Walking into a retail environment, whether it is a butcher, a salon, a shopping centre boutique, or a cafe, there are some sights I see which I know are hurting business results. I call these my “cringe-moments”. When I was a retail manager I swear that I would commonly have these moments every time I walked into my store. Now, there is an element of being the fun police here, and for that I apologise, well… just a little bit.

It is true what they say. Being a small business owner is a lonely existence. To offset this loneliness you can always take comfort that many other people in your network are going through the same thing. You can also gain support through the many business communities and on-line groups that exist.

I am about to give away one of my biggest go-to secrets in regard to how I work, how I present, and the basis for almost every sales strategy I have put in place. If you have ever heard me speak, or if you hear me in the future you will now be able to recognise this foundation tool that I use to great effect. It is the concept of “The Power of Three”.