Be Profitable in Slow Months!
For many gift businesses, increased sales volume occurs during the holidays. And because of this, we often think about our facilties and staffing needs based on those busy times. But the reality is that a very small percentage of the year involves big holiday volume. And many small businesses may be incurring unnecessary expenses during the slower times of year.
Floral Finance newsletter, June, 2006, suggests that small business owners, who rely greatly on holiday sales, should base the size of their facility, staff, and overhead on non-holiday sales.
Here’s how it would work. You would analyze your needs for work space and for staff based upon the business that you do during the non-holiday season. Then, as holidays approach, you make adjustments.
For the holidays, you might rent an extra storeroom or add extra work tables in the basement or garage of your existing facility. Use email or a fax machine to send orders to this extra location.
You might hire extra staff for the holidays. Think about adding employees who might take care of some of the activities that require minimal training: packing orders for shipping, making deliveries, keeping the displays looking clean and fresh. This way, your designers and sales staff can concentrate on what they do best.
There are many ways to streamline your business and cut the constantly increasing costs of doing business. Good planning can help you be profitable during all seasons.
1 comment June 25th, 2006
