The holidays are the best time for businesses, as sales are usually at an all-time high. Almost everyone reports making a killing during this time period. But when the holidays are over, there can be a cash flow problem for many businesses. This is especially true due to the fact that most people have exhausted their funds during the festivities.
So, one of the problems that businesses have to face is a lack of funds. This can make dealing with the day-to-day activities difficult until the next boom in sales happens. Therefore, it is important to learn how to manage your funds, and how to avoid the post-holiday cash flow blues in your business.
In this review, we will give you some simple tips on how you can better manage your business after the holiday rush. We will also tell you how to ensure you keep going and growing without the need to close down your business.
Know This Is A Normal Occurrence
It is vital that you treat cash flow problems after the holidays as normal occurrences. Almost all businesses face this challenge, and therefore, you shouldn’t become overly stressed and emotional about it. All you need to do is learn how to plan in advance. Do not close down your business just yet.
From Thanksgiving all the way to New Year's Day, you are likely to have a high amount of sales. But afterward, there is going to be a terrible drop. Understand this as early as possible so it doesn’t catch you off-guard. During the happy times of booming sales in December, you should also be anticipating the lack of sales in January.
Set Cash Aside As A Reserve
Having some money set aside for this period of a financial drop is an excellent idea. Businesses that plan for this are likely to keep their operations going until the sales pick up again. This reserve is sort of an emergency fund that should cater to the rent, electricity, employee salaries, and other expenses that you will incur.
Offer Discounts And Sales Options
Now, in order to try and make a few sales during this time, you could resort to offering huge discounts on slow-moving items. You could even come up with sales promotions. It is true that people love a good sale, and when there are discount options, they are likely to buy things that they do not really need.
This is a way of ensuring that you still make some sales, even when no one has the money to buy what you are selling. A simple discount such as a “25% off sale,” or a “buy one get one free promotion” will motivate your customers more than you could ever think.
You could also offer your customers vouchers and coupons, during the peak holiday season, which can only be used after the holidays. This way, you ensure there is still traffic in your business even when people are too busy to think about buying.
Plan For Returns
After the holidays, many people will come into the store to return the products they probably received as presents during the holidays. Do not let this discourage you, but rather, use it to your advantage. Take the opportunity to sell these customers better products that will require them to spend more than the money that was used initially. It may be fewer sales, but it’s better than nothing. Plus, you could end up snagging a new customer in the process.
The key point here is to ensure that you turn this into a positive and not a time to become sad and gloomy because the sales you made during the holidays seem to be for nothing. Research actually shows that there was more than $100 billion worth of products that were returned this year alone. Therefore, you are not the only business going through this.
Start Planning Early For The Coming Year
Now that you have had some experience with what happens after the holidays, do not allow yourself to be shocked when the same thing happens next year. Start planning early by keeping some cash aside to pay your workers for a month or two after the holidays, or for paying your rent on time, or even for stocking enough products to tide you over the troublesome months.
Planning early also means that you can take advantage of the peak holiday seasons, by ensuring that you make as many sales as possible. Come up with a sales strategy early enough that should be filled with promotions, offers, discounts, raffles, free gifts, etc., which will ensure you exhaust your entire stock.
Conclusion
This is a common occurrence in most businesses; many find themselves struggling after the holidays. Now that you have some of our best tips on how to avoid post-holiday cash flow problems, we hope that you will plan well in advance. Use these tips to ensure that your business stays afloat, regardless of the season. For more information on business finances, click here.
