68 



The Florists^ Review 



Junk 3, 1920 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



PAYING YOURSELF A SALARY, 



The Proprietor's Problem. 



There seems to be a great difference 

 of opinion as to what salary a man 

 should draw when he is in business for 

 himself. Some feel that he should have 

 as much as he could earn if he were 

 working elsewhere; others think that he 

 should draw as much as he needs to live 

 on and to support his family in keeping 

 with the character of the business which 

 he is conducting. 



Both of these conclusions are wnrong. 

 Take the matter home to yourself, for 

 example. If you were working for 

 someone else you would get what you 

 would be worth in that position, or 

 else you would lose your job. In other 

 words, you would have to make good 

 or give place to someone else. 



Dangerous Policy. 



Again, if you are in business for your- 

 self and were to draw whatever seemed 

 to be necessary to live upon, you would 

 be almost sure to let your expenses run 

 beyond what the business could actually 

 carry with safety. This would be un- 

 wise and dangerous and would lead to 

 fiuanejal embarrassment sooner or later. 



If you should decide, however, that 



you should pay yourself as much as you 

 would pay someone else to fill the posi- 

 tion properly, you will come nearer the 

 mark. This should not be an extrava- 

 gant salary, but a fair and reasonable 

 fixed recompense. You will then feel 

 that you are receiving adequate remu- 

 neration for your time and that you are 

 having an opportunity to show what you 

 can do in the way of building up a busi- 

 ness for yourself. 



Naturally, you will want to succeed 

 and you will want to know whether you 

 are succeeding or not, because if your 

 capital stock is not increasing in value 

 or earning dividends you might as well 

 work for someone else and save care 

 and responsibility incident to an in- 

 dividual business enterprise. 



Inventory Finds Trouble. 



The best way is to take a thorough 

 and careful inventory once every six 

 months, that you may discover the 

 gross and net profits for that period. 

 If the business shows no profits, some- 

 thing is wrong — either the overhead ex- 

 pense is too high; the aggregate volume 

 of business is too small; the establish- 

 ment is wrongly located; inefficiently 

 managed; does not give a needed serv- 

 ice; has too much competition, or is 

 operating without the necessary credit 



to tide it over emergencies. Whatever 

 the trouble is, it should be located and 

 remedied, for delay is sure to prove dan- 

 gerous and if, after a reasonable time, 

 the business does not show improve- 

 ment, then drastic measures should be 

 taken in the way of a different man- 

 agement, new blood, a more up-to-date 

 policy or some other remedy. 



When, however, the business shows 

 a profit, as it should, the sum of net 

 profit should be regarded as an amount 

 quite by itself. 



Part of these net profits should be 

 set aside for reinvestment in the busi- 

 ness; part should constitute a safety 

 margin in case of an emergency. And 

 in case the profits are sufficient, a fair 

 percentage should be awarded to the 

 proprietor. He is encouraged thereby 

 to do his best and to work for the ad- 

 vancement of the business, for in so 

 doing he is building up a larger and 

 more valuable property for himself and 

 insuring future prosperity. 



When Endeavors Fail. 



Just as soon as the business will not 

 pay a fair living wage for the man at 

 the head he may be certain that some- 

 thing is wrong. 



The case comes to mind of a florist 

 whose business dropped off so badly 



QUALITY plus SERVICE! 



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1381-^ EAST FOURTH STREET 



