Owner’s pastorate, used book program help to offset costs

If someone would have told me in seminary I would be the owner of a Christian bookstore, I would have laughed. But God is the expert at directing our lives in such a way that my wife and I are humbled and awestruck.

Smart organization and time management mean less stress

Retailers always want more time and money. The good news is that with organization and time management, you can have both. You will be able to spend more time with your customers, have better-trained employees, get your bills paid and experience less stress. How do you make this ideal a reality? Start with being deliberate in how you spend your time.

How your store can connect with and serve the local church

Cultivating strong relationships with area churches is vital for the Christian retailer. Church sales can drive the future of your store as a business and a ministry. With economic downturns, technology changes and big box competition, sales from churches will make your store viable and sustain your business through difficult seasons.

Assigning duties according to ability makes for a great team

As retailers, we have a lot on our daily “to-do” list. From meetings to inventory control, payroll to stocking shelves, we have no trouble keeping busy. It is a given that our daily checklist will go unfinished into the next day only to grow longer. Add in our family or personal life, and it is easy to see how one could become overwhelmed by the day-to-day responsibilities. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a way to accomplish some items without taking time and attention away from others? What if there were one word that would allow us, as business owners and managers, to truly focus on high-priority tasks without sacrificing the remainder of our “to-do” list? There is such a magnificently simple word—delegation!

How to keep both prayer and productivity top of mind

Every Christian retailer serves the community as a missionary