Theft is often reported as the number one concern of boutique owners. You’ve put a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears into starting up your business and you just want to make sure that someone is not trying to take it away from you. Theft can hurt small businesses so quickly. It’s important to try and prevent theft from happening. It is almost always easier to prevent theft than it is to regain your footing after a major loss.

Internal theft is the biggest source of loss for retail businesses. Employee theft accounts for three times the amount of loss businesses incur from shoplifters. Employees that learn your business’s weaknesses are the most inclined to steal. Even if they have never shoplifted a thing, there will be a time when they are tempted to take something from work. The reasons for employees deciding to steal could include the security of knowing that they won’t get caught, frustration with low pay, dissatisfaction with job policies, or just about any other reason. It can be hard to resist when there is plenty of opportunity facing them every day.

There are a few ways to prevent internal theft from happening. Surprisingly, the first thing you should do is treat your employees with respect. Ever heard the saying, “Treat others as you wish to be treated”? Employees that respect their employers are far less likely to steal from them, especially if they know that the employee is personally vested in the business.

Monitor sales in a way that rewards employees for good inventory counts. Have one person per shift in charge of display cases that lock. Have the case inventoried at the end of each shift to make an employee feel personally responsible for high dollar items. Do the same sort of checks with the register.

Investing in a security system will let your employees know that they shouldn’t attempt anything. If you’ve done your reference checks and don’t hire anyone without exemplary recommendations, then it’s likely that you’re dealing with good people who do not want to get into trouble.

Arranging your store in a way that makes theft more difficult is also a good practice. If you cram your clothes on a basic clothing rack, then it’s easy for employees to slip something off the rack without it being noticed. Opt for clothing racks that have spacers and display clothing in a more orderly fashion so that it will be obvious if something is missing. Keep your clothing racks fully stocked so that it is easy to do a quick inventory at any time.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality clothing rack or garment rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Selecting the appropriate merchandise is essential. This part of the job is usually considered the most fun by boutique owners. However, it can also be the most painstaking and time consuming part of the job, too. The right merchandise will jump out at you, scream, “I’m unique”, and excite you to put it in your store.

Before you decide to carry something, there are a few questions to ask yourself. Ask yourself the following questions.

1) Does this item fit in with the rest of the merchandise?
2) Does this item fit in with my vision and goals for the store?
3) Would my customer base be excited to see this item?
4) Would my customers actually want to purchase this item?
5) Would I make enough profit off of this item to warrant carrying it?

Once you’ve decided to invest in an item or brand, remember that displaying it is as important as carrying it. If you don’t show it in the right light and in an interesting way, then it will go unnoticed and you have probably just wasted a lot of time, energy, and money getting it into the store.

Promoting new brands or lines of clothing can be a very effective tool. If you have a mailing list or an e-mail notification list, a social networking page, or any other way of communicating directly with your current customers, then do it. Let them know that you are now carrying the brand, or use the item as a focal point of the e-mail or mailer. Customers that like your style will likely see what you see in the item and be inclined to come in and shop. This is especially true if you offer a coupon or other incentive for coming in. Many people won’t shop unless they have a coupon or there is a promotion going on.

Once you get them into the store, think about how you position the items that you want to focus on. Position your garment racks to draw attention to certain items. A boutique garment rack is more interesting than a standard rack. It is usually more ornate, holds fewer items, and utilizes shelves, bars, pegs, and hooks to keep the display looking rich and interesting. Using garment racks like this can help you to draw attention to the areas that you want to focus on.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Start with your expenditures and go from there. Create a list or spreadsheet to track your cost on your inventory. Sometimes boutique owners want to carry certain products, but they turn out to be more time consuming than profitable. Figure out which of your products are the most profitable and then think about why that may be.

Your most profitable products may reveal a trend or niche in the market that you can take advantage of. If people are coming to you for purses more than anything else, you might consider promoting and carrying more brands this year. If independent label clothing is your money maker, consider meeting with more designers. By doing this, you can take your business in a more profitable direction that you may not have originally considered.

When you bring in new products or product categories, you need to make sure that they have the impact that you want them to. Find new ways of displaying and promoting that will grab attention and make it known that you are going in this new direction. You don’t have to stray from your original vision of your store, but keep money in mind so that you don’t stretch yourself too thin and suffer financially.

Sometimes it’s easier to introduce new products if you rearrange the store. Get some interesting clothing racks or retail displays. Alternating between garment racks, shelving, hanging bars, and wall displays will help to break up the monotony of offering a lot of one type of item. Make sure that you have varying degrees of textures, heights and depths.

Because you are in a boutique, you are not very limited in the way that you display clothing and accessories. You can use mannequins as hat racks or trees to display gloves. The possibilities are really endless. Just be careful not to stray too far from your theme or overdo it in one area. You want your store to be shopper-friendly, not cluttered or cramped.

Use your clothing racks as a way to display signs and décor that doesn’t get in the way of the shopper. You want promotional signs and key pieces of décor to be visible, but you don’t want them to take too much attention away from your actual products. Using a garment rack or the top of a display to place a sign can be subtle, but it won’t go unnoticed if it’s at eye level.

About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of clothing racks including garment racks. Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.