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#EntrepreneurCorner, Preparing for quieter periods

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As the festive season approaches, many businesses will experience a dry spell up until January. #EntrepreneurCorner, resident business coach Anton Ressel gives strategies on how to deal with the lull period.

According to Ressel the first step in preparing for quieter periods is recognising when these quieter periods happen in your particular business. For some businesses like tourism, this is a peak season. 

"It’s quite easy after three or four years of trading to start identifying seasonal peaks and patterns in your business," he said.

Once you identify these patterns, you’ll need strategies in place to take advantage of them. Ressel said one of these is having money saved up ahead of time. However, he says, if you haven't, you can use this time to outsource some skills. For example, if your business is in manufacturing, you can offer training in that area to make extra income.

 

 

According to Ressel the first step in preparing for quieter periods is recognising when these quieter periods happen in your particular business. For some businesses like tourism, this is a peak season. 

He said one important thing to remember is that any business in the world has these picks, so that shouldn’t be alarming. "First step is to recognise this happens, it’s natural in business. Secondly, anticipating it means you put away a little bit of money in your peak times," Ressel advised. 

He also suggested that business owners could use this time to engage and reconnect with old clients, to rekindle relationships. 

Ressel also encouraged entrepreneurs to use this time to take that vacation they’ve been putting off forever or catch up on admin. 

WATCH last week's #EntrepreneurCorner: Understanding procurement for the retail and wholesale sectors

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