For us in retail, the consignment, resale, and thrift store owners and staff who follow this blog, it’s sometimes hard to remember the first days of each season as they roll around.

After all, we’ve been immersed in autumn merchandise now for weeks… and we’re actually gearing up for the arrival of winter goods in a week or so!

But there’s one great way to mark the first day of fall, or the other 3 seasons, and that’s to remember that seasons are CHANGE, and

each new season your should think about CHANGING:

• Your passwords. All of them. Yes, it’s a pain, but it’s the best thing you can do to keep your internet presence, and your software records, safe.
• Batteries in smoke/ carbon monoxide detectors at home and in your store.
• You may not need to change, but you do need to examine, security in your shop. Do all staffers know how to operate the fire extinguishers, what to do in case of a robbery, power outage and so on?
• Check that each staffer has handy up-to-date contact information for all personnel. Again, for security… but it’s also an excellent way to forestall that excuse of I’d have called that I was sick but I didn’t have your number. Might it be time to re-key the shop as staff changes?
• Beginning of each season, it’s thrifty to verify that supplies and services you use are still the best value. Four times a year might be too much to comparison-shop all your sources, so try splitting them up into four checklists. Is that still the best choice for bags and hangers? Is your bank serving you as well as you’d like?
• And, of course, it’s a great time to schedule employee reviews, so that you’re all on the same page about the business.

And there’s one BIG CHANGE you might wish to think about.

That is, changes in your shop. Are you still convinced that the way you handle incoming, price, mark down, advertise is the best choice for your business as it grows and matures? Are you in the best location, open the most productive hours, carrying the optimal mix and depth of merchandise? That’s the seasonal “boss review” you need to schedule with yourself as well.

And if that boss review happens to take place on a drive through the country admiring the fall foliage… well, you deserve a break today!