Fort Lee, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/06/2012 -- With the continued growth of national retail chains, the rise of the Internet, and today’s difficult economic climate, many smaller independent stores are struggling for survival. Bradshaw explains, “While there has seldom been a more challenging retail environment, there is still good money to be made and success to be had as a retailer, but you have to get better and better.”

“Independent retailers account for about 25% of retail business yet are often untrained as merchants. Big retailers like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s use tricks of the trade to boost productivity, sales, and profits. You can learn and use these techniques to compete with them and to maximize your store’s sales and profits,” she explains.

Be a Millionaire Shopkeeper: How Your Independent Shop Can Compete with the Big Guys is an easy-to-understand guide designed to level the playing field and equip readers to become a millionaire shopkeeper. Derived from 45 years of experience with department and specialty stores, big-box retailers, start-ups, turnarounds and even liquidations, the book is the ultimate literary toolbox to retail success.

Among its numerous chapters, the book provides clear and concise advice on topics including how to:

- Create a successful business plan;
- Develop and convey a mission statement;
- Harness your strengths to achieve a competitive advantage;
- Refine and differentiate your products and store; and
- Use innovative cost-effective ways to promote your business.

“These are exactly the same tricks and tools used by larger retailers. So, in essence, my book takes these common elements for success and explains them in a way that can be implemented by small store owners. Giving value to both existing owners and those who are thinking of embarking on their own retail adventure, what I have to share could be a lifesaver for small retailers,” says Bradshaw.

Critics are praising the book for its easy-to-digest approach, coupled with information that can be used by even the smallest of stores, no matter what they sell. Bradshaw also highlights some areas where smaller independents have the advantage over the big guys and stresses taking full advantage of them.

“While millions of independent stores around the world sell a huge range of products and services, the basic principles of success remain the same. Buy my book, read it cover-to-cover, and see where it takes you. I think you’ll be amazed at just how powerful you can be,” she concludes.

Be a Millionaire Shopkeeper: How Your Independent Shop Can Compete with the Big Guys, published by iUniverse, is available from Amazon: http://amzn.to/ShfPhC

For more information, visit the book’s official website: http://millionaireshopkeeper.com/

About Joanna "Jody" Bradshaw
Joanna "Jody" Bradshaw is an icon in home furnishings retailing who "broke through the glass ceiling" in a man’s world. As Macy's first woman corporate VP, and later, on the manufacturing side, as SVP of merchandising for the Simmons Company, she overcame the barriers to her gender and proved that talent is the bottom line. Throughout her career, her talent won her front line positions where she accumulated a priceless store of cutting-edge retailing experience. She is also the author of Jody, which chronicles her forty-five-year career as a senior retailing executive at Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s and her entrepreneurial experiences as cofounder and president of HØME Ltd.

Jody has served as a director on several boards. A native New Yorker, she lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey, consulting and writing, high atop the Palisades overlooking Manhattan.