Contributed by SBOC Member:
Founder of the Small Business Owners Community
If you run a service business with any kind of seasonality — and almost every service business has some — you know the dread. The calendar flips to your slow season and the pipeline dries up.
A business coach asked this question on today’s show: “I do great all year, but summer just kills my cash flow. How do I generate enough income during my off months?”
The answer might not be what you expect.
The instinct is to figure out how to sell during months when nobody’s buying. But if you have years of data showing that your clients don’t want to hire you in July, fighting that pattern is exhausting and usually futile.
Instead, reframe the question: How can I make MORE during my peak months so the slow months don’t matter?
This is a financial planning problem, not a sales problem. Build your annual budget knowing that certain months will be light, and save aggressively during the heavy ones.
When business slows down, most owners panic. The smart ones treat it like a sabbatical — dedicated time to work ON the business instead of IN it.
Here’s what the slow season is perfect for:
If you truly need revenue during your slow season, create an offering that fits how your clients behave during that time.
For a business coach, that might look like a self-paced summer school program: recorded sessions, on-demand content, and async support that clients can access on the beach, in an airport, or whenever they have a spare hour.
The key is meeting them where they are. Don’t ask someone to show up for a weekly Zoom in July. Give them something they can engage with on THEIR schedule, when they feel like it.
Every business has rhythms. The businesses that thrive aren’t the ones that somehow eliminate slow seasons. They’re the ones that plan for them.
Seasonality isn’t a flaw in your business model. It’s a feature — if you plan for it.
From Businessing with Pat Miller — a daily live show for small business owners. Mon–Thu at 11am CT. Join the conversation at smallbusinesscommunity.com.
Pat spent two decades in broadcasting management and hosting. After leaving the radio industry, he spent time consulting small businesses and realized the support system for entrepreneurs was broken. Where could you find help for improving small businesses and building real connections with other like-minded people. In June of 2020, the Idea Collective Small Business Community was born.