on a great way to build relationships with an important customer group.

Here are some tips on how to make your Ladies Night event a success.

1. Use social media to promote it—Women will share it with all their friends and turn it into a girls night out.

2. Provide giveaways—Give every attendee a bag filled with free stuff, with help from vendors.

3. Offer food and drinks—It doesn’t have to be elaborate but it does have to be free.

4. Pamper them with services— Offer manicures and massages.

5. Host clinics—Bring in outside experts and show off your staff’s knowledge while helping women

Sierra Valley Do it

Best Home Center in Loyalton, Calif.

build confidence in their ability to tackle projects.

Find a way to include other local businesses and

6. Partner with local businesses— Find a way to include other local businesses and they will help you promote the event.

7. Plan fun entertainment—Have a fashion show, a hula hoop contest or some form of music. You want everyone to have a fun time, so they will tell all their friends about it.

8. Don’t worry about sales that night—If you do it right, the sales will come, and keep coming, in the weeks and months that follow. Few retailers can match the excitement of the Ladies Night event held at HomCo Lumber & Hardware, a True Value retailer in Flagstaff, Ariz. The store’s sixth annual “Ladies Night

LADIES NIGHT

Customers could enjoy a free massage at

Out” was held on November 10 and attracted a huge crowd.

Although entry is free, the VIP experience costs $50, with proceeds benefitting a local domestic violence shelter. Last year’s event raised over $11,000. VIPs get to arrive 30 minutes early and can enjoy fashion show seating, VIP food and wine stations, VIP massage station, raffle tickets and coat check.

The entire store is 20 percent off during the event and there are product demos, photo booth, and free food and wine. The highlight of HomCo’s event is the Carhartt Fashion Show, with men (and women) strutting down the runway in the latest workwear clothing while members of the audience energetically tuck bucks for charity. Owner Mike Brackin serves as master

of ceremonies for the fashion show, which is the talk of town for months.

Ace Hardware Cinco Ranch in Katy, Texas, also holds an annual Ladies Night Out event each November to kick off the holiday season. More than 400 ladies gather to mingle with neighbors while enjoying shopping, discounts, door prizes, wine, food and fun.

On these pages are pictures of Ladies Night events from retailers all over the country. Use these ideas to help you plan your next Ladies Night outing. ■

By Samantha Post

The Key to Hiring Successful Sales Associates

When it comes to hiring, everyone is looking for the key to success. Thanks to research from Angela Duckworth—a MacArthur “genius” grant winner and author of “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”—we now know that grit is the key to success, even for salespeople. Since grit can predict whether a sales associate will be successful in their roles, it is only natural that companies like ours would want to start assessing it during the hiring process.

To determine an ideal grit score for each position within our company, we assessed our current employees using a grit test created exclusively for Do it Best Corp. The average scores for each position are:

Owners: 163

Managers: 154

Assistant Managers: 145

Sales Associates: 141

Cashiers: 140

The scale for the grit test that we used considered “Very Good Grit” to be 166 and higher, “Good Grit” to be 135-165, “Weak Grit” to be 95-134 and “Very Weak Grit” to be 0-94.

Based on the scores above, our employees have “good” grit, which

means that they have the potential to be successful in their roles. So why are some of them not living up to their potential after we hire them?

If you compare Duckworth’s definition of grit to one in a dictionary, you will notice a distinct difference between the two. Both definitions encompass adversity, a synonym of grit, however Duckworth’s definition also includes two other variables: passion and goals (her full definition of grit is “passion and perseverance for long-term goals”).

If the formula for successful sales associates is passion + perseverance + goals, then we need to be assessing all three variables during the hiring process, not just their ability to handle adversity.

The grit test that we utilized only assessed our employee’s ability to handle adversity. Assuming your employees are similar to ours, the results above indicate that we, as owners, are already doing a job of hiring people who have the ability to weather the storms of the retail world. We just need to do a better job of assessing a candidate’s passion and goals.

