Playbooks
Long-form playbooks for operators
No theory. The moves that keep the shift and the day honest.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Choosing a POS and back office for a convenience store: a buyer's checklist
The questions to ask before you sign for a convenience store register and back office, covering registers, price changes, fuel, lottery, invoices, reports, support and your data.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a bar: licenses, layout, pour costs and the first month
An ordered plan for opening a bar: the liquor license and what to ask, the location, the layout, buying alcohol, pour costs, staff and ID checks, tabs and the end-of-night count.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a coffee shop: a step-by-step guide
An ordered plan for opening a coffee shop: the format, the location, permits and the health department, equipment and water, suppliers, cost per cup, staff and tips, and the first month.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a convenience store: a step-by-step guide
An ordered plan for opening a convenience store: the location, licenses and permits, suppliers, the pricebook, the register and back office, lottery and tobacco, staff and the first month.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a grocery store: a step-by-step guide
An ordered plan for opening an independent grocery store: market and site, licenses and food safety, suppliers, SNAP and WIC, pricing, shrink and waste, staff and the first 90 days.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a liquor store: a step-by-step guide
An ordered plan for opening a liquor store: what your state allows, licenses and federal registration, wholesalers, layout and security, pricing and deals, ID checks and the first 90 days.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to open a restaurant: a step-by-step guide
An ordered plan for opening a restaurant: the concept, the numbers, the location, health permits and licenses, the kitchen, the menu, suppliers, staff, the register and the first months.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
How to start a gas station: what changes when you sell fuel
What changes when a convenience store also sells fuel: jobbers and supply deals, tanks and environmental rules, the forecourt, fuel pricing math, card fees and the store inside.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Loyalty programs for small stores: how to plan, price and run one
How a small store can plan a loyalty program that pays for itself: the goal and the reward, the cost, sign-ups at the counter, the rules on texts, privacy, tobacco and SNAP, and measuring it.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Menu design: how to build a menu that makes money
Build a profitable menu: cost every item, sort each one by how often it sells and what it earns, decide what to keep, fix or drop, then lay out, describe and price the menu.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Restaurant food cost: how to measure it, cost every plate and bring it down
How to work out your real food cost, cost every recipe, price from it, compare what you should have spent with what you did spend, and close the gap, with worked examples you can copy.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Restaurant revenue: more sales per table, per hour and per guest
Break restaurant sales into numbers you can measure, from guests and average check to table turns and sales per seat hour, then raise each one without hurting service or margin.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Restaurant technology: the tools you need and how they fit together
A plain guide to restaurant technology: the register, payments, kitchen screens, online ordering, kiosks, tables, recipes, staff and tips, reports and security, and how they all connect.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Retail holiday planning: a guide for independent stores
A holiday plan for independent stores, working back from the busy days: last year's numbers, stock and vendors, pricing and ads within the rules, seasonal staff, bank holidays and gift cards.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Retail inventory management: a practical guide for independent stores
How an independent store keeps stock under control: a clean item file, receiving that matches invoices, counts on a schedule, reorder points, dead stock, shrink and the weekly numbers.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Running more than one store: how to keep control of stock and cash
How to run two or more stores without losing control of stock and cash: paperwork for each store, one setup everywhere, managers and access, cash and transfer rules, and what to watch.
Guide · OCT 21, 2026
Small business cost control: a practical guide for store owners
How a store owner can control costs without cutting what customers notice: know the numbers, then work through product cost, labor, card fees, energy, shrink, insurance and small bills.
Playbook · APR 14, 2026
The Independent Operator's Guide to Margin Leaks
Where margin actually leaks in an independent store, and how to plug it. A field playbook, not a theory paper, you can run this week.