Escaping the Reactive Trap

Escaping the Reactive Trap: A Shoe Store Owner’s Playbook

By Alan Miklofsky | January 11, 2026

Most shoe store owners spend their entire careers stuck in one trap:

The reactive trap.

·         You open the store.

·         You check yesterday’s numbers.

·         An employee calls in sick.

·         A customer wants a special order from three years ago.

·         A vendor emails about dating inventory.

·         Your credit card processor raises rates again.

Congratulations. You are now fighting eight fires before your second cup of coffee.

So the day goes to whoever yells loudest: customers, staff, vendors, landlords, banks.

What doesn’t happen?

You rarely stop to ask:

• Is this store actually becoming what I want it to be?

• What kind of owner do I want to be running this business?

• A year from now, what would I be grateful I worked on instead of just reacting to problems?

Here’s how to break that cycle, shoe-store style.

1. Block Time to Reflect

Take two quiet hours on a weekend or after close.

Write down:

• 3 wins from last year

• 3 losses from last year

For each, answer one question: WHY did this happen?

2. Limit Yourself to Three Real Goals

Ask: If only three things worked this year, which would move the needle the most?

Three forces focus. Everything else becomes background noise.

3. Write Anti-Goals

Examples:

• This year, I will NOT take vendor meetings without an agenda.

• I will NOT add brands that don’t meet margin and turn requirements.

• I will NOT personally handle problems staff can be trained to solve.

4. Name the Boring Daily Action

Examples:

• Review yesterday’s sales and margin for 10 minutes.

• Walk the floor daily and fix one merchandising issue.

• Coach one employee briefly every shift.

5. Choose One Operating Framework

The 80/20 Rule:

• 20 percent of brands drive 80 percent of profit.

• 20 percent of customers drive 80 percent of loyalty.

6. Set a Pivot Rule Before You Need It

Examples:

• If a brand doesn’t hit required sell-through in 90 days, it’s gone.

• If labor exceeds target for three months, schedules get rebuilt.

The bottom line:

Running a shoe store will always involve fires.

But if all you ever do is react, you’ll build a job, not a business.