With just one month to the Christmas shutdown a lot of small businesses will be scrambling for survival in order to still be in business for 2011. It has been a rough year with the impact of the Soccer World cup , strikes and the low economy.  A lot of small and medium businesses have seen their doors shut for the last time and have had to lay off staff. This is the last thing we need for South Africa. Small business is the key to the emerging economy and job creation, we have to make this work.

Surviving the holiday period requires certain strategies and effort. Here are some guidelines to give you a head start:

•  Plan your leave schedules with your staff to keep the core cover required to serve your customers
• Chat openly to your staff about bonuses, these can often be negotiated to alleviate the huge financial burden on your business
• Watch your cash flow, remember the slow startup to some sectors in the early part of the year
• Keep communication channels open with the banks and tell them if you are experiencing cash flow problem. Better they hear it from you than the rejection flag on some automatic programme as they close you down.

The Holidays are here, happy thanksgiving to the US, we look forward to a survivable season.