The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-29
HeIpiir1g
the Boy
Succeed.
THE STOREKEEPER.
Many Things About Keeping Store
and the Man Who Keeps 1t.
: X < x ~ ~
BY NATHANIEL c. FOWLER JR.

Copyright, 1903, by Nathaniel c.
Fowler Jr.
! Technically. the term "storekeeper''
! and merchant" are analogous, but
practically they are somewhat apart.
In trade, the wholesaler and great
| retailer are considered merchants, and
the storekeeper is supposed to be the
owner or keeper of a store OF moderate
| size.
AS the storekeeper's business is not
very extensive, and as his trade is al
most entirely local, he naturally is his
own buyer, manager and superin-
| tendent.
The successful storekeeper must be
a natural trader and a master of de-
| tail If he does not possess native
| shrewdness, he will buy against the
market and pay more than he can re-
| Ceive.
There are few callings more certain
than than that of storekeeping; and if
one understands his business, is
| a good buyer, and economical, he is
not likely to fail, provided he is sat
! isfied with a reasonable income and
does not Overspread in business or IN
| living.
| to marked inability, extravaganza,
! carelessness. inattention. or to an at
tempt to do a business larger than the
| field warrants.
Almost any boy of average ability,
| and of good habits. who is willing to
work, and is reasonably cautious, can
! become a successful storekeeper.
| The successful sstorekeeper almost
a1y h.
| boy before he was salesman, and from
| salesman he became head clerk or
head salesman, and from that he jump
ed into proprietorship-a partner IN
the store of his own.
The storekeeper should be, to some
extent an all-around man. He should
have a knowledge of bookkeeping, all
though he need not be a professional
bookkeeper. He should understand
buying as we'll as selling, and should
know how to meet his customers. He
should, above all, be a good calcula-
| tor and be able to ffnancier for the
future.
The boy best calculated to be a good
storekeeper shows a natural trading
propensity. The too sharp boy is like
ly to fail.
Lie SUCCESSFUL IEdQ6F gives value
received; that is, he sells something
which is worth more to somebody else
than it is worth to himself, for a prop
er consideration. If the boy success
fully trades a jackknife for kite, he
| gives a jackknife worth more to the
owner of the kite than the kite is
worth to the kite owner, and the jack
knife he trades is worth less to him
| than is the kite he receives.
Success in trading is not getting the
better of the other fellow, but in maxi,
Ing a trade mutually advantageous. ~
The boy who gets the better of his
fellows every time he trades, is almost
sure to make but a transient success
at bookkeeping. s@e,
The successful storekeeper springs
from the natural boy trader. This
boy instfnctively puts a value upon
| everything he has. and when he pos4
sesses something that he does not par@
ticularly want, he looks around for
an opportunity to legitimately get rid
| Of it. He is constantly trading, and Is
satisfied with a reasonable pSof1t. He
| is more or less in the stores not as
loafer, but as a watcher. He instinct
lively appraises everything; that is, he
seems 10 nave a value or his own Tor
about everything. he comes in contact
with. 4 JI
While many a successful storekeep-
er has not shown these characteristics
as boy, the chances are he express
ed a distinct preference for storekeep-
ing when finishing school and about
ready for work.
If boy shows trading instincts, OPP
portunity should be given him for de-
velopment. Hea should be allowed to
buy his own clothes and other things.
or to have a voice in their purchase
Responsibility should be thrown upon
him, so that he may come in contact
with trading IN general. A common
school education is absolutely neces-
sary, and the boy is much better off
if he graduates from a higher school
A college education will do him no
harm, and is likely to do him lasting
good, but it can hardly be considered
necessary.
Great effort should be made to i'm