Joe Merchant - What Every Business Owner Needs

Are you attempting to locate a business that won’t be badly affected by the present economic downturn? Everyone else is! So, grant me the privilege of sharing just one essential piece of advice with you.

Purchase a liquor store.

Liquor stores are amazingly recession-proof, perhaps even more than any other sort of retail business. With experienced management on your part, you can sustain solid profits from your liquor store, even in really tough times.

People will keep on buying alcoholic beverages, even in difficult times. Liquor sales remained strong in the recession of the mid-1980s, and they are holding quite strong in the current climate. People still regularly buy wine, liquor and beer, even when times become really tough. But let me add the following thought:

Right now, people are economizing. The days are in the past (or at the very minimum, they’re on pause) when most buyers wouldn’t give a second thought to paying $40, $50 or more for a bottle of wine to have with their dinner, but don’t concern yourself over this, that trend puts you in a great place keep your profits solid, because:

The liquor business allows you to adjust and adapt to customer purchasing patterns. You can offer an extensive variety of exceptional lower-priced products that appeal to customers today. If you are a particularly creative merchandiser, you can fill your stores with an interesting variety of well prices wines, beers and other alcoholic beverages, so your customers always get great value for their money and always feel satisfied. After all is said and done, they can keep having fun with the adventure of buying and drinking new products, while saving money as well! Just remember that you need to shop carefully for these products, while remembering to:

Supercharge your profits with low-cost, effective marketing. You can receive a $30 profit on a case of inexpensive priced Chilean wines, vs. $10 on just one bottle of more costly French wine - and the marketing expenses are identical for both selections! With good quality low-priced marketing (through sales flyers in community newspapers, or via an email newsletter that you send out to your preferred customers), you can sell quite a bit more products in these difficult times. Your customers will value you as an individual and the superb value which you deliver. You can build your perceived value even more by following this next strategy:

Use great service and advice to increase sales dramatically. More customers these days are looking around for alcoholic beverages that are inexpensive, yet still really good quality. (This can be summed up with the simple word, “Value.”) This spells opportunity for you, the proud new owner of a thriving liquor store. You can become a student of wine yourself, hire experienced salespeople or just order prudently from the well-priced wines that you see reviewed in famous trade journals. Just don’t forget to lure in customers with some creative marketing strategies, such as sending your customers classy email newsletters that include specific discounts for selected products.

There are no small retailers, only retailers with small ideas! If you’re looking for a flexible, resilient business that will bring in solid profits in the current recession, and make even more money when the current recession goes away - look no further than a liquor store!

Richard Parker is the President and founder of the Diomo Corporation - The Business Buyer Resource Center. His inspiring materials, seminars and consulting have assisted thousands of business buyers with achieving their life-long dream of buying a business.