It can be easy to get pulled into the excitement of the busy season. Your schedule is getting filled up, as is your bank account. You and your crews are all over the place, doing estimates, setting up jobs, completing jobs, and all the fun stuff that comes from a busy summer. It’s so easy to forget the hard winter that you just got out of. Although I don’t want to be a downer, you do still need to be thinking about the winter, even for a little. What if you could think about winter without stressing? Let’s take a look at how that could happen.
Taxes
The biggest stress about winter is cash flow. So plan ahead and be ready for that cash slowdown. Taxes are a huge stress because they come at the worst time for contractors and painters. They come at the end of winter when your cash is most likely depleted. Set aside a percentage of your income into a different bank account, a la Profit First, to prepare for that expense. You know it’s happening, so plan for it first.
No Cash Flow during Winter
Another stress of winter is the inevitable slow down to complete stop of jobs. No jobs mean no cash flow. Taking another page from the (literal) book, set aside a percentage of your income to be prepared for the slow season. When winter comes around, you’ll have the cash to get through the season.
Expenses
We can’t talk about cash without talking about expenses. If you want to be more profitable this busy season, take a look at your monthly expenses. Are you able to cover them without getting another loan? Can you truly afford that truck, or should you think about finding more ways to get use out of what you already have? It’s always best to pay for items outright, so try to pay off any loans and avoid them in the future. This winter, see if you can pause or stop paying for subscriptions you won’t be using anyway. You can always restart them during the busy season.
If you’re wondering how to figure out what percentage of income to set aside, then you should definitely check out the book Profit First. There is even a contractor edition. It might be hard to think of winter when you’re in the depth of the busy season, but by planning now, you can have a better slow season.
