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Retail is an industry powered by people who are driven to innovate, and JJ Ramberg has spoken with scores of innovative entrepreneurs and retailers about building and growing their businesses. Ramberg, the host of MSNBC’s “Your Business” and the podcast Been There. Built That., joined the co-hosts of Retail Gets Real to talk about the evolving future of retail.
Retail today, and what it will look like in years to come, doesn’t bear a strong resemblance to the retail world of even 10 years ago. “We're not dead, but [retail] sure has changed a lot,” Ramberg says. “The successful people are thinking of retail in an entirely different way than they did years ago.”
“You have to provide a true experience when people come into your store."
It’s more than just good product, she says. Retail used to be a tough business, “but it was a business that you very much understood. You go, you have products, you sell them to people who want them.”
Now, however, retailers must consider what they are offering in addition to the products they sell. “You have to provide a true experience when people come into your store,” Ramberg says. “The successful ones are those who build a brand around this.”
The secret to that success? Believing in oneself — and a sense of resiliency. “For anyone who started a business, failing fast is incredibly hard to do, and emotional, and hard,” she says. “But the people I see who are really successful somehow are able to brush that off.”
Listen to the full episode to learn more about what the most accomplished entrepreneurs have in common and what the future holds for them.
Mentioned in this episode:
- “Your Business” MSNBC series
- Retail Gets Real with Bobby Farahi, CEO of Dolls Kill
- “Been There Built That” podcast
- Follow JJ Ramberg on Twitter: @jjramberg
Jennifer Overstreet is a co-host on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. Meet all the co-hosts and learn more about the show.