Success is measured in...

... dollar bills.

There is no greater gauge of worth than the all mighty dollar. At least that is what I have been told for the last 10 years.

I don't buy it anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that there is a correct way to merchandise a store. With the right layout you can take a crappy store and "turn it around" in sales. BUT let me make something clear, I do NOT buy into the fact that you can take a 1 million dollar store and turn it into a 2 million dollar store simply by having the "right" people work there. At some point you must level off, and a 1 million dollar store is just that, a 1 million dollar store.

This brings up another point, and I would like to let ya'll in on a secret. Volume is KEY when making a decision on where to work. Just because it has the same company name on the front door, doesn't mean the two different locations pay the same, not even close in most cases. You will always make more money in a high volume store, especially when you reach management. I know what you are thinking... "duh, of course, that's pure economics. More money coming in means you have more money to pay your workers." The problem is you do MUCH more work in a low volume store than the high volume store...

and...

More Work = More Pay, right? Nope, more volume equals more pay. Yet, more volume equals less work. See where the problem lies?

I begged for high volume! I was able to have more managers and more workers. I was able to delegate more, and enjoy my role as a Store Manager. When I was stuck in a low volume location often I was the sales associate and was frequently trying to do my job as a Store Manager along with the job of "Sales Associate" for the day. Ugh, no thank you.

Then, when all was said and done... I was a failure in the eyes of corporate because I "missed the day" by $250.00. Oh, the joys of retail.