Why it’s Important to Hire Help For The Holidays

4 Reasons Why Hiring Help For The Holidays Is Important 

Is hiring help during the holidays going to make or break your business? Probably not, but I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with many business owners & based on the industry you’re in hiring help can actually help scale the business out more in those last few months of the year.

I’ve literally seen small businesses lose customers because they were so understaffed, or didn’t have enough inventory. It got so bad that prospects ended up going to their direct competitors, talk about supply & demand right? Calculating whether the product or service you offer is in high demand during the busy season can make a huge difference, so take the time to really make a calculated investment that can boost your top line.

1.- Seasonal Workers Are Highly Motivated 

Now let’s think about this for a moment, remember when you were younger or even in high school? I sure do, & I remember during the holidays every single year I needed extra cash so I can get gifts for my friends & family. I would literally take any gig that came my way, well as long as they gave me enough hours during the holidays. But those were different times, I was walking door to door & calling ads in the yellow pages hoping something would stick. Fortunately now thanks to technology & this amazing thing called the internet, I can submit my resume to sites like Craigslist.com or Indeed.com. So as a small business owner acknowledging that highly motivated workers are out there ready to work long hard hours, even if it’s not top pay.

2.-You May Get Lucky & Hire A Long Term Candidate 

I’ve done some research & I came across a few employee success stories that really changed my perception of seasonal hires. One thing all the success stories have in common is that they all started working as part-time or seasonal employees. One story that got my attention was about a young man only in high school, who started part-time for the holidays at a small kiosk in a mall. From what I read they sold jewelry type products, & sunglasses. The young man did so well, that within the first 30days he immediately got promoted to full time. The business owner was so impressed, he increased sales by 10% within 2 weeks & managed to show profitability. Sometimes seasonal hires can be a headache because you have to train them & some of them simply just don’t work out. But that’s the risk all big organizations took to make it in the big leagues.

3.-Try To Use A Small Business Loan Instead Of Going Out Of Pocket

So is getting extra working capital for the business the smartest thing to do? I’ve done my due diligence on this and in my opinion based on the studies & the industry that you’re in, taking on business debt to help your bottom line is the best thing you can do for your business. There are pros & cons to this, for instance, one bad case scenario is that you can miscalculate or incorrectly allocate your budget resulting in adding more unnecessary debt or even driving your business to the ground. But if you proceed with caution, this calculated risk can result in you actually multiplying your profits & growth of the business. There’s a quote I really like, “No risk, No reward.” So if you’re not willing to go the extra mile in seeking wealth or financial freedom, you’ll always just get by. My suggestion is doing your research, inquire for funding options & do the math to see if it’s a good fit. 

4.- Don’t Wait Until The Last Minute To Hire Seasonal Help 

This may seem like a no brainer, but unfortunately, a study showed that 80% of business owners would wait until things got crazy to hire extra help. I think we can agree that hiring, in general, is a pretty complicated task as it is, so imagine trying to interview, train and pray that they’re the right fit for your company. What makes it worse is all the chaos going on keeping up with customers or not enough inventory, etc. Planning ahead will make your life easier, obviously, things happen that are out of your hands but there’s a quote that will never grow old, “a day late, a dollar short.” Be prepared to have to make a small sacrifice for the bigger picture, and that’s to scale the business out as much as possible during the most rewarding time of the year. 

I hope this blog gave you some insight and help you make sense of the importance of hiring extra help during the holidays, if you can’t afford to hire temporary or part-time employees during the holidays, we are here to help. At Uplyft Capital we offer small business loans, business lines of credit & other options depending on what you qualify for. Stay tuned for more business tips on our blog, have an amazing holiday!