Business strategies for the Christmas frenzy

I'm sure we are not the only small business that struggles with how to cope with the Christmas rush. In general as per most local businesses the market has been down, but since Christmas is fast approaching, people are getting active and starting to get their Christmas shopping frenzy on.

But my big question is  - how do other businesses handle this time of year? For us, every year we wonder whether we should employ an extra person, the problem with this is that the training takes so long and then it gets quieter again in the new year.

We generally all work more hours and exhaust ourselves - so come Christmas break we are well and truly entitled to a few days of R & R. But this is tiring and stressful.

I would love to hear from other small businesses and learn how they cope over their busy spells.

Motivation, Dedication and Volunteering

I came across this website today  - http://www.orangeskylaundry.com.au/, basically these two young men decided to make a difference to homeless people. The way they chose to make a difference was to homeless people, by organising a mobile laundry which could go to areas where homeless people feel comfortable and get their washing done.

Imagine getting an organisation like this up and running, it would have been quite a tremendous job, both logistically and personally. Just think about it - you would need power, water, transport, drainage, volunteers, finance, legalities etc etc. What an amazing amount of dedication and motivation it would take to actually see it to fruition.

So why would anyone do it - right? So many people go out of their way to make small and big contributions to other peoples lives, whether its for sick people, animals, the disadvantaged, environment - the list could go forever - they often do this humbly and discreetly with no ulterior motives and often without thanks. So to all of you who do a little or big something just to help out I want to say a big THANK YOU on behalf of the community.

If we all took a small amount of time to do something to benefit others in need our community would be a much better, sounder, happier place for us all to live in. So well done to all of you.

Stock management

We have recently imported some stock from China to help us stay competitive in the market. However we had to make room for it in our warehouse, as to make it worthwhile you need to buy in BULK!

So we've had to have a big clean out.

Being a small business we are constantly watching sales and trying to target new market and retain our existing clientele. We watch our staff costs and look closely at what is selling and watch what we spend. We need to monitor our budgets and meet costs, to make sure we can maintain a good business.

One of the things we have realised we have let slip, through this process, is how much stock we have held on to. It has been amazing seeing the type of stock that is still around. We found stock which was: discontinued, returned, faulty, old, no longer required etc etc. As the items have been stored one by one they seem small and unimportant, however when you mass their total, it is quite a substantial amount of money and a lot of time to sort through everything.

We are not relaying blame to staff even though we were unaware a lot of the stock had been "put away", we as business owners should have kept track. At the end of the day staff don't outlay any money towards stock, so their interest in the value will normally not be comparable to yours.

Now we are in clearance mode and trying to salvage and on-sell what we can, discount other products and unfortunately dispose of some too. This is a frustrating task that shouldn't have to happen, however it does.

So my big tip to myself and to other small businesses (possibly big businesses too) would be to occasionally take note of your stock piles. Even though you have staff to do this and stocktake gets done every year, go and see what is laying about YOURSELF and see if you can reduce the amount of old, unwanted, discontinued or damaged stock is on-hand, and try and minimize the damage.

Bookkeeper Selection

Small business can be hard enough to manage, you need to be able to juggle a LOT! But lets get realistic, you just can't do everything. So one of the things we decided to outsource was a bookkeeper. We didn't realise how hard it would be to find someone with the right skills that you can trust.

Lets face it - its really hard to trust someone with you financials. So unless you  want to micro manage them and check all their entries and expenditure, which then leads you back to doing it yourself, you need to be able to trust them.

There are so many around its hard to figure out where to start. We thought we would share our experience in the hope that it makes it easier for another small business.

Here's some of the things we did;
* Firstly we looked online to find someone local - as there would be times they needed to come in we didn't want the added expense of travel allowances.
* When we found a bookkeeper we liked the sound of, we checked their accreditation and training - being a registered BAS Agent is a must for us. Find out if they are accredited through this link - Tax Practitioners Board.
* After BAS check we looked at their experience. Remember not to be too caught up in price - even though this is important, price will not necessarily equal the output. IE someone with more experience may be able to complete the work in half the time therefore being cheaper in the long run.
* Ask for references, this was a great avenue for checking there work and what tasks they are currently completing for other businesses, it will demonstrate if they have the skills you require. It's no different than asking for an employee reference. If they are good at what they do and have established a good rapport with other businesses they shouldn't have any issues providing you with references.
* Meet up with them and see if you feel comfortable, determine if they understand your business and if they ask questions to demonstrate that they have genuine interest. You want to ensure that they are not afraid to ask if they don't know something. Don't underestimate how important them asking questions is - you don't want them mucking things up because they were embarrassed to ask.
* Once you have appointed someone introduce them to your accountant - electronically is fine - let them know that they are able to ask each other information about accounts and journal entries, but make sure that you request to be CC'd into all their emails.
* Lastly make sure you do an occasional audit to ensure that things are being recorded correctly as per your or your accountants instructions.

Remember your bookkeeper is privy to information that you normally don't even share with your friends and family - so don't be shy to look around. Ask as many questions as you feel appropriate. Don't pick anyone you don't feel 100% comfortable with and change your mind at any stage if you feel unhappy.

Clothesline location - Sun or shade?

We often get asked about the best location for a clothesline - Sun or Shade? It inspired me do a bit of research, so here's what I've found out.

Hanging out your washing in the sun will enable it to dry faster and will apparently also assist in sanitizing your clothes. However, leaving your clothes in the sun for too long or in the same position regularly will cause your clothes to fade. So you could hang all your clothes inside out, but we don't all have the time or inclination to spend any longer doing the washing than we need to.

Does that mean you hang your clothes in the shade although they will take longer to dry?

Well actually what you may not realise, as I didn't, is that the main factor in getting your clothes dry is actually the wind! The wind also gets rid of some of the creases for you - so can act as an iron too.

So as long as you can expose your clothes to the wind it won't make too much difference if your clothesline is in the sun or the shade. But remember if you hang your clothes out in summer sun then make sure to hang your clothes inside out or take your clothes down as soon as they are dry to avoid fading.

Hope that helps any of you pondering the best location for your clothesline.  Happy washing!

Check out more tips on our website: Facts and Questions on Clotheslines.

Finally!

Austwest have always been great at customer service and product knowledge in anything to do with clotheslines. We have been installing, delivering and repairing clotheslines for over 30 years.But we have only recently become part of the 21st Century developments in the IT world. We have had a website for a few years and have just become Facebook and Twitter users. Its a revolutionary new world which can be confusing for those that don't know much about it all, however we are learning!
So check out our fantastic deals on our website - http://www.clotheslines.net.au/ and Follow us on Facebook to hear about whats new in Clotheslines, Letterboxes, Trampolines and Swingsets, and get exclusive deals.