How to Survive the Seasonal Sales Cycle

Q: Any tips on how to survive a highly seasonal small business?

A: For many retailers the holidays are a time when they encounter a huge spike in business. Seasonal businesses dedicate a large part of the year preparing for those certain weeks or months when most of their revenue is generated.

Those boom times come at a price—financial survival throughout the remainder of the year when business slows to a trickle.

To help smooth the bumps it will be important to create a tight budget and stick to it throughout the year. Create a special cash reserve account for use only in leaner months. Set money aside whenever you can. Creating a cash flow forecast will help you identify patterns and see what you are up against. Include a worst-case plan to anticipate any nasty shocks.

Operating a seasonal business also requires that you plan and use your time more efficiently than other business owners. Some periods may call for only 25-hour workweeks, while others go far beyond that. To make sure everything gets done and also avoid burnout, you’ll need to schedule your time carefully.

Put slower times to good use by using them to update your Web site, catch up on maintenance, strengthen customer relationships or write marketing plans. You may want to employ only a small core of permanent workers and use temps or interns to fill in. Consider offering off-season sales or rates, and look for ways to generate revenue during quieter periods.

Owners of seasonal businesses can also take advantage of CAPlines, an umbrella SBA 7(a) loan program providing guaranteed loans designed to help small businesses meet short-term and cyclical needs for working capital. With the Seasonal Line, your business must have established a definite pattern of seasonal activity. Eligibility is based on the size and type of business, how the loan will be used, and the availability of funds from other sources. To learn more about CAPlines, click Research SBA Loan Programs under the Loans and Grants section of www.sba.gov, then go to Special Purpose Loans.

To learn more about operating seasonally, contact SCORE, America’s free and confidential source of small business mentoring and coaching. SCORE is a nonprofit association of more than 12,000 business experts nationwide and 90 in the Houston area who volunteer as mentors. SCORE Houston offers low-cost seminars and workshops. Visit www.scorehouston.org to learn more about valuable SCORE resources.

How to deal with burn-out

Q: I’ve worked hard for several years to build up my business, but the long hours, missed weekends and pressure-packed deadlines are wearing me down. What can I do?

A: There are a great many rewards in running your own business.  But you must also be aware of the trade-offs and sacrifices that come with being in charge.  Over time, the stress and strain may take their toll on your physical and emotional health, affecting relations with your employees, family and friends as well as impacting your business. Fortunately, there are many good ways to keep business burnout at bay. 

First, identify those responsibilities or activities that are causing the stress. What aspects of running your business regularly cause discomfort or even anxiety? Perhaps you dread mundane tasks like bookkeeping and filing reports, or having to make sales calls. You may have customers who are difficult to work with, or do not pay invoices on time. And, because you are responsible for everything your business does, you may find yourself obsessing about things beyond your control.

One cure for an overburdened mind is to shed some of your responsibilities.  Members of your staff with specific skills or leadership potential may be good candidates to take on certain functions. Consider using a company that specializes in offloading the administrative work of businesses. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, it may be time to hire your first employee or outsource to a part-timer.

Schedule some “me” time and stick with it. You follow a regular maintenance schedule for your equipment, so why not treat yourself the same way? A monthly lunch get-together with colleagues and designated family nights are great ways to get your mind off business issues and reconnect with the people who matter most to you. Even a quick walk around the block will do wonders to refresh your mind and spirit.

Sometimes, problems or challenges aren’t the cause of burnout; it’s the lack of them.  Look for new challenges to stimulate your interest and energy. Recapture the thrill you experienced when starting your business by considering expanding or enhancing your products or services. Make sure you plan staffing and resources to support any new venture, however, so you don’t unnecessarily add to your workload.

Seek advice from experts, mentors or experts. Many sources of burnout are common to entrepreneurs and you can learn much from their experience. SCORE offers many valuable resources to help you resolve your small business dilemmas.

Family Businesses Meed Extra Care

The family business is an American small business tradition, one that gives parents, spouses, children, and other relatives an opportunity to contribute to and share in a dream that can grow and prosper over many generations.

But without proper planning and management, family businesses can also be the source of contention, acrimony, and even irreparable harm to once-loving relationships. That’s why it’s important for aspiring entrepreneurs to fully understand the pros and cons of going into business with relatives and in-laws. The needs of the business may not always be compatible with family harmony, resulting in a situation that if handled improperly, can jeopardize the survival of both.

