The world of retail is constantly evolving and it’s becoming harder for small businesses to survive. Online and offline activity is merging, and comic stores are struggling to keep up.

In the last few years, more stores have closed than opened, and the trend seems to be continuing as retailers struggle to adapt.

There are simple things that can be done to compete, but many owners feel overwhelmed. There’s so much information, much of it conflicting; it’s hard to know where to start.

We looked at the problem and designed an easy-to-follow, systematic way to make small changes that will lead to huge improvements.

This is the One Hour Hero.

The One Hour Hero is a 100% free email course. It’s made up of 16 individual actionable to-dos with step-by-step instructions to help you with your business.  Each task is designed to take one hour, and they will be sent once per week via email.

The One Hour Hero was built by Brian Garside, an entrepreneur who has been involved in the comics industry for more than 30 years — working in stores as a teenager, opening an online store in the 2000s, and running a successful subscription management service for stores today. In his day job as the co-owner of a boutique marketing shop, he applies digital strategies to offline businesses.

“I love comic shops, one of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to look up the closest comic store and visit it. In the last decade that is getting harder to do, and I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world without comic shops. The One Hour Hero is a chance for me to give back to the community that has shaped so much of my life, and a chance for me to share a lifetime of knowledge gathered through years of talking to hundreds of comics retailers, and through decades of working in retail, online, and in marketing.”

The One Hour Hero is available now and will begin weekly emails starting February 13th.

Retailers can sign up for the One Hour Hero online – free.

The One Hour Hero features 16 business transforming, actionable items which will take less than one hour each.

Google My Business

Learn how to claim your business listing, why responding to reviews is important, and what information you need to have in order to have an effective listing.

Surveying Your Customers

Find out what your customers want, what they think is great, and most importantly, who will refer you to their friends.

Get Media Attention

Promote your store through local media by sending out press releases, and hyping up your current events. The news is desperate for content.

Facebook for Business

One of the easiest things you can do is set up a Facebook page and use it to promote your store. Learn the best practices for a good Facebook page, and what you need to do to encourage engagement.

Build a Customer Database

Did you know that a database with contact information is a tangible asset for your business? It’s true, and having permission to send your customers emails is essential to any marketing strategy. We’ll show you how.

Plus More

We’ll help you with Free Comic Day prep, emailing your customers (with a template), the anatomy of a good website, software to make your life better, cross promotion, and so much more!

The One Hour Hero is currently CLOSED

The One Hour Hero is a FREE sixteen week course, delivered by email, with sixteen lessons, taking no more than one hour per week.  It will help you radically transform your comic shop, get more customers, sell more comics, and have an incredibly successful 2020.

Stay tuned for the next running of the One Hour Hero!