One of the first questions I ask potential hires is: “Why do you want to work here?” The response I am looking for should include some level of interest, enthusiasm or mild obsession with an aspect of the business (tools, painting, gardening, brands we carry, etc.) or the nature of the position for which they are applying (helping people, talking to people, marketing, purchasing,

merchandising, selling, etc.). These are the people who are going to help our customers, increase our sales and take advantage of opportunities to help our business evolve to better serve our customers.

Although that last sentence outlines the generic goals of most employee positions, it is hard to assess these goals in an interview because the overarching goal of the interview is for both parties to determine if the person is a good fit for the position. It is an opportunity for us to have a conversation to get a better understanding of how the person handles adversity, gauge their passion for the position or the industry, and get a feel for what the person is looking for in a new job. It is also a chance for the candidate to get to know us and what we are looking for in a potential employee. It is an opportunity for us to test their skills by giving them tasks to complete to ensure that they have the necessary competencies to perform the job. After this interaction, both parties should know whether the person would be a good fit for the job.

Samantha Post

to update your store front without clarifying what the contractor will be working on just because you had a positive conversation with them. You would never blindly hire someone to do work for your business without clear goals, so why are you making hiring decisions without clarifying the goals?

As the HR manager at my company, I have been working to revamp our hiring process to assess the three variables of successful sales associates as follows:

• Candidates with strong applications will complete a grit test to assess their level of perseverance.

• Candidates with favorable grit scores will be called in for an interview with the store manager to clarify goals and assess the candidate’s passion, skills and abilities.

• Candidates who exhibit passion as well as the necessary skills and abilities will meet with the store manager, the HR manager and the owner to outline the initial goals of employment.

From here, the next step usually is to hire the person if the manager, owner or HR manager feels that it was a positive conversation. The problem with making a hiring decision at this point is that you have just hired a person without aligning your goals. That is like agreeing to pay a contractor $20,000

• Upon determining that the goals of the candidate align with the needs of the position or the company’s goals, the decision is made to offer the person the position.

• Employees are evaluated on a quarterly and annual basis to assess their performance and update their goals.

Another Viewpoint

Hiring successful sales associates does not end with the decision to hire them—it just ends the decision-making process. When you hire someone, it means that you are engaging their services for wages. Unfortunately, after the decision has been made to hire someone, the manager or owner is usually no longer engaged in the process. This means they are not ensuring the new hire has the necessary resources to do their job, not providing constructive feedback to help them improve in their role, not evaluating their progress toward their goals and not establishing new goals for the employee to work toward.

We have six stores full of passionate and persistent employees who are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, but we are not communicating with them about what needs to be done this week, this month or this year. Because of their grit, they will find things to do like filling in that four-foot end cap that you just cleared to merchandise with the special of the month or placing a warehouse order for products that you already transferred from another store. In essence, they will be working against the actual goals of the store, because new goals have not been established or communicated. Eventually, the manager will become frustrated with the employee. The employee will stop trying to do things around the store, because he or she

cannot seem to do anything right. He or she will start to focus their passion and perseverance on achieving their personal goals. Out of the blue, you will find a resignation letter on your desk in the middle of busy season. The hiring process for their replacement will begin and the cycle continues.

Earlier in this article, I asked the question, “Why are our employees not living up to their potential after we hire them?” It is because we fail to keep them engaged after we have made the decision to hire them. In fact, the most common reason that former employees cite for leaving the company during their exit interviews is because they did not have enough work to do (i.e. lack of engagement).

If the key to successful sales associates is passion + perseverance + goals, then the key to hiring successful sales associates is passion + perseverance + goals + engagement.

Samantha Post is the marketing and human resources manager for her family’s business, T & M Hardware & Rental, a Do it Best member with six stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio. She is a member of Women in Hardware™. Prior to returning to the family business, Samantha worked at a health communications and marketing firm in Washington, D.C. Her work has been published in national journals and been presented at national conferences. She has a master of public health in behavioral and community health science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Be Part of the Hardware Industry’s Exclusive and Professional Women in Hardware Program!

