Ah, summer. When the rest of the world is sipping margaritas by the pool, you’re sweating bullets trying to figure out how the hell you’re going to keep up with customer demand, staffing shortages, supply chain slowdowns, and that one employee who “forgets” they already used all their PTO.

We said it last week and we’ll say it again: the problem isn’t your seasonality; it’s how you plan for it.

In our recent post on seasonal funding, we talked about why waiting until you’re flatlining to find financing is a terrible strategy. 

(Spoiler alert: lenders love strength, not desperation.)

Whether you’re running a landscaping company, a brewery, a boutique, or an eCommerce shop about to get hit with a warm-weather shopping surge, this is your cue to stop winging it and start planning.

Here's how to get your sh*t together before the sun fries your margins.

Step 1: Get a Grip on Last Year’s Numbers

Before you go ordering 6,000 units of neon floaties or doubling your staff, look at wha...

We all know the drill. The leaves start falling, the snow starts piling up, or summer rolls in, and suddenly—bam!—sales hit a nosedive. Every small business owner dreads the seasonal sales slump. But here's the kicker: while you can’t eliminate the seasons (unless you’re Zeus, which, spoiler alert, you’re not), you can prep your business to weather the storm.

Ready to minimize the damage? Let’s dive into six techniques that’ll keep you afloat, even when the customers start ghosting you like a bad Tinder date.

1. Diversify Your Offerings

The best way to not put all your eggs in one seasonal basket? Diversify. Sure, your pumpkin spice latte business is booming from September to November, but what’s happening in March? Introduce new products or services that complement your main hustle but aren’t reliant on any one season. Keep your audience interested, and more importantly, keep the cash flow going. Think off-season promotions, bundles, or offering an entirely new line of services ...