Who Needs a Key Carrier when Opening a Dollar Store?

One of the challenges faced by every entrepreneur opening a dollar store is about being in the store from before it opens until it closes every day of the week. While this may be the best option during the first weeks of operation, it can become very taxing to work 10-12 hours or even more per day 7 days per week. Yet when first starting your business you may not have the financial resources to bring in a store manager or an assistant store manager to help. Possibly you may have been unable to find a management caliber person. That's a situation where training someone to become a key carrier might be a great solution.

Key carriers, key holders and store closers are all terms used to describe an employee who is responsible for closing the store in your absence. This employee has no management title or responsibility. Yet there is a great deal of responsibility associated with the duty they are assigned. They are responsible for properly, safely and securely closing your business.

After all, all of the money needs to be pulled from the cash registers and securely locked up. The store needs to be walked to double check there are no shoppers or would-be thieves lurking. The proper lights need to be turned off. Other employees need to get out of the store safely. The security system needs to be activated. Most of all, the doors all need to be properly locked.

If you are opening a dollar store be sure to make it easy for the person designated with these duties by creating a store closing checklist to follow. List every one of the critical, must-happen tasks to be performed. Require store closer to use the checklist. Make sure it is not only followed, but that as each task is completed the person initials or checks it off the completed task.

Training a designated closer for your store will remove many hours of your in-store time when opening a dollar store. Look at the employee charged with this duty as someone to consider for even more responsibility. Once the person demonstrates they can efficiently complete the designated tasks, start adding more training and then responsibility. Over time you just may have your first assistant store manager.

To your dollar store success!

Find out how you can open your own dollar store business.

Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer, business consultant and trainer.