Seasonal businesses have always been faced with the problems of how to make the most of things during the busy season, as well as how to maintain momentum during the off-season. There are several approaches to this, including encouraging customers to spend more during the slow season, as well as to increase purchase amounts during the active season.
Here are some other helpful ways to get your seasonal business on an even keel, even during the off-seasons.
Diversify your revenue streams
It always helps to control expenses during the off-season of your seasonal business, but generally that’s not enough to get you through the down times. Rather than trying to reduce expenses, it may be easier for you to increase your income, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to diversify your offerings during the off-season. If you can provide alternative services during the off-season, that could be one way of making up for income shortfall. If your seasonal business relies on one or two products which only have seasonal appeal, you might be better off to add additional products to your catalog which have year-round appeal.
Better cash flow management
Sometimes you can get through off-seasons simply by managing your cash flow better. For instance, expenses such as maintenance work can be deferred until more lucrative times of the year, and many other expenses can also be put off until cash flow is a little steadier. During your off-season, you should only spend money on those things which are truly necessary to keep your business operational.
Consider a workforce that’s flexible
One of your company’s best assets is probably its skilled workers, and that means you should do everything possible to retain your best employees. However, there may also be some employees in your company whom you can hire on a temporary basis, and who don’t have really valuable skills to offer to the company. If you can hold onto your best employees and fill in workforce gaps with temporaries, that may provide some very welcome payroll relief during your off-season.
Does your seasonal business need a working capital loan?
When seasonal businesses experience the predictable downturns in business, it can be pretty damaging to cash flow, and put your business in extreme distress. To get past these seasonal shortfalls, contact us at Avery James so our financial specialists can arrange for a working capital loan.
