The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1906-06-28
Technically the terms storekeeper

Technically the terms storekeeper
and merchant are analogous, but COM
mercially and practically speaking
they are somewhat different. In trade,
the wholesaler and great retailer are
commonly known as merchants, while
the owner or keeper of a retail store
of moderate size, located either in the
large city, in the small city, or in the
country town or village, Is commonly
known and classified as a ~storekeeper.
Perhaps the best definition of store
keeper is small retail merchant"
The storekeeper's business IS not
extensive. When it becomes extern
sive, he is known as a merchant. AS
his trade is almost entirely local, and
comparatively small in volume, he is
naturally his own buyer, manager and
superintendent. In fact, he Is about
everything in the store except the
clerk, although he frequently adds a
clerks duties to his own The sue
I~cessful s~storekeeper must be a natural
Grader and a master of detail, even
though he may not be competent to
handle large propositions. If he does
not possess native shrewdness he will
buy against the market and pay more
than he receives. He is virtually a
seller, who meets face to face both
the man who makes the goods for
him or sells them to him and the
man to whom he sells the goods.
Business a Good One.
There are few callings more certain
than that Of the storekeeper. If he
understands the fundamental prin-
ciples of business, is shrewd, a good
buyer, economical personally and in
business, be is almost certain of a
livelihood, and is reasonably exempt
from failure, provided he is satisfied
with a moderate income and does not
overspread in business or in living.
Most Of the storekeeping failures are
due to marked inability, extravaganza,
carelessness, i~nattention, or an at
tempt to do a larger business than the
field warrants. Almost any boy Of
average ability and of good habits,
who is willing to work, and is reason
ably cautious, can become a success
full storekeeper.
The storekeeper almost always be-
gins at the bottom. he was a boy
before he was a salesman, and from
salesman he became head clerk or
head salesman, and from that he
jumped into proprietorship, as part
-ner in, or owner Of, the store he
worked for, or of a store he purchased
or established. The s]torekeeper
should be An all-round man. He can
use a knowledge of bookkeeping, al
though he need not be a professional
b~ookkeeper. He should understand
buying as well as selling, and it Is
absolutely necessary that he know
how to meet his customers. He should,
above all, be a good calculator and be
able to ~financier for the future.
Should Be Natural Trader.
The boy best fitted to be a good
s~torekeeper shows, ven at an early
age, a natural trading propensity. The
sharp boy is likely to fail. No matter
how much dishonesty pays, or seems
to pay, In general business, it is alb
so)utely essential that the storekeep-
= er be, at least, reasonably honest. The
customer he makes, to-day, is the Gus
toner he has, tomorrow. The bulk
of his trade is permanent and no
transient. Sharp practice Of any kind,
although 1t may pay under certain
large city conditions, is sure to be
fatal to the success of local store
keeping. The storekeeper comes in
direct contact with most Of his GUS
toners. HS knows them socially as
well as In a business way. His per-
sonality counts as much as does his
store. He is, therefore, a part of the
Is he sells, and he must keep him
rSerf, as well as his goods, in good
condition.
The successful trader gives value
for value, that is, he sells something
that Is worth more to somebody else
than 1t is worth to him, for a proper
consideration. If the boy successfully
trades a jack-knife for a kite, he real
ly sells a j~ack-knife which is worth
more to the owner Of the kite than to
himself, and the kite is worth more to
him than to the other boy. The trade
is an equitable SWAP" each party be-
ing the gamer, each party receiving
something he wants by giving for it
something which he does not want as
much as he wants what he receives.
Success In local store-trading does not
consist in getting the better of the
other fellow, but in making a mutual
exchange. The boy who gets the bet
ter of his fellows every time he trades
Will not be a successful storeKeeper
but may make a success somewhere
else, because it cannot be denied hat
sharp practice sometimes pays finan-
cially, and produces, for the one who
understands its manipulation, finan-
cial success; but mark you, it brings
only financial success, for no success
other than the success of honesty ia
real. The owner Of all the financial
success in the world, If it is not the
result Of honesty, has quantity and
not quality Of success, and will, when
ne realizes his condition, envy the
bootblack who honestly earns his liy-