When bringing family members into a business for the first time, especially as investors or in a startup situation, you should consider putting the business relationship in writing. Family members sometimes buy into the excitement of a business startup without a clear idea of their role once the business is underway.

In an ongoing family business, it’s important to treat family members fairly. While some experts advise against hiring family members, that sacrifices one of the great benefits of a family business. Countless small companies would never have survived without dedicated family members. But avoid favoritism. Pay scales, promotions, work schedules, criticism and praise should be evenhanded between family and non-family employees.

Don’t become the employer of last resort for every distant relation who calls. Base employment on the skills or knowledge they can bring to the business. If your kids will be joining the business, make them get several years of business experience elsewhere first to help them gain perspective of how the business world works outside of a family setting.

Problems and differences of opinion are common in a family business, so it’s important to keep lines of communication clear. Weekly meetings to assess progress, air differences and resolve disputes work well for many family firms.

Just as solo entrepreneurs and non-related partners need to separate their business and personal lives, owners of family businesses need to prevent work-related issues from dominating family activities. While it may be difficult to totally confine shop-talk to the workplace, make it a standing rule not to discuss work and business issues at social gatherings or at designated “family times” where the focus should be on other things.

Many SCORE counselors owned family businesses. Why not have a chat with one of them and take advantage of their experience. Visit the SCORE website, www.scorehouston.org, to learn about our counseling, mentoring and education resources.

Advisory boards are powerful tools

Q: I overheard some business people talking about using advisory boards. What are they and what can they do for me?


A: There is no way you can have all the information and answers to every nuance of the business world. There’s just too much to know and the world keeps changing. So, you need to gather around you people with a genuine interest in your company and with the knowledge and experience to guide you in your business decision making.

These advisors could be friends from a different industry or field who provide a unique perspective. Or they may be recently retired executives or managers, vendors, or other business people who want to see you succeed. They are typically called an Advisory Board and serve as a sounding board, provide a source of ideas and expertise, and tell you if you are about to mess up.

Two to three people is sufficient for an Advisory Board for a small business. They will be expected to meet with you (usually on a quarterly basis) to discuss and advise. While being an active part of your business is payment of a sort, you could also pay your Advisory Board members by hosting a nice lunch each meeting, or by possibly paying each Advisory Board member an honorarium each time.

Prepare for each meeting of your Advisory Board by distributing an agenda to your Board members ahead of time. Include any related materials necessary. Perhaps more difficult, you need to be prepared to be completely open and frank with your Advisory Board, sharing both your hopes and your fears. They won't be able to advise you properly or well if you hold back.

If you are unable to find the right advisors, try the SCORE SMART Squad (Score Mentoring And Resource Team). This is a free service for small business owners and managers. They can provide one or a team of SCORE counselors with the experience to serve on your Advisory Board. Send an email to smartsquad@scorehouston.org with your name, contact information, and a brief description of your business and the nature of the challenges you are facing.

An Advisory Board is an especially valuable management resource for small businesses. No single person can know everything, and ad hoc, on the fly advice can be worse than none. An Advisory Board that meets regularly gets to know you and your business and can provide the management expertise you need to avoid mistakes and keep your business on the right course.

A Strategy for Beating Burnout

Q: I’ve worked hard for several years to build up my business, but the long hours, missed weekends and pressure-packed deadlines are wearing me down. What can I do?


A: There are a great many rewards in running your own business. But you must also be aware of the trade-offs and sacrifices that come with being in charge. Over time, the stress and strain may take their toll on your physical and emotional health, affecting relations with your employees, family and friends as well as impacting your business. Fortunately, there are many good ways to keep business burnout at bay.

First, identify those responsibilities or activities that are causing the stress. What aspects of running your business regularly cause discomfort or even anxiety? Perhaps you dread mundane tasks like bookkeeping and filing reports, or having to make sales calls. You may have customers who are difficult to work with, or do not pay invoices on time. And, because you are responsible for everything your business does, you may find yourself obsessing about things beyond your control.

One cure for an overburdened mind is to shed some of your responsibilities. Members of your staff with specific skills or leadership potential may be good candidates to take on certain functions. Consider using a company that specializes in offloading the administrative work of businesses. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, it may be time to hire your first employee or outsource to a part-timer.

