I have several events planned for this summer. What should I expect as a return on the investment?
The answer is not as simple as a number, as hosting an event for your pet business can result in multiple ROIs, depending on what your intent is, notes Nancy Hassel of American Pet Professionals. “If you’re intent is to get more people to learn about your business with marketing and promoting it, planning that promotion at least three months ahead of your event is key. If you throw together an event at the last minute, it can still be successful, but you have to manage your own expectations on your ROI.” Allocating marketing and promoting expenses for hosting events should be included in your yearly advertising/marketing budget, she says. “This way you know how much money and time you want to spend, planning, promoting and hosting an event — and can then measure your ROI better. If you decide to host the same event quarterly or yearly, you can measure your ROI after each event. Getting PR from each event is icing on the cake, as now your local media knows about your pet business and more than likely will contact you again in the future for stories.”
We have a small store that is growing quite nicely. In fact, juggling rosters to avoid paying overtime is increasingly becoming an issue. Can we just move several employees to salaried positions? No more messy rosters. No more overtime. Right?
Likely very wrong. This is a strategy that “has been used so often to avoid paying rightful overtime, that it is written into the law through the Fair Labor Standards Act,” says Scott Clark, a lawyer and founder of the HTC Group. Yes, there are salaried positions for which there are exemptions from overtime rules, but they tend to be true management roles that require a college degree or technical training. They must also pay more than a minimum of $455 per week, and the salary must be the same every week (so if your employee wants time off \you still have to pay his full weekly salary — no more docking wages for hours not worked). If it seems that the government is uncharacteristically protective of lower-income workers in this instance, never fear, it really isn’t. On the contrary, the government IS very particular about all the taxes and Social Security that get paid on overtime. We’d say a better approach is to view your employees as an asset who make you money, not as an expense. Invest in your employees to make them more efficient, and they’ll make you even more money. Or hire the staff you actually need.
I’m looking to upgrade our lighting, but I can’t help get my head around Kelvin and color temperatures. Help!
It probably helps to think of the original theoretical model that underlies the index — that of a black metal radiator, whose color changes as it is heated, from black to orange to red to blue to white hot. Similar to Celsius and Fahrenheit, the Kelvin scale marks different degrees of thermodynamic temperature, but it is the association with color change that makes it useful as a way to designate light bulbs. Where it gets confusing is how at the lower end of the scale, from 2000K to 3000K, the light produced is called “warm white” and ranges from orange to yellow-white in appearance. Meanwhile, color temperatures further up the scale, between 3100K and 4500K, are referred to as “cool white” but the bulbs are emitting a brighter, hotter light.
Our marketing images were recently lifted and used by the vendor for their ads without crediting us. When I contacted them, they said, “We’re sorry; it was the intern’s fault.” How should I handle this?
If it was “the intern’s fault,” who approved the final vendor layouts? But regardless of whose fault it is, you should get some compensation for the use of your images, says consultant Kate Peterson. The vendor would have paid for the images had they used any other marketing professional to create them, so they should have no issue with paying your in-house team. “I would suggest that the retailer assign a fair price (what she typically pays her team per image) and send an invoice directly to the head of the company with pics of their ads and an explanation. If applicable, tell them you will apply the amount of the invoice against an outstanding balance,” says Peterson.
What are some suggestions for creating and implementing a dress code for my store?
First, put it in writing, with examples of what’s appropriate and what’s not, says Anne Sowden, of image consultancy group Here’s Looking at You. When talking about the dress code, be sure to focus on the business reasons behind the policy and the image you want your store to project. If employees are having problems meeting the dress code, Sowden says it’s best to schedule a private meeting. “Make sure the employee knows the messages that their clothing is sending. Wrinkled clothing may be interpreted as a lack of attention to one’s job.” Give them suggestions for more appropriate outfits. And when they are appropriately dressed, says Sowden, give positive encouragement.
