Christmas time is a holiday season where most people often think of having fun, going for a holiday and completely relaxing from the yearlong stress from school, work and businesses. While most people see this as an opportunity to rest and bond with their families, business owners see this period as a time to make money that might tide them till after the Christmas break. These entrepreneurs are often thinking of creative ways that they can stretch their budget over the Christmas period.
December and January are long months and can be tough on businesses, especially SMEs. Here are some tips on how to be wise with your budget over this season – whether your business is booming at this time or winding down until the new year.
Make sure you’re familiar with your seasonality
Knowing whether the festive season is a time when your business ramps up or slows down is important. If you look back on previous years you’ll have a track record to go off. In light of that you should be able to gauge where the short-falls will be. Putting aside some of your monthly revenue leading up to December/January can be a huge help, and ensure you have the budget to do extra marketing or cover bonuses at the end of the year.
Know where to get business funding
You might need an extra boost to tide you over during the holiday months. Knowing this beforehand gives you an opportunity to apply for SME funding in time with a business financial lender like Retail Capital. This can help tremendously with your cash flow and you don’t have to wait in long bank queues and fill in lengthy application forms.
Train your team early
Budget for new hires this time of the year if your business needs extra hands. If you need to hire extra staff make sure they are up for the task. This can help avoid investing in hires that only last a few weeks or having to spend resources to on-board new staff. It’s important to also making sure your employees know what their roles are so that things can run efficiently – this can potentially help you avoid having to make extra hires in the first place.
Take advantage of partnerships
Take the opportunity to partner with other business owners to extend your marketing and offer specials that can bring in more business. You can rally all the other local SMEs nearby to co-host an event at strategic times, like Entrepreneur Week coming up soon. This allows you to share the cost of the expenses around a campaign or event.
Start budgeting early
Getting to December and trying to find the funds can be stressful. That’s why it’s important to budget for this kind of seasonality early. Start looking at your 2020 budget already so that you can plan ahead and prepare for unforeseen, and foreseen, costs that crop up over December. You’ll be grateful you did when next year’s festivities roll around.
If you’re stuck for funding this holiday period take advantage of the business funding you can get through Retail Capital. Get a quick quote today and find out how much you qualify for.
