At the end of the Spring Semester in school, the question would always come up about “what are you doing for the summer?” We would ask each other as kids or college-age folks for a variety of reasons depending on your relationship to that other person. We will spend the next few posts talking about your business process and, in case you didn’t know, forecasting is an integral part of a business process.

Though this applies to any time of year, really, what happens to your business in the summer? If you are an HVAC company in southern climates it goes crazy for all the right reasons. If you are in construction just about anywhere it can go crazy too because this may be the only time in northern climates to get anything done. If you run a summer camp of nearly any kind from sleep-away camps to Vacation Bible School (not a business as such but a huge planned undertaking to be sure), this is your chance to make hay no matter if that’s people or profits. So what happens to your business in summer or even next quarter?

Can you take a look at your year and see where you prosper? When are your lean times if any? Consider making a sheet with four columns, or four rows if easier, and label one for each quarter or each season as applicable. Then, write down characteristics of that season if there is anything notable. Include not only your business climate, but any unique opportunities that you can exploit to your advantage such as summer heat or Christmas Holidays. Then write down any adaptations you can make to your business to meet those demands or create new ones. You will thank me later, but you can do so year-round by trusting JKL Works with some of your business. More on business process to come.