Run a seasonal business?

Surviving the off-season can take considerable skill, but surviving and even thriving are doable if you’re prepared for it.

 Seasonal-business owners need to master five key areas—ones that also are important to any business with ups and downs. Use the off-season to strategize, develop marketing plans, and lay the foundation for when things get crazy. You also need to be a pro at hiring new workers each season. When possible, you’ll want to find revenue streams to make the off-season as lucrative as possible. And of course, you’ll need to create a cash cushion for unexpected events during the off-season, when revenues are scarce, as well as stockpile to fund the start of the busy period, when expenses spike. Finally, you’ll need to be hypervigilant when business picks up, tracking sales closely—in some cases hourly—in order to make adjustments quickly.

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Check out the whole article at BusinessWeek for the expansion of each point.