Jessica Steinbeck: Summer is time to check out, while also checking in with your business

Summer always brings the promise of a break from the daily grind. This year, especially, small business owners deserve a break. In the first months of 2022, inflation has increased the price of everything from construction materials to common office supplies. The red-hot hiring market is driving labor costs to record-breaking levels. It’s enough to make bookkeeping seem like an Olympic sport. 

Unplugging for a few days before summer ends is a great way for business owners to recover from these stresses. It can also provide space to develop a fresh perspective. While you’re making plans to check out for vacation, don’t forget to carve out time to check in on your venture’s overall performance.

Doing so now can help set the stage for a successful fall and winter. In my role at Florida Capital Bank, I have the privilege of working with business owners across the state of Florida.

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Here are the five things I encourage every entrepreneur to consider during this season of rest and reflection:

  • Review your financial performance. Business owners need to have a firm grasp on their profits and losses through the first half of the year in order to accurately plan for the coming months. Take the time to thoroughly review your invoices, receipts, records, and bank statements from the past few months. Think of it as a temperature check for your business.

  • Update your business plan. Based on your findings from the financial review, you may need to adjust your business plan to make sure you’re staying ahead of the competition. If you’ve never compiled a business plan, check out the free resources available through UNF's Small Business Development Center.

  • Inventory your vendors and partners. Create a checklist of all the vendors and partners that you currently use for your business. Next, assess your level of satisfaction with their products, customer service, and capabilities. If your needs have changed, start looking at options to right-size the level of support later this year. You may need to review contracts to understand your rights and requirements in order to make a change that better suits your business as it exists today -- not where it was last year.

  • Identify opportunities to increase efficiency. Every business owner I know would happily claim back even one hour per week of their time, if it could be reallocated toward something that will positively impact the company. Check with your financial institution to review any new (or new-to-you) tools that can help you run your books more efficiently. From treasury management to automated payments and fraud alerts, there are several ways to reclaim precious time while managing your bottom line.

  • Dust off your disaster continuity plan. Hurricane season is here. The best time to prepare for a storm is before it arrives. This is especially true if you have new employees, customers, or contractors who have not yet navigated a storm season with your business. It’s important to have a plan in place for how you’ll run your business, communicate with customers, and protect your business assets.

There’s no way to know what surprises await us all on the other side of summer. However, I can say with certainty that business owners who take the time to check in on their ventures just before or right after their summer vacation will be in a stronger position than those who wait until fall.

Steinbeck
Steinbeck

Even better, they’ll be in the right frame of mind to truly recharge.

Jessica Steinbeck, vice president, manager of retail banking for Florida Capital Bank

This guest column is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of the Times-Union. We welcome a diversity of opinions

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jessica Steinbeck: Summer is perfect time to do a business checkup