Stepping Up Your Donation Pickups
Donations are the lifeblood of your thrift operation. After all, you can only sell what you receive. Assuredly you will have donors bringing you donated items, but what about all the larger items in potential donors’ homes? Providing a donation pickup service is a great way to grow your donation base. Furthermore, the average […]
Preparing for the Final Quarter
If you are like everybody else, you like to see higher sales. If that’s the case, the fourth quarter is for you! Across many different types of retail industries, including thrift, the fourth quarter tends to be the strongest sales quarter. In order to maximize this opportunity, you need to make sure your team and […]
Fall 2020 Conference FAQ
As we have all been impacted by the pandemic of COVID-19, the SMCo Thrift National Training Conference has as well. We have received many inquiries regarding our Fall 2020 Conference and hope to answer many of them here. If any of your questions aren’t addressed in the below FAQ, please contact the SMCo Thrift team […]
Defined Rhythms of Leadership
People are the biggest asset of your thrift operation. Your team members are the individuals who will engage with donors when they come to drop off their gently used donated items, welcome customers when they come to shop your store, and host volunteers for an impactful experience. Your employees touch every aspect of your business, […]
Setting & Tracking Goals
Each year many people go through the process of establishing New Year’s resolutions. Similarly each year your business needs to be intentional about setting goals for the year. These goals can encompass many different areas of your thrift operation including marketing, customer service, human resources, volunteer engagement, etc. Inevitably in a business the highest priority […]
2019 Fall SMCo Thrift Conference Recap
As a thrift operator, we are all truly striving to Do Thrift Better. That’s what our conference participants walked away from Knoxville a few weeks ago with – ideas on how to grow their stores, increase their profits, and serve their customers, donors, and teams better. At the end of September, we had 100+ participants representing […]
The Impact of Wholesale
If you are considering how to maximize profits from your thrift operation and the value of your donated items, you may want to consider adding a wholesale component. Wholesale in some cases can add as much profit as one of your thrift stores! You may be asking, how can wholesale be useful for my thrift […]
Choosing the Right Real Estate
Thrift stores can have immense impact on the community and when connected to a non-profit, can serve as a great additional funding source. SMCo Thrift frequently receives inquiries about how to begin a thrift operation. While many factors go into running a successful thrift operation, a key component is always real estate. Location, Location, Location […]
Recap of the Spring 2019 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference
Attendees of the Spring 2019 SMCo Thrift National Training Conference came from far and near. They represented more than 40 different organizations and varying amounts of experience in thrift – from contemplating the launch of a thrift enterprise to seasoned professionals managing multiple stores. The packed room was filled not only with people but lots […]
Luck Favors the Prepared
More than a century ago, Louis Pasteur said “Chance favors the prepared mind.” Still today, the prepared reap an abundance of luck in their favor. Recently, thrift stores across the country have seen a swell of donations, thanks in part to the new Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Netflix has people (serenely) […]