I have two positions I'm trying to fill at our company and I've spent the last week sifting through online resumes and emails. For one spot, we're in the process of interviewing 10 candidates. You might wonder why we interview so many people for one job—I've found that interviewing a number of qualified applicants helps us determine who will be the best fit.

Once we narrow the search to two to three candidates we bring them back for a second interview. At that time, they meet with several of our key employees and vote on the candidate they thought was most qualified.

I've never forgotten the advice I received at a staffing seminar. In an intensive two-day training program, we were encouraged to spend three to five times the amount of time we used to spend interviewing to make sure we were hiring top performers. Prior to the seminar, I was only spending about an hour interviewing each new hire—now I spend several hours in the interview process.

As a store owner you may want to invite potential employees back for a second interview and set that up as a "working" interview, so you can see them in action. I always suggest that an employer bring every new hire on for a 90-day test period, so you can assess if your candidate is meeting the goals you established.

If you haven't already adopted the hiring-slowly strategy, I recommend you implement it next time.

This week I was interviewed by an editor from VOWS, a trade magazine for bridal store owners. She is doing an article on the challenges of managing part-time employees and she wanted to know why it's important for store owners to keep their part-time employees motivated and committed to doing a great job.

The bottom line is this: every employee is critical to your success. You can't settle for any mediocre employees on your team. That said, once you have star performers, you need to work hard to keep them and here are five tips to make sure you do:

Praise often
Recognition is the number one way that employers can reward their team. Studies have shown repeatedly that employees are motivated by recognition—even more than money.

Goals
I think it's critical that every sales associate have at least a monthly sales goal. That way they know what's expected of them, and strive to hit their goal.

Team meetings
I am a big believer in strong communication. Plus, when the team gets together everyone can thrive off that energy—I encourage you to hold a daily sales meeting.

Rewards
Think about offering team rewards for hitting a monthly or quarterly sales goal, such as a pizza party, store gift certificates or a small bonus. You can also individually recognize top performers.

Contests
Contests are a fun way for your team to get every excited about a particular product. When I used to work for the apparel chain store Casual Corner, they hosted two annual contests—a suit contest and a dress contest. Employees would receive a $5 bonus for every suit or dress sold during a specific two week period. You better believe everyone in the store was using suggestive selling to encourage customers to try on a suit or dress!

In GS's weekly email newsletter we covered a story about merchants who are still expanding despite the challenging economy.

Two store owners decided to expand their apparel business and opened a second store, a children's boutique. Owner Stacie Maier said in the article, "When the economy is hard, like it is now, I want people to understand that they can still survive and prosper. We have customers every day that come in, and it’s such a gift, but it’s something that we’ve earned, and anybody can do it if they really wanted to."

Have you been considering opening a second store location? Now might be an ideal time—especially since you have the unique opportunity of being able to negotiate a great deal on your store lease, which can make all the difference when it comes to profits.

Even if you're not ready for expansion right now, keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities down the road. Listen to the needs of your customers, clip articles about consumer spending and trends, etc. Opening a second store location is a great way to grow your business and your profitability.

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Let's face it, we're all busier than ever before. Sometimes I wonder at how an entire day has passed when it seems it's only been a few hours since I sat at my desk.

This morning I was thinking about a fantastic seminar I attended a few years ago. The speaker encouraged us (all business owners) to spend 80-90% of our time thinking strategically, and only 10-20% of our time on day-to-day operations. I know it can be challenging to prioritize and devote this amount of time away from selling (or unloading inventory, or managing your team), but it's necessary to the success of your business.

Take at least one afternoon a week to think about your store's (or business') "bigger picture." Plan marketing initiatives, new product directions, creative new visual merchandising displays or unique ways to deliver customer service, etc. You have to invest your time in order to reap the benefits.

I just returned home from the fabulous WholesaleCrafts.com-produced ACRE show in Las Vegas where I saw lots of well-made, unique products. One reason I love ACRE is the 500 exhibitors who are all producing gorgeous, handcrafted products, most of which are a perfect fit for any type of gift shop. Here are four fun companies and products from the show:

The 3 Sisters
An eco-friendly company using reclaimed products to create wearable art, their line includes handbags and accessories ranging in price from $9-$29 wholesale. They stand behind their line by offering a terrific wholesale trade-out program—if one product is not selling in your store, simply trade it for another one in their line that will sell better. A functional and fabulous line!

My Mothers Buttons
My Mothers Buttons offers one-of-kind jewelry made with authentic buttons from the 1800s. The artist also just launched a new line creating jewelry from antique horse bridle rosettes that also date back to the 1800s. These ornate bridles were used in the past to represent the family's status, personality or interests and the neck chains are remade true to the 1860s era. At the show, My Mothers Buttons showed the pieces using antiques as props, which was a very clever way to attract interest (plus show how to display the items in your store). The wholesale prices range from $14-125.

Amery Carriere
This wonderful line can best be described as romantic jewelry with an edge. The line is available in four different metals (sterling silver, 14K gold, rose gold and yellow and gold vermeil). I absolutely loved every piece in this line—in fact, I spent a while in the booth trying on pieces. The jewelry is definitely fantastic and will work in a variety of gift shops.

Bliss Boutique & Studio
A green company who makes their products from wine, soda bottles and sterling silver. Their designs are all interchangeable and work together and it's a very clean, attractive line.

Right now I'm at ACRE, but I'm not done with all the great products I found at the National Stationery Show, so here are five more that are really fun:

Carved Solutions
A fantastic line of engraved candles, soaps and towels. And they offer a blind drop ship program, so your customers will never see their information. They also sell the only round monogrammed candle in the market and their wholesale price points are very reasonable and the quality is terrific. The nice thing about the line is you only need to stock one sample of everything, thereby eliminating the need to have heavy quantities in order to fill your display.

Iota
Iota just released four patterned aprons and what I love about this line is twofold: the patterns are very unique and bold, and the packaging is wonderful. I think it will do very well for the holiday season. Plus I love the display she put together at the show—I hope you use it for inspiration in your store.

Journals Unlimited
They just launched two adorable new journals at the show, "Out of the Mouths of Babes" and "Kid Stuff—My First Journal." A great addition for the baby/kid department in your store, and a lovely holiday gift for moms. As a mother myself, I kept wanting to write down the funny stuff my daughter was saying but never did. Every mother should own an "Out of the Mouths of Babes" journal—I predict this product will be a very strong seller!

Wellspring
Wellspring just launched a new line at the show called "Wellspring of Colour," and it's a bit of a different direction for them. I think the line is very cute for home office and I love the coordinating notepads and magnets, and the price points are great. Again, another line that will display well.

CR Gibson
CR Gibson had quite a few new lines at the show and their adorable new gift holders were voted "Best New Product" at the show. I also fell in love with their travel journals—a great stocking stuffer, or the perfect item to stock if your store is in a tourist area.