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By John Fix III

health insurance Market navigating the

Most retailers struggle with finding affordable health insurance for their employees, and that was a recent topic of discussion on Hardlines Digest.

Brandon Buckalew of East Grand Forks Hardware Hank in Minnesota posted, “I’m looking into getting some insurance set up for the staff. I have a lot of it figured out. However, I know that I have one or two employees who are on stateassisted health insurance. One of them said that if their work offers them insurance then they are no longer eligible for the state-assisted insurance and would be forced to buy what’s offered at work. I am assuming that their current premium is about $100. But the plans I am looking at would have someone who is 60 years old paying about $400-$450 (their half of the total). If they cannot afford $300 more a month does anyone know if they are in fact forced to cancel what they have?”

Amy Earls of Page Hardware & Appliance in Connecticut responded, “The employees could keep their current policies but would likely become ineligible for any subsidy. You, as an employer

with fewer than 50 FTE, are making the decision to offer insurance instead of being forced into it. However, as far as I can tell, the subsidy rules are the same regardless of why the employer offers insurance. Eligibility then comes down to the ‘affordability’ of the plan premium.”

Earls added the following excerpt from healthinsurance.org: “If your employer’s insurance is ‘affordable’ and provides ‘minimum value’ (i.e., is comprehensive), you are not eligible for a government subsidy to help buy a policy in the exchanges. You could still buy a plan in the exchange, but you’d have to pay full price for it, so it is extremely unlikely that you would get better and less expensive coverage in the exchange. In 2016, a policy is considered ‘affordable’ if individual coverage (for just you—not including your family—costs less than 9.66 percent of your household income (this will increase slightly, to 9.69 percent, in 2017). Household income is Modified Adjusted Gross Income as defined by the Affordable Care Act.”

Cynthia Martini-Kreckman of Martini Hardware in Houston posted, “We have a program here in Houston called the Harris County Gold Card. I have a single mother with one child who also supports her parents, and she uses this program even though we offer insurance. Each year they re-evaluate her to see if she can afford to switch to our plan, but she still qualifies for their program because she is the only wage earner in her household.”

ForkliFt training

Scott Lawson of Berea Ace Hardware in Berea, Ky., was looking for suggestions on getting forklift certifications for employees.

Whitney McKellar of M&M Lumber in Tulsa, Okla., wondered if Lawson had a lot of forklift operators or just a few. “If you have a lot, I would recommend training one of your guys to be a forklift instructor. They can learn the codes and requirements to certify your drivers. They will learn the components and topics to be covered when you watch a video, have a classroom lecture, written test and driving test. You need to train/ certify your new hires and do a recertification every three years. If you just have a few people, look into the vocational tech schools and trade associations in your area as they will both have certification classes,” she suggested.

Ron Harland of Harland Ace in Perry, Iowa, responded, “For the knowledge part, we use the relatively new series of courses about forklift safety on Ace Learning Place. For the practical part, we searched the internet and made our own practical demonstration checklist. As owner, I am the only person who certifies operators. My understanding is

Retailers discussed the best ways to get employees certified to drive a forklift.

each business authorizes (certifies) each operator to run a forklift in that business. Therefore, each business is ultimately responsible (liable) for what happens during the use of that forklift. No training course purchased or otherwise will change that liability exposure. If you are a large company, a purchased training course assures uniformity across all operators over the course of time. If you are a small company, an owner can assure the same. There are a lot of expensive training courses and companies out there, but you may not have to spend that much money.”

Matt Abramsky of Tony’s Ace Hardware in Hazel Park, Mich., said he sends employees for training to the place where he bought his forklift. “My cost is $105 plus the hourly pay of the employee. Nice and simple,” he added.

