In this episode of Unboxing Logistics, Lori Boyer sits down with Brandan Gale, CEO of Retail Shipping Associates (RSA) and Package Hub Business Centers. With decades of experience and 38 stores under his belt, Brandon shares how RSA helps small businesses succeed through training, resources, and a powerful sense of community. His big takeaway? Small retailers don’t have to go it alone!

Brandon’s success story started with a single store and grew into a network of nearly 40 locations—all because he listened closely to his customers and responded to their evolving needs. He shares how this same mindset is essential for retail store owners today.

“The most successful people love their customers and want to know everything they can know about them to fill their needs,” he says. Knowing their needs helps because, as he says, “[O]ne new idea, one new product, one new service, a different way to approach marketing, can change the entire trajectory of how you're making money.”

Being attuned to their community helps businesses stay both relevant and profitable.

RSA provides members with tools most independent operators wouldn’t be able to access on their own: certification training, in-person bootcamps, regulatory updates, business insurance programs, website templates, webinars, and exclusive discounts through vetted supplier partnerships.

“I’m a giant fan of overwhelming my customers with value,” Gale says. And the resources RSA provides are designed to take pressure off of owners wearing too many hats and help them shift from working in their business to working on it.

While RSA offers plenty of formal training, Gale emphasizes that peer-to-peer learning is just as powerful. Events like the RS Expo and regional bootcamps give store owners the chance to connect, share strategies, and learn from one another.

He loves talking to conference attendees about their experience at the conference. “They walk away with a renewed enthusiasm for this business because they talk to people that have figured it out,” Gale reports. Many longtime operators leave their first RSA event wondering how much more successful they could have been if they’d joined sooner.

• Connect with Brandon Gale on LinkedIn.
• Visit the Retail Shipping Associates website.
• Visit the Package Hub Business Centers website.