{"id":24309,"date":"2018-06-12T19:47:17","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T19:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/por-development.local\/?p=24309"},"modified":"2018-06-12T19:47:17","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T19:47:17","slug":"smoothing-out-the-slow-season-dip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.point-of-rental.com\/au\/smoothing-out-the-slow-season-dip\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoothing Out the Slow Season Dip"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every spring is full of excitement as we purchase new equipment and forecast our growth. Summer months are busier each year, and thankfully, we\u2019ve increased revenues for the past seven years. When January comes around for our seasonal construction rental business, however, there\u2019s still the cash flow crunch.<\/p>\n

Aspen Rent-All<\/a> is perched 7,500 feet above sea level, so we experience an intense winter from Thanksgiving to Easter and a dramatic drop in construction rentals. That\u2019s why it\u2019s critical for us to plan for the time when our company\u2019s expenses are higher than the revenues before<\/em> the flakes start falling.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how we do it at Aspen Rent-All:<\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    Identify Off-Season Alternatives<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Figure out some items that make sense for you to rent to your current customer base in their offseason. Over the past few years, we\u2019ve added items that will perform well for us in the winter. Ground thaw machines have been a great addition \u2013 they\u2019re out nearly all winter, bringing in a nice revenue stream. We\u2019ve also added larger heaters that can be used for construction sites and tents. This has helped us build a nice propane business where we exchange tanks throughout the winter months.<\/p>\n

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    1. \n

      Identify Sales Opportunities<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      In the fall, we review of all our equipment, how it is performing, and the hours on the machines to see what we can sell off before the end of the year. We check valuations online, our rental software tells us an estimated return on each piece of equipment based on its usage history, and then we identify potential customers online and locally.<\/p>\n

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      1. \n

        Communicate with Your Staff<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        As the year winds down, we have a team meeting to talk about the lean months and ask everyone to be conscious about their hours and spending. I am thankful my staff is vigilant about tracking their spending and figuring out what can wait until the second quarter. We also provide bonuses throughout the year, with the largest bonus going out when our cash is strong \u2013 between June and October.<\/p>\n

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        1. \n

          Staff Reductions<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          When business is lean, there\u2019s not enough work to go around for everyone. So around Thanksgiving each year, we reduce our staff to keep our most valuable and knowledgeable employees. We may have up to 10 employees during the summer, but as winter approaches, we cut back to five. It\u2019s difficult to send good, hard-working people away, but we invite them to return in spring, when the work returns. Thankfully, there are many seasonal jobs available in the resort market while we\u2019re slow, allowing employees to keep seasonally employed all year. This also allows us to release employees we don\u2019t want back.<\/p>\n

          The lean months can be tough, but taking the time to prepare for them will put you ahead of your peers when business gets going again!<\/p>\n

          Beth Hoff Blackmer has been the sole owner and President of Aspen Rent-All, Inc. in Basalt, CO, since 2000. The company was founded in 1967 by Beth\u2019s father, Dave Hoff. The company\u2019s inventory is 55% construction and 45% general tool. <\/em>She credits the ARA and the friends she\u2019s made through it with helping her go from \u201cno background in rental\u201d when she bought the company to being ARA\u2019s Region 7 Person of the Year in 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Every spring is full of excitement as we purchase new equipment and forecast our growth. Summer months are busier each year, and thankfully, we\u2019ve increased revenues for the past seven years. When January comes around for our seasonal construction rental business, however, there\u2019s still the cash flow crunch. Aspen Rent-All is perched 7,500 feet above […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":24310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[592,593,594,595],"class_list":["post-24309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rental-industry","tag-aspen-rent-all","tag-beth-hoff-blackmer","tag-construction-rental","tag-seasonal-rental"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t