Carl Dent, who is the vice president of claims and risk services for Member Insurance Agency, says he is asked this question frequently. “I always suggest an online company, www.forkliftacademy.com. I went online myself and did the training and took the test. Once I passed the test I was issued a certificate

hardlines digest

and mailed a card showing I was certified. The cost was just $49. They also have a Train the Trainer course so that you can have someone at your store designated as the forklift trainer for other employees. Per OSHA, no one under the age of 18 can drive a forklift. Also, you must be recertified every three years,” he posted.

Steve Fusek of Fusek’s True Value in Indianapolis replied, “We bought a program on Amazon that allows us to ‘Train the Trainer.’ We can then train our own employees quickly and following the OSHA law quite easily and inexpensively. It is a complete kit with certification cards—everything you need.”

BoMB Making PUrChase

Also on Hardlines Digest recently, I shared our store’s experience with a bomb-making purchase by law enforcement. Two guys came in to shop, one with a hoodie pulled over his head obscuring his face most of the time. They bought pipe, pipe caps, wire, electrical tape, several 5 lb. boxes of nails, butane cylinders, drill bits and some wicking material. They paid cash and took off in a car with Connecticut plates. I was suspicious of the hoodie and then saw what they were buying, so I took photos of all the license plates in the lot.

When they left the lot I called the local police and they pulled the car over just before it got on the parkway. Turns

out it was a test. The purchase was law enforcement and they will be back later to explain and go over what they did. It seems like we probably passed. When I saw the items on their receipt I assumed it was either a sting/test or else the dumbest terrorists ever, so it was a relief to find out it was a test.

John Keely responded that the police should have a sticker or sign that is visible showing that this store passed the test. “It might give the bad guys pause for thought,” he said.

Buckalew agreed that there should be “this store passed the terrorist purchasing test” stickers put up, plus a 15 percent restocking fee on bomb-related materials. Several retailers wondered if law enforcement returned the items and they did. They congratulated us for noticing them. They had a second car in the lot with two safety officers and they noticed that I took photos of all the license plates while the two other officers were in the store shopping. So a nice $200 cash sale was not to be. At least they returned the items before I reordered them. We don’t normally sell a lot of 2”x12” pipe. ■

John Fix started the Hardlines Digest in 1996. The list was run for many years using servers in John’s hardware store, but recently the list migrated to Google Groups. There are currently more than 1,500 subscribers reading Hardlines Digest. To read more or subscribe, go to www.hardlinesdigest.com.

“Where Relationships Are Formed”

LEARN

SEPTEMBER 8-10

HERE TODAY! CONFERENCE2017

3 Days of Networking, Relaxing and Learning

Meet colleagues and new friends at the industry’s largest conference for independent hardware retailers. Share ideas with top retailers on how to grow your business, interact with key vendors on how to increase sales in your store and attend educational seminars, all-industry cocktail receptions and dinners in an exclusive 5-star resort setting.

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POS System at the Hardware Technology Forum

Epicor, ECi Advantage/ECi RockSolid and J-3 POS will offer full-day, hands-on training sessions for their retailers. Bring your tablet or laptop so you can log right into your store as you learn new “tips and tricks” to make your POS software more productive in your store.

Honor the Industry’s Best Retailers at the 2017 Beacon Awards

The Beacon Awards are an important recognition program that honors the best of the best dealers who represent the future of the industry.

Sponsors: Co-Sponsors: FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ATTENDING THE BEACON AWARDS ALONG WITH ALL OTHER EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS, OPEN FLOOR DISCUSSIONS AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT THE HARDWARE CONFERENCE, VISIT WWW.THEHARDWARECONFERENCE.COM

IN THE NEWS

NEW STORES:

• Stokes Fresh Food Market has added a True Value Hardware store to its outlet in Butte, Mont., owned by employees Russ Harper and Chad Booth.

• Ken and Monica Fluegge have opened Ken’s Ace Hardware in Jackson, Mo.

• Parr Lumber has acquired Country Homes Building Supply in Spokane, Wash.

