May 3-9
IN-STORE Smell your business. Take a big, long sniff. What is your nose telling you? Does it smell like spring? Or something else? Change as needed.
MANAGEMENT By now, you’ve likely received your Global Pet Expo orders and have a pretty good idea of how the year is going, allowing you to pivot further or double down on something paying dividends. Set aside time for planning.
May 10-16
ONLINE Know who’s visiting your Google Business page and what they are doing through the Insights tab. Create a spreadsheet and begin recording the data for key metrics every month. You can sign up for
a monthly email from Google that will provide Insights if you need a reminder.
MARKETING After the recent shutdowns, you’ll be no doubt straining at the leash to get out and about in your community. Print new business cards with a special introductory offer. For some businesses, it’s going to be like starting up anew.
May 17-23
FINANCES It’s been a wild start to the year. Whatever expectations you had have likely gone out the window. Rework your budget for the second half of the year. Next, a new marketing plan for those same same six months.
PREPAREDNESS Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 and ends on Nov. 30. A generator is a wise investment if you live in an area prone to such weather.
May 24-30
MARKETING Send an email to customers about summer offerings, such as day camps, summer grooming or hydration products.
FINANCES Maybe your fixed costs aren’t as fixed as you think. Analyze every contract — from the company that supplies the water cooler to your neighborhood banker — and look for places where you can curb costs. Lease coming up? Keep an eye on traffic. It’s a good figure to wield in negotiations with your landlord.
May 31-June 6
MARKETING What is your “elevator script”? Don’t have one? Everyone on staff should be able to give a “knock-your-socks-off” one-sentence description of what they do for a living when asked.
WEBSITE Visitors to your site won’t have much patience if pages don’t open quickly. Check your load time.
June 7-13
MANAGEMENT Cash flow, marketing options, price pressures, staff headaches … such are some of the issues facing business owners. Why not get help from the veteran entrepreneurs at SCORE? They volunteer their counseling services through one of the group’s 364 regional offices. Everyone needs a sounding board.
HOMEWORK Everyone also needs something to read this summer. Buy your staff books on pet care, customer service or selling. (Slip in a highlighter and tell them to go to town on those pristine pages.)
June 14-20
TECHNOLOGY It’s time for some computer housecleaning. Get that desktop down to no more than a dozen folders or shortcuts.
TAXES Tax filing requirements are a major headache for small business owners. Stay on top of your obligations by signing up for the IRS’s tax calendar at petsplusmag.com/4203. Unlike the agency, it’s quite user-friendly.
June 21-27
TRAINING Skills, as opposed to natural strengths, can be taught. Write down one important skill that you can teach each employee. By the end of next week, spend at least some time working with each staffer on that skill.
June 28-July 4
Customer Service Work on your systems. Write scripts for greeting customers, what to show them, rules for handling pets. These guidelines will be useful when bringing on new employees, making the process of “getting up to speed” much easier.