By Rick Bologna, Austin Diocesan Council Stores Director – South Central Region
Is your store whizzing along and doing well or struggling to survive? Either scenario, your store operation is a daily living prayer, a journey in faith!
From Vincentian volunteers, hired staff, donors, vendors, Council/Conference leadership and customers alike, each individual and day, is a gift from God.
It is all from the perspective of how you choose to view your operation. Is your operation strictly a business venture or do you find the Lord in your day-to-day operations?
In the grand scheme of your operations, there are normal mundane, operational tasks which we deal with daily. Amongst these normal day-to-day happenings, are the opportunities where we can meet the Lord.
Valued professional relationships amongst store staff, volunteers, Vincentians, and customers, are built within your organization through mindful and conscientious collaboration daily.
In life, athletics, business, and the arts, when remarkable things occur, some people may speak about luck. There is a poignant definition of luck; “when opportunity meets preparedness.”
Let us focus on the bigger picture. What is true success?
The true success we find in the ordinary of each day is in the preparedness. Each day your team is focused on taking care of the needs of that day in your store operation.
The daily mundane things do not always go perfectly; picking up donations in the truck and unloading them in the extreme heat or cold; taking in donations in various types of weather; sorting and organizing products in the warehouse; moving products throughout your campus to create space for additional arriving products; cleaning, testing, hanging, and pricing of product; the stocking of shelves and racks throughout the store; greeting customers; checking customers out at the register; building our SVdP culture through kindness; and seeking to recognize the face of Christ in every person we encounter; troubleshooting issues with computers and registers; grabbing carts from the parking lot and returning them to the store. These daily actions, your works, are the ordinary of each day. It is in these daily works where the preparedness of success is being built.
It is through the consistent ordinaries of each day that we succeed in the Lord’s work. Sure, there are times when we may not feel up to par, taking on the responsibilities for a day. Somehow, some way, we find the strength to power through. The good Lord gives us the strength to continue His works because He knows how many people are touched through our efforts and our store mission.
Your SVdP store allows people to shop and stretch their dollars for their needs. Each day’s sales are an important result, but we can choose to win every day in the Lord’s presence through the consistency and preparedness within the ordinary of each day.
It is in the ordinary where we find the extraordinary! How do we find that extraordinary? We find the extraordinary by keeping our hearts, mind, and eyes open and focused on the Lord’s presence in our lives.
A daily, living, working journey in faith!
~~~~~~
National Stores Website Resources
Proper SVdP Store Operations are critical for monetary success to advance your overall Vincentian mission of your Council or Conference.
Our stores are missions that need to be run with good business practices. These best practices and processes are available through the revised National Store Committee website, https://thriftstores.ssvpusa.org.
National Store Committee members are available in each of your regions as mentors and guides to assist you. https://thriftstores.ssvpusa.org/about-us.
~~~~~~
The National Stores Committee has planned a GREAT program for you at the National Assembly in Phoenix, AZ.
On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the program will include presentations from Dr. Ken Snyder with the SVdP Phoenix Dental Clinic, an update on the Second National Store, a Store/Conference testimonial, learn about Recycling Dilemmas, and what is happening at SVdP in Eugene, OR.
Following our daylong program, there will be two opportunities to visit the National Store in Avondale, AZ. Transportation will be provided, but reservations are required due to space limitations.
Workshops are planned for Thursday afternoon. Topics include merchandising and store layouts, making a simple budget, how to increase customer count, how to measure productivity, Point of Sale (POS) and training new employees.
We encourage you to talk to your store managers and leadership about attending the National Assembly. It is a wonderful opportunity to network with and meet others around the country to share best practices.
