This is it! I have completed 30 years in retail. 3 decades have passed and yet I still have the same passion, enthusiasm, and dedication of my early days.
I was hired 31 years ago as a section manager and since have climbed the ladder to take some top management roles. It was a long way but every step of the way produces a new set of lessons to ponder upon and apply in the workplace. It was a continuous learning – both from experience and from the people I get to work with.
Though my positions in the past were not short of excitement and fulfillment, there was a deep desire in me to build my own company and work with different individuals who can grow with it. And thus, my very own company came to be. Until now, I still can’t believe that it was already 10 years ago.
There are definitely days when it felt like my efforts are futile. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop me from persevering. Despite the difficulties, I knew even back then that it will be worth it. When all else seems failing, I go back to the reasons that fuel me to remain dedicated to my profession and in this industry. Allow me to share them with you:
Retail is a people dependent industry. I like to see myself as a leader that places his team at the center of his decisions. I always go back to the time that I was hired by my first retail employer. I was pre-selected on the basis of my football experience as a midfielder among other criteria. Like in football, retail is an industry where you succeed and fail as a team.
Retail is a very transparent and unbiased industry when it comes to results. Your main stakeholders, the customers, are a fair judge to your business decisions – rewarding you for the good ones and sanctioning you for the bad ones.
Retail is also an industry where every day is a fresh start – the challenge comes on a daily basis and success or failure could never be definite. My personality wanted and needed the constant call to push harder, even if it would mean starting from scratch every single day. This is considered a norm in this industry and I believe this deeply affected the culture of hard work and perseverance that I practice even up to this day.
Since we restart every day, retail is a very busy industry. It is common to be on the go every day yet still find the day too short to finish every project on your plate. Though it is energy consuming, there was never a dull moment. The level of productivity is always unquestionably high and even after years of working, the amount of accomplishment that hard work and dedication can do still surprises me.
Though others would perceive retail as an industry of numbers, I believe retailers are in fact very creative people. It’s an industry that encourages you to let go of your imaginations without the fear of being blamed. In the best retail companies, initiatives are encouraged and rewarded. After all, every good retailer knows that change is an inevitable process: it is better for the company to chase these changes than getting caught up by it.
Retail is an industry of the people and for the people. There are numerous offers – vertical and horizontal job opportunities. Moreover, professionalism and efforts to be better are recognized and encouraged. Retail values meritocracy and this pushes people to perform better and more so, transcend their limits.
And lastly, I believe that it is an industry where you find mentors and people you love working with. What I am now, after 3 decades of working in this industry is a product of many people I worked for and worked with.
I know that in a perfect world, everyone would be in love with their work. But we are not in a perfect world and for this reason, I value the privilege of being able to do what I am most passionate about. I am not a special person but I know that I, together with my team, can always transcend into a sphere of different possibilities. Working together to gain more trust from our customers.
Despite all the amazing things I mentioned above, I would be lying if I say I never even once thought of giving up. Like most industries, retail is also very demanding of time, effort, and energy – whether physical or mental. It gets exhausting too. Getting older has made me more cautious about the time and more mindful of quality moments spent with the family. But despite all these, I am still very enthusiastic about the years to come and opportunities that will arise.
During my youth, I was dreaming to become a professional football player. I probably lacked the skills to embrace this career. Nevertheless, I am happy about where I am now. There was never regret about my chosen career and could not expect a better situation work-wise.