it became economical to serve these folks.     Good retail managers accomplish all of these ends and also keep the total dollar investment in line with profit goals by carefully managing "inventory turnover"-how many times per year you completely replace the stock. For example, if your average cost of sales is 50% and your sales are $300,000 and your inventory is $40,000, you turn over your inventory 3.75 times per year ($300,000 x 0.50 divided by $40,000). As before, many retail managers strive for three to four turns per year. Some businesses, like gasoline stations, may turn over their inventory every week. Make sure your plans reflect your industry standard and good, common sense. Chapter 8: Write Your Marketing and Personnel Plans     A. Introduction     Decisions you make about marketing and personnel can spell the difference between your future success or failure. This chapter helps you answer these important questions about your business:     Who is your competition and how are you different?     Who are your potential customers and how can you contact them?     Exactly what steps will you take to reach your sales projections?     How can you hire the right people for your business?     How can you make sure that your employees work effectively? B. Marketing Plan     Marketing is a broad term that covers many specific issues. Your marketing plan will cover areas ranging all the way from determining how your business fits into the national and local economies to deciding what color your logo should be. The market plan youll develop in this section will outline the specific steps youll take to generate the sales dollars you forecast earlier.     1. Review Chapter 3 Work     In Chapter 3, you were deciding whether or not you chose the right business. As part of that work, you made some important assumptions that will influence your marketing plan:     Problem Statement. This identifies the problem youll solve for your customer and provides the underlying reason people will frequent your business.     Business Description. This states exactly what your business does for your customers. After all, if you dont provide a valuable product or service, you wont have many customers.     Taste, Trends and Technology: How Will the Future Affect Your Business? This covers the