Jim Dion's second workshop Tuesday morning, The New and Improved 30 Things You Can Do When Business Is Tough to Get, featured a potpourri of information the presenter has learned in his four-plus years of retail experience.

Dion spoke for an hour and a half to the attendees on topics ranging from the look of the store's entrance, cleanliness, employee motivation and rewards, community involvement, price points and keeping the store current.

“Some of you are running Christian museums,” he said, pointing out that inventory over six months old should be “identified” and “cleared.”

Similar to household item coupons, the presenter said to offer dollar-amount discounts instead of percentages, because today's customers seem to demand more and more percentages off.

Patty Boltz of Re-New Christian Resource Center in Hastings, Neb., found the workshop “very helpful,” especially the comments about set-amount coupons, which she said would change at her store.

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