It can be difficult for small businesses to compete with larger players in their industry, and at certain times of year, you may find a higher demand for your services or bigger product orders. If you’re a small business, you don’t want to turn down this valuable work, but you also don’t want to miss deadlines or let people down. So, how do you manage your time during a busy season?
Identify busy times and plan ahead
The nature of your business should make it obvious when your busy season will be. For example, if you run a vacation rental business, the summer months will be when you’re busiest, while those who make handmade gifts will no doubt see a surge in orders just before Christmas, Valentine’s Day and other major holidays. If you’ve been in business for a few years, you can create a sales forecast that will show you the months when you’ll have the most orders so that you can start planning. Use a platform such as Onyx.io for your website so you can see a number of useful stats and analytics that can help you make business decisions.
Get some help
Using temporary staff is an excellent way to get through busy times, and while you can usually find college students and people who want temp jobs, it’s not always easy to find those with the right skills.
Make sure you bring people on in plenty of time to train them. That way, their first day doesn’t have to be at your busy peak. This will give them time to get their skills up to scratch. Some businesses also hire the same temporary staff year after year, as this saves them having to re-train people.
Plan your inventory
Getting your inventory organized and ensuring you have the right materials for your busy season is essential. Whether you’re running a restaurant or working in manufacturing products, learning inventory management techniques ensures you have the right goods on hand to meet customer demand but aren’t left with lots of leftover stock when things start to get quieter.
Use the right marketing techniques
If you have a product or service that’s only suitable or in-demand at certain points of the year, make sure you don’t stretch your marketing budget too thin by advertising out of season. Ideally, you want to time your campaigns around the time that buzz is building, getting people to make reservations or put in pre-orders as soon as possible, which will help you plan ahead.
Do some spring cleaning
It may not be spring, but a deep clean and re-organization can make it easier for you to cope with your busy season. If you clean, throw out old inventory and clutter, and give yourself a clean slate, you’re more likely to be in the right frame of mind to tackle a challenge. The same goes for your digital presence. Review your website, removing or updating old content to boost your SEO and ensure it is relevant and up to date.
Many businesses have seasons where they make the majority of their profits, which often carries them through the year. Therefore, it’s important to make the most of these busy times, and a bit of forward planning will ensure you provide great service levels and keep your reputation intact.
