I love the early months of the year and find them refreshing after the busy hectic schedule of the Christmas holidays: after the holidays, people tend to slow their shopping patterns down or change them. You can make use of this slower-than-usual time by doing a variety of projects that keep employees busy.

A busy January and February filled with concentrated effort will be one of great reward. Some things your schedule might include:

Cleaning: Most stores have been heavily stocked and had large amounts of traffic. Use this time to dust and clean all the shelves, throwing away all the trash. This is a good time to find the empty coffee cups hidden behind the commentaries.

Inventory: Gather the remaining Christmas items, and verify amounts. Make a decision as to whether you are storing away for next year or going to place on sale. Store any items left for next year, and mark clearly for easy access next year.

A Sale: Schedule an annual winter sale. Sales drives traffic to the store.

Planning: Host a staff planning session and map out calendar events for the remainder of the year.

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