Soft drink for sale inside a shop. [Photo/l7.alamy.com]The life of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are cyclical in nature. There are times when the businesses are making good money and seasons when times are lean.Some become endangered species in January thanks to customers’ empty pockets following the festivities as well as the “back to school” buying shift. Chances are if your business is not contributing in one way or another to the back to school matrix, you are not likely to break even. So how does an SME survive these lean times?Change operationsEvery time it rains, Nairobi is filled by hawkers selling umbrellas. Your SMEs should be just as adaptive. Consider offering goods and services that are essential to the market during these lean times, for example, school supplies.Drum up new businessLean times are the perfect time to reach out to new clients. You never know, you might even land a rush job, which you can deliver on, securing a new account and bringing in funds immediately. You can do so by sending out a note to clients.Stock up non-essentialsRecognising that your suppliers are suffering too from the lean times will help you to stock on raw materials at relatively cheap prices as compared to peak seasons. Stock these and you will be smiling all the way to the bank when the bumper season comes.Cut back on expensesA lean period is a perfect time to cut back on unnecessary expenses. Saving a few shillings will have a big impact on your financials. Is there a cheaper, but still a high-quality source for any office products you use? What about if you are paying for website hosting? While you do not want a cut-rate host, you also may be able to work out a deal if you pay for the year instead of monthly.

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