68 • 100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS
In practice
- If your organization is unready or unsuited for the move toward
all-day trading, it is possible to choose only select areas of your
business (such as customer service) that will remain open
24 hours a day. - Using a skeleton staff and minimizing operations can cut costs
during times you are open but not conducting much trade—
such as late at night or early in the morning. - Ensure a positive experience for customers, even at the times
when using a skeleton staff. The quality of their experience will
decide whether they return in future. - Be fl exible—for example, many businesses comply with British
Sunday trading laws by opening early for browsing but not
allowing any actual purchases until the legally permitted time. - Offering 24-hour opening can be challenging for smaller fi rms,
but it is possible to accommodate complex customer schedules
by simply offering fl exible opening hours.