• Sharon Anderson has acquired Gecko True Value Hardware in Dallas from Andrea Ridout and renamed it Rooster Home & Hardware.

• Allen and Wendell Speller opened Spellers True Value Hardware in Waterloo, Iowa.

• Orchard Supply Hardware opened its second and third South Florida stores in Deerfield Beach and Sunrise, Fla.

• Michelle and Matthew Pike have opened Oceanside Ace Hardware in Oceanside, Calif.

• Rick Mancuso has opened Ace Hardware of Lodi in Lodi, Calif.

• Nathaniel Garber Schoen has opened a second location for Garber Hardware in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

KUDOS TO:

• STIHL Inc. Chairman Fred Whyte was honored by the Virginia

Senate and House of Delegates with a joint resolution outlining his successful tenure with the company.

• Henery Do it Best Hardware was named “Best Hardware Store” by the readers of The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader in Port Townsend, Wash.

• Scott Tilley, general counsel for STIHL Inc., was re-elected as chairman of the Virginia Manufacturers Association.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

• Do it Best Corp. has named Nick Talarico as the new vice president of sales and business development, effective November 14. He replaces the retiring Jay Brown. Talarico joined Do it Best in 2009 as manager of internal audit after previously consulting as an outside auditor. In 2014, he was promoted to divisional manager in merchandising. “Nick has shown himself, time and again, to be a visionary team leader with a strong emphasis on delivering outstanding results,” said Dan Starr, president and CEO of Do it Best Corp.

• PRO Group has promoted Channing Miller to merchandise manager.

WHOLESALERS IN THE NEWS:

• Ace Hardware Corp. reported 3Q revenues of $1.2 billion, a 3.6 percent decrease from the prior year. Net income of $50.2 million is a decline of $4.1 million from the prior year. Debt has been reduced by $91.4 million from last year. Ace’s domestic store count of 4,335 is up 60 from the third quarter of 2015.

• Industry leaders gathered in Tucson on November 14-16 for the 2017 Executive Planning Conference, hosted jointly by Distribution America and PRO Group. The three-day event included more than 2,000 face-to-face meetings, a new item display area, a scramble golf tournament and a reception themed “What’s in Store for You?” sponsored by the National Hardware Show.

OTHER NEWS:

• ECi Software Solutions announced that Doug Vaughn, owner of Rite Quality Offi ce Supply in Kokomo, Ind., was the winner of its annual Everyday Hero Award. Each day employees at ECi hear the stories of awesome things their customers are doing that positively impact the lives of those around them. The Everyday Hero Award recognizes this community and

charity work. “Embracing Community is one of ECi’s core values,” said Traci Johnson, SVP of global corporate marketing. “We encourage and reward our employees who take the time to help others locally, and celebrating our customers’ efforts at embracing their own communities just makes sense.”

• Spahn & Rose Lumber Co. in Dubuque, Iowa, announced that longtime President and CEO John Hannan is retiring effective February 28, 2017, capping a successful 25-year career at the company.

• Nearly 14,000 votes were cast for 222 nominees during the nominations phase of the 2016 Independent We Stand Independent Small Business of the Year or Indie Award. Semifinalist voting runs through December 11. Quarterfinalists include Hipp Modern Builder’s Supply in Mountain View, Ark.; Lyons Lumber & Hardware in Frankfort, Ky.; and Roe Brothers in Florida, N.Y. For more information or to vote for your favorite small business, visit www. IndieBizAward.com. The Independent We Stand movement is co-sponsored by STIHL Inc. and FCA US LLC and associate sponsors include PPG Pittsburgh Paints and Do it Best Corp.

a growing community of thousands of

“I created Hardlines Digest in 1996 as a way for my fellow retailers to swap tips about the nitty-gritty of running an independent hardware store. Today, it’s grown to a community of thousands of independent hardware store owners just like you. I hope you’ll join today and start sharing your own expertise.”