Schedule some “me” time and stick with it. You follow a regular maintenance schedule for your equipment, so why not treat yourself the same way? A monthly lunch get-together with colleagues and designated family nights are great ways to get your mind off business issues and reconnect with the people who matter most to you. Even a quick walk around the block will do wonders to refresh your mind and spirit.

Sometimes, problems or challenges aren’t the cause of burnout; it’s the lack of them. Look for new challenges to stimulate your interest and energy. Recapture the thrill you experienced when starting your business by considering expanding or enhancing your products or services. Make sure you plan staffing and resources to support any new venture, however, so you don’t unnecessarily add to your workload.

Seek advice from experts, mentors or experts. Many sources of burnout are common to entrepreneurs and you can learn much from their experience. SCORE offers many valuable resources to help you resolve your small business dilemmas.

Work hard but get a life

July 25, 2009, 5:24PM

Q: I've been out of work for a while and am thinking about starting or buying my own business. Other than preparing a good business plan and securing financing, what other major challenges will I face?

A: Entrepreneurs often face obstacles that can impede if not block progress on getting started in their new endeavors. These are often more personal than business-related.

Time mis-management is one of those issues that create problems for many who start new business ventures. Either you spend all of your time working, or you can't quite keep yourself on a schedule.

Many businesses fail early because the owner couldn't draw a good balance between work time vs. “the rest of life” time.

While you need to be prepared to spend a lot of time on your business, especially early on, you can't spend every waking minute on your business. You still need to have a life. Otherwise you'll burn out.

If you have organizational skills, you've just passed the next major hurdle. Being disorganized not only means wasting your time as you try to find or do something, you waste the time of others whose assistance you may be depending upon. Being unorganized also makes focus difficult, which leads to the next obstacle — focus or rather “lack of” focus.

A SCORE client of mine decided to resign from his company and focus on consulting. Seemed like a good idea. He knew his field and had a lot of hands-on experience. He also had a fully equipped home office and no kids or spouse around for distraction.

Unfortunately, the idea was better than the venture. He couldn't focus without the structure of an office environment. Instead of being at his desk every morning at a certain time, he'd find other things to do. Lunch hours often turned into taking the afternoon off. It was a “sort of” business — not a serious one.

Also, you need to be able to deal with the fear of failure. Failure and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand. If you're not fully aware that your business could fail — or if you're terrified of failure — go work for someone else.

If you're not willing to take risks, you shouldn't be in business for yourself. Most successful entrepreneurs have had failures along the way — either companies that didn't succeed or ideas that failed. But that didn't stop them from starting again.

Some ideas on coping in bad times

June 27, 2009, 1:17AM

Q: What are good ways to stimulate sales when the economy is down?

A: First and foremost, stay calm and don’t panic. Recessions and economic downturns have occurred before. Prepare now to position yourself and your business to benefit from the eventual and inevitable climb back to success.

It’s time to be creative in your sales and marketing efforts. Remember two old clichés, “step out of the box” and “don’t be vanilla.” Now is the time to maximize your sales and marketing effort. Don’t sit back and wait.

Start with obvious fundamentals. Contact all past and present customers as soon as possible. Be enthusiastic. An example would be, “We’re overstocked on items you’ve bought previously.” Offer significant incentives and/or “preferred customer” discounts on everything, including the highest-turnover items.

Liquidate old and slow-moving inventory at cost or less. If you provide a service, create a package offering a “special series,” or an evening and weekend rate. Don’t forget ladies’ day, senior citizens’ day, holiday specials and incentives to pay now. Think cash. Cash is always king, especially in recessionary times.

Revise your marketing and business plan to position yourself for long-term success. What are you good at? Set realistic goals and measure progress often. Review your product line or the services you offer. Can you profitably market to a slightly different customer group? Don’t forget customer service with this definition: An unexpected service when delivered at random, can create a memorable event for your customer. Make use of sincere thank you’s. Follow up. Then, follow up again.

Valuable tools are available today that didn’t exist during previous downturns. Technology has given you the Internet, e-mail marketing and search engines. What about cell phones and text messages? Professional networking sites such as Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter can create new contacts and new sales opportunities.

Maximize utilization of inexpensive items like press releases, trade shows, speaking opportunities and e-mail marketing. Network at chamber of commerce events and other “mixers.” Offer to provide a door prize in order to get exposure. Investigate business networking groups. Don’t forget to read industry trade journals and newsletters and visit appropriate Web sites for fresh ideas. Finally, clean up your Web site and make sure it’s user-friendly.