This expression “the dog days of summer” has nothing to do with canines. It refers to Sirius, the dog star, that rises and sets in conjunction with the Sun during part of the summer months. For most businesses in the U.S. these days are hot and have more hours of daylight.
What can these days mean for your business?
If you experience a seasonal slowdown
Many businesses find the summer months to be their slow times. Clients may be away and not booking appointments, and customers may be focused elsewhere. The extra time you have can be used to:
- Strengthen customer relations. Use the time to reach out to customers who are overdue for personal contact. Offer summer specials—sales, discounts, and other offerings—to connect with customers and generate additional revenue.
- Review your numbers. Now is a great time to do a mid-year checkup of your business (explained in an earlier blog). Review your revenue and profits year-to-date as well as your goals for the remainder of the year. Look into cash flow, inventory, and staffing costs.
- Train employees. If your staff doesn’t have sufficient work to occupy their day, use the extra time to work on customer relations skills, do safety training, and, introduce new technology. Are your employees are using AI to boost their productivity?
- Do recordkeeping. While this should be an ongoing activity, many small business owners neglect important documentation…for company history, taxes, and government compliance. The dog days presents an opportunity to catch up on this recordkeeping.
- Encourage employee vacations. You may not need all hands on deck during the dog days, so it’s a good time for employees to use their vacation days.
If your business is “hot” at this time
Summer isn’t a slow time for many businesses. Many parts of the country experience “in season” during the dog days and need to optimize their revenue at this time.
- Maximize cash flow. The best way to build up cash is, of course, to generate revenue. Be sure your pricing is appropriate for this year (many small businesses have bumped up prices). Squirrel away cash reserves to get you through the off season.
- Handle seasonal workers correctly. There’s a complete discussion of this in an earlier blog.
- Assess results to improve business in dog days 2027. Review how your business performed this year, so you are better positioned for next year.
Final thought
“There from their hearts the dogdayed pulse / Of love and light bursts in their throats. / O see the pulse of summer in the ice.” ~ Dylan Thomas
Summer seems to fly by, but don’t let the days tick off without taking full advantage of opportunities during dog days. We’ll be talking about the holiday season before you know it. In fact, you can start to plan now for the holiday season, which essentially starts in October… only 3 months to go.