John Fix Owner, Cornell’s

Hardware Eastchester, NY

IN THE NEWS

IN MEMORY:

• Bill Keele, who operated Kinney Brothers and Keele Hardware in Ontario, Ore., before retiring in 1981, passed away Nov. 24. The World War II veteran was 102.

FULL STORY:

• Bookkeeper gets jail time for stealing $83K from hardware stores. Click here.

• Popular Mechanics magazine names America’s Best Hardware Stores. Click here.

• New report on “Amazon’s Stranglehold: How the Company’s Tightening Grip is Stifling Competition, Eroding Jobs and Threatening Communities.” Click here.

• Lowe’s unveils LoweBot, a bilingual customer service robot. Click here.

HDW ACQUIRES WORLD AND MAIN’S RETAIL DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS

Hardware Distribution Warehouses Inc. (HDW) has acquired the retail distribution business of World and Main LLC’s Houston division, formerly known as Handy Hardware. Kenny Beauvais, president and CEO of employee-owned HDW, said, “We are excited to add important geography to our distribution network

Kenny Beauvais

that will allow us to serve 2,000 retail locations.”

HDW, a member of Distribution America, serves retailers in nine states. The acquisition expands HDW’s business further into Texas and Oklahoma and adds approximately 13,000 products to the company’s offerings.

Jimmy Horne, HDW vice president of corporate communications, said World and Main customers will receive the same type of service as in the past and HDW customers will benefit from broader product selection and inventory.

HDW operates distribution centers in Greenwood, Miss., and Shreveport, La. The acquisition adds 400,000 square feet of warehouse space from the World and Main Houston division distribution center in Houston.

HARDWARE PROGRAM Ambassador

The Hardware Ambassador ProgramTM was created to bring the hardware industry together to promote the independent hardware retail channel as the most efficient and profitable channel to distribute hardware and home improvement products and services.

• View Vendor Product Listings by Wholesaler

• Ability to Download Product Listings by Wholesaler Directly into Retailers’ Point-of-Sale Computer Systems

• Check Out Vendor Profiles, Informational Videos & Product Reviews

Click Here to Learn More and View Vendor Product Listings by Wholesaler

UPCOMING EVENTS

JANUARY 2017

Do it Best Corp. Winter Conference

January 15-16, Hyatt Regency, Orlando, Fla.

HDW Spring Dealer Market

January 20-22, Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs, Ark.

House-Hasson Hardware Dealer Market

January 26-28, Opryland Convention Center, Nashville, Tenn.

International Builders’ Show

January 10-12, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.

Kitchen & Bath Industry Show

January 10-12, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.

United Hardware Spring & Summer Buying Market

January 6-8, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis

FEBRUARY 2017

Florida Hardware Spring Dealer Market

February 11-12, Double Tree Hotel, Orlando, Fla.

Monroe Hardware Spring Dealer Market

February 10-12, Cabarrus Arena, Concord, N.C.

Northeastern Retail Lumber

Association LBM Expo ’17

February 15-17, Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, R.I.

Orgill Spring Market

February 16-18, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans

True Value Spring Reunion

February 17-19, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.

MARCH 2017

Ace Hardware Spring Convention

March 16-18, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta

Blish-Mize Spring Buying Market

March 17-18, Overland Park Convention Center, Overland Park, Kan.

Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo

March 1-4, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta

International Home + Housewares Show

March 18-21, McCormick Place, Chicago

LMC Annual Meeting

March 8-10, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

95 million

Number of people who went out to shop small on Small Business Saturday in 2015, according to American Express.

55%

Percentage of U.S. consumers who are aware of Small Business Saturday, and 83% say it inspires them to shop small throughout the year, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

$17.8 billion

Projected sales for Small Business Saturday in 2016, up 10% from last year, according to American Express.

38%

Percentage of holiday shopping consumers plan to do online, up 5% from last year.

23 million

Number of small businesses in the U.S., up 49% since 1982, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA).

54%

Percentage of U.S. retail sales that happen at small businesses, according to SBA.