The Retail Owners Institute® 

Starting in 1999, Outcalt and Johnson began to develop self-help websites focused exclusively on serving current and prospective independent retailers. These specialized self-help websites provide practical, usable retail financial how-to information, on-demand, 24/7.

The Retail Owners Institute®, at www.RetailOwner.com, is now the "foremost self-help resource" on retail finance, serving independent retailers worldwide, 24/7.  With its emphasis on the basics of retail finance, inventory management and cash flow control, The ROI is particularly relevant to owners and decision-makers of retail operations with up to 100 stores (especially those who may be accounting-averse!)  The ROI has been called "a WebMD for retail owners." 
By Retailers, for Retailers. 24/7
The ROI's information and resources about the business of stores is simply unmatched.  It serves a fast-growing audience of thousands of unique visitors each month from around the world.  These decision-makers are seeking practical information on how to better control their retail business. 
  • more than 200 webpages of content exclusively for independent retailers, available 24/7, worldwide
  • more than 50 in-depth how-to articles, usefully explaining the why's and how's of retail financial management
  • performance benchmarks for 55 separate retail segments/verticals
  • online "Executive Calculators": 3-in-1 INTEGRATED Cash Flow Calculator; Retail Profits Forecaster; Buying Plan Forecaster; Key Ratios Calculator; GMROI Calculator. 
  • Executive Open-to-Buy Calculator for online multi-department merchandise buying (Open-to-Buy) plans.