3 Ways to Tackle the Summer as a Small Business |

3 Ways to Tackle the Summer as a Small Business

Summer is upon us. How exciting! Weddings. Camping. Time in the sun. I’ve already received a brutal sun burn... I was lying out at the pool. For two hours. Accidently. On my back. YIKES. Four days later and my back is still purpley red. Oops. And yes, I’ve already used up half a bottle of aloe vera. Summer is fun. And for businesses it can mean a variety of things. Whether it is a busy or slow season, full of opportunities or challenges, here are three ways to head into the summer with confidence.

Take a look at your staff

This may be the most important element of your business to evaluate as you head into the summer. For two reasons.

First, get in all of the PTO requests for the summer as soon as possible. Summer is full of events and family gatherings and weddings. And your employees are likely going to need/want time off. As soon as you know when your employees are wanting time off, the sooner they can plan their summers and you can plan how to fill the holes in their absence. It is also important to encourage your employees to take time off. The inability to disconnect has skyrocketed in 2021, largely due to the pandemic. In fact, according to the U.S. Travel Association, “American workers in total left behind 768 million days of unused PTO- more than 27% of their earned PTO.” The effects continue to have a negative impact on an employee's well-being and therefore your company.

Second, evaluate your staffing needs. Depending on your business, you may need to increase your staff to meet customer demand. This is especially common in seasonal service businesses. The sooner you can think and plan for the high demand of the summer season, the better off you’ll be.

Cleanup your space

It’s always a good idea to keep your work area clean. And heading into summer gives you a good excuse to do some deep cleaning. It’s also a good idea to not only clean up your physical workspace but also your busines process. Here are some easy implementations to clean up your processes:

Go Paperless: Start with items like invoices, collections, and billings. “Some of the big benefits you’ll notice right away are reductions in expenses, improved efficiency, and added security,” stated Growth Force.
Backup Data: Make sure that all of your documents are secure and backed up completely AND regularly. This will save you a massive headache and expense if you were to lose your files on the device you use on a day-to-day basis.
Review Invoices, Contracts, and Agreements: Now is a great time to clean up the books. Look at your accounts receivables and follow up with outstanding invoices. Be sure to review your current service agreements and contracts. Having something pop up in a busy season that you weren’t expecting should be avoided. Reviewing these documents will help in that.

Have contingency plans

Just owning a business brings the unexpected. But in the busy summer season, there are plenty of surprises that can be thrown your way. Whether it is an employee that needs to run away to some emergency or a tornado or hurricane strikes, planning for these events makes them easier to handle.

The most important part of this is letting your employees know the contingency plan. With this knowledge, the transition will not catch them off guard and will also allow them to prepare. Technology allows for an easy transition away from the office. If COVID taught us anything, it taught us the importance of having remote access available and ready. This will be helpful in any unforeseen circumstance that doesn’t allow yourself or your employees in the office.

Summer is fun. And that’s why we need to be prepared as we enter it. With proper preparation comes more time to enjoy the sun.

To read more about this, check out this source:

GrowthForce's 5 Tips to Prepare Your Small Business for Summer