Seasonal Business & Low Cash-Flow? Quick Tips To Help!

You’re not alone on the seasonal business roller-coaster! More importantly, if you’re running a seasonal business, you’re not alone on the cash-flow roller-coaster. The cash-flow for a seasonal business is quite unlike the others and a very imperative aspect of sustenance. A seasonal business is very common if you’re in a region where travel and tourism are popular. If you are well acquainted with the holiday highs and bad weather lows, there are few things you can do radically change the situations of uncertainty and predicament. Since a season peak is right around the corner(Christmas), we decided to roll out these tips which can help you prepare for the next months.

Cash flow in all kinds of businesses can be a reason for anxiety and rightly so. But when it comes to running a seasonal business almost every business owner knows that while sometimes cash flow could be at pleasant peaks, it also drops swiftly and sometimes suddenly, leaving business owners wondering what’s next!

As stressful as it is to ride the seasonal cash flow roller coaster, it is a part of every business but it pays to be smart when thing are running perfectly.That way, you’re ready for the sudden shift from greener times to leaner times.

5 Techniques Businesses like yours employ:

• Alternative business options: Not easy but a very practical option would be to find a business alternative for the slower part of your year. The change could be a welcome move for your brain and your lifestyle. This could help cash-flow remain at balanced levels.
• Flexible employee hiring patterns: While this isn’t a great idea for the economy, it certainly would do well for you. Hire employees on-contract and during the season only. The aftermath of this could be that you may get incessantly stuck in the hiring process, every season.
• Robust banking relationships: Some banks are flexible and provide great support for seasonal businesses.
• Save for the rainy days: Save a part of your revenue during the greener times, to cover up for the leaner times.
• Flexible vendor agreements: To your vendors, request for a flexible payment pattern wherein you pay larger chunks of the outstanding amount during season and smaller chunks in off-season.

Tried, Tested & Proven Cash Flow Tips For Seasonal Businesses

Here are some cash flow tips to implement into your business so you can weather any type of storm that comes your way throughout slower periods:

• Forecast, review & revise– Tracking your business is a good practice and it could also help you determine the slow periods.Most businesses know for a fact that holiday sales directly mean peak cash-flow. January and February generally show a dip in business. Planning ahead for these slow periods and employing the aforementioned techniques can help in balancing your cash-flow crisis.
• Stay on top with savings– We’ve heard quite often that we should save for a rainy day. A seasonal business stands testimony to the worth of this proverb. You know your fixed monthly business expenses and the delta required to sustain – don’t get caught in a slow period with no money to spare for expenses you always knew about.
• Boost peaks – Peak season is when you can boost your cash flow without much effort. So go the extra mile, hire that extra staff, build that extra inventory and give that extra coupon/discount! This will help you propel sales and push beyond expected margins.

Every business is a sine-wave. Highs and lows are never a surprise and all a part of the game. Stay on top and build better cash flow with these useful tips. Are you a seasonal business owner? Did you find these tips useful? Do you have tips that we should include in this list? Let us know in the comments and let’s together educate the troupe of seasonal business owners. Meanwhile, prepare yourself for the holidays! May this post help you in the right time!