That most wonderful time of the year—the festive season—is fast-approaching, but as a small business owner, you might get caught off-guard. With the year drawing to a close comes the colder months (which in itself could impact your business), and potential spikes in business activity given people being more open to spending on gifting and themselves. 

Ideally, you should be thinking about your business’s approach to the year-end period, so if you haven’t already, it’s best to start now. Here are a few things to consider as winter approaches and we move closer to the holiday period.

Plan staff time off

If there’s one certainty during this period, it’s this: your staff will definitely want and need to take time off. Make sure you speak to them openly now about who takes off when, and develop a roster so that everyone is aware. You want to avoid a situation where more than half of your staff are off simultaneously during your busiest period. 

Planning for this in advance also gives you and your teams the opportunity to discuss and work around employee preferences, as well as the business’s needs.

Put a call out for extra hands

With your regular staff taking time off and an increase in business activity over the festive period, you may need to bring in temporary support. Recruitment doesn’t happen over night, so we recommend you put the word out about a month in advance of this busy period.

Manage your inventory

Any business should always have a good handle on its inventory, regardless of the time of year or circumstances. However, when you’re managing your inventory this time of year, keep in mind that it will inform your sales and promotion strategy for the holiday period. What’s in stock, what needs to be supplied, what needs to go, will determine how you strategise the end of year, and possibly into the new year, too.

Do a personal check-in

Pre-empting the year-end period can get overwhelming for you as the small business owner, especially if you’ve experienced how busy things will get. You should use this time now – the calm before the proverbial storm – to do a personal check-in, recoup and make sure you’re mentally ready for what’s to come. The best way to stay ahead of the stressful times is to prepare as adequately as possible. 

Another way to help manage that personal stress is to enlist the services of a virtual assistant. Not only will a VA assist you with preparing for the year-end rush, but this busy period also provides solid ground to get your VA well-acquainted with the way your business works. Come 2023, you’re both ready to hit the ground running.

Outsourcery offers award-winning virtual assistance packages that are flexible, customisable, and won’t break the bank. We run skills and values assessments on all candidates (who already come with years of experience), to ensure your business is in the best hands. Visit our website to learn more.