How Does a Toy Store Owner Spend a Workday?

Setting up Schedules

The first part of a toy store owner's week is spent setting up schedules. These schedules will list the hours of the stores operation. Those hours will be divided up by the toy store owner. The owner will then insert the names of the employees he wants to work during each block of hours. The toy store owner will then hand out the schedule to the employees so that they are aware which days they are suppose to work and which days they have off. If the hours of operation change from the summer to the winter, then the owner will create a new schedule and update it accordingly.

Working with Customers

The toy store owner will spend a lot of his or her day working the cash register and chatting with customers. The owner will also be available for any disputes in merchandise returns or other customer service issues. It is important for the owner to spend time with the customers to develop a relationship with them. These customers are then more likely to give the toy store owner repeat business as well as some free word of mouth advertising.

Taking Inventory

The toy store owner will need to take inventory on a weekly basis. This can take a few hours. The owner will need to use the inventory list to determine which items need to be re-ordered and which items are not popular enough to order ever again. The owner will also need the inventory list to keep track of how many toys were sold for tax purposes.

Researching New Toys

The toy owner will spend some time each week researching new toys on the market and whether those toys would make a good addition to his or her store. The toy owner may be in contact with some toy companies directly to gain this information, or he may do the research himself online. Sometimes the toy owner will even create a survey for the customers to find out what toys they are looking to purchase that they don't currently offer in their store. The whole point of running the store is to give the customers what they need, not just supply toys that the owner likes.

Bookkeeping-Employee Payroll

The toy store owner will most likely hire an bookkeeper to keep track of the businesses financial records. The toy store owner will still need to gather the sales slips and business expenses for the day and turn them over to the bookkeeper. The toy store owner will also need to submit employee work hours so that the bookkeeper can create and print the paychecks. The bookkeeper will make sure the taxes are deducted and that the taxes are sent out quarterly. The owner must review all of this information to make sure it is correct.

Advertising

The toy store owner will need to spend some time each month coming up with some advertising strategies. Christmas should be taken advantage of as many shoppers will be out purchasing toys for their children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. The toy store owner may create some flyers to be handed out around town, place an ad in the phone book, get some radio time, and put an ad in the towns newspapers. The toy store owner may even create an email for a customer e-mail list.

Display Cases

The toy store owner must spend time each week working on the display cases. These are the window areas that customers stop to look in as they walk by. The display cases can draw customers in to the store if they are set up properly. The owner must experiment with different themes and make sure to add some of the more popular and unique toys to the display case. For example, at Christmas time the owner could create Santa's workshop with some popular toys sitting on Santa's conveyor belt.

Creating a Website

The toy store owner will need to take some time each week to create a website and to update its content and add any new sale items. Even if the toy store owner hires a web designer, she will still need to take the time to provide the information that needs to go in the website. The customers can then visit the website at home and see if what she wants is available before driving all the way down to the store. The customer will also then get a chance to see other toys that she might not have thought of buying.

Resources

• Toy Store