Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more during the Christmas season while others move at a snail pace. Some sell more during the summer and others less. The key is being aware of your seasons and alternatives available to solve the challenge and change the results.
All businesses need down time, breathing room to re-evaluate where we're going, and where we've been. What's working and what's not? What changes need to occur and where we want to go in the future?
Have you planned your breathing room time into your calendar year?
As a coach and independent professional, I know by personal experience and through the feedback of my clients, that during the slow times, stress, fears, and challenges on how to pay the bills increases. Sometimes, stress increases without any money factors because we're not used to having additional time on our hands, so our brain manifests things to fill the void. So, what are the alternatives? Good question. Let's explore the possibilities...
You can use the "save for a rainy day" philosophy by moving a certain percentage from a regular account to a money market or savings account for those rainy time periods.
You can plan out, on a paper calendar your seasonal periods. Look at your Income Statement for the past few years and you will see a pattern appearing. If that history isn't available, ask others in your field area. As a coach, I'm in the personal development field. I would contact others in this field, like speakers, trainers, who have experience and history and interview them on the question.
After you review your historical financial information, keep in mind that future economic conditions will influence your seasonal plans. This requires a strategy on who and what you are going to use for economic indicator flags. This may require a financial planner, economist, or other professional on your support team. Reading the paper or watching the news is all well and good, however, it can also add to confusion. Too many cooks in the kitchen syndrome. Choose one or two cooks and ask the others to leave the kitchen.
Remember, there are different seasons all over the world. When its summer in the United States, there is a different season in Australia and Japan. If your marketing vicinity is global, you need to plan your seasons very carefully. Each requires different marketing strategies and procedures. When marketing in the U.S. reduces, marketing in other countries will most likely increase. Especially if you are in the bathing suit business.
If your business is strictly local, you can create additional products or services that will only be available during that season. This can maintain momentum. You can use the "limited availability" technique for these products.
You can use this time for vacation, organize, plan, create new products, and use your rainy day funds for support.
As well as, establish new joint ventures, expand personnel, test new product ideas, clean up backlogs in filing or emails, send out thank you gifts, upgrade your computer, or learn new software.
Keep in mind that leaving some of these to-dos might be detrimental to your revenue generation thinking. Allowing a build up of the items that support your success, as mentioned in the above two paragraphs, can create a desire to create your own self-fulfilling prophecy. You will intentionally create a slow period when a natural occurrence wouldn't regularly happen. An indicator can be if sales don't return after the slow cycle. Pay particular attention if it occurs.
Choose to do some planning today on your seasons for the money results you want tomorrow. Identify when and where your business and industry seasons are, explore all possible solutions, and work through a plan to fill the void. The results will almost be a given.
Catherine Franz is a Marketing & Writing Coach, niches, product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction writing and training. Additional Articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com
Obviously, there will never be an actual water shortage since... Read More
The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
Please take a moment before you read any further and... Read More
So you've decided to write your own business plan because... Read More
Here is an abstract thought on studying nature and the... Read More
Want to become more strategic? Add these traits to your... Read More
David E. Gumpert, author of Burn Your Business Plan, often... Read More
There are no "rules of thumb" in the pursuit of... Read More
Scenario OneDuring a recent presentation, a business owner was given... Read More
A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join... Read More
One of the quintessential parts to any business is your... Read More
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals,... Read More
Possibly THE most frequently asked question of me is "What... Read More
"Bozo" ? A clown with a forlorn look, always finding... Read More
Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More
Is there really anything as a problem? Does chaos or... Read More
Creativity is one of the greatest tools for success in... Read More
Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar... Read More
One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature... Read More
A survey released by the American Institute of Certified Public... Read More
Much of what we heard in the mass media about... Read More
It is always said "If you Fail to Plan, you... Read More
If you are a manufacturer wanting to use your business... Read More
The foundation of any business transaction is the promise of... Read More
If you own a mobile car wash business or auto... Read More
Writing a business plan is not an easy endeavor, nor... Read More
Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that... Read More
Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have... Read More
People often ask "What makes a good business plan? Or,... Read More
As a franchisor it is imperative that you seek, find... Read More
Fun From The StartFor those with the will to start... Read More
For many consumers and producers, MSP is an acronym for... Read More
Many movies have been made about the tragic story of... Read More
If you are a successful franchise of a large franchise... Read More
Writing a business plan is not an easy endeavor, nor... Read More
Cassy was an employee of a nonprofit who had been... Read More
With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More
How you finance the expansion of your business is important.... Read More
One of the difficulties we face in our industrialized age... Read More
Let us look at a few of the big distribution... Read More
A piano tuner recently moved to Buffalo, NY, and would... Read More
The University of Exeter in the United Kingdom recently published... Read More
Business plan financial projections seem daunting because they are so... Read More
To stop a computer virus you must understand how it... Read More
No "meme" isn't a typo and Got Milk, the more... Read More
"Did you hear what your competitor is doing?" This question... Read More
What gets measured gets done.How do you keep your business... Read More
Business owners and entrepreneurs are, by nature, risk takers and... Read More
Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage... Read More
Business rises and falls on leadership. According to business guru,... Read More
"Begin with the end in mind," says Stephen Covey in... Read More
In today's rapidly changing and highly competitive markets, many privately... Read More
Why cut costs now? Efforts are multiplying to cut costs... Read More
This will make some people angry as hell, but it's... Read More
The day you decide to take the plunge and work... Read More
Whether you are seeking capital for your company or are... Read More
Fun From The StartFor those with the will to start... Read More
When in doubt, cut that out! Yeah, yea, doubting Thomas... Read More
By cranking up others development to meet your business needs,... Read More
A recent conversation started with a typical question, "How's business?"... Read More
One of the key challenges for any business is to... Read More
In 1989, Sony founded its Institute of Wisdom at the... Read More
Many companies are reluctant to dive into outsourcing ocean because... Read More
Succession planning, like any business acumen, is both an art... Read More
It's easy to lose sight of what needs to be... Read More
Strategic Planning |