When you’re starting a business, you may not have total control over when you launch it. You may have to wait until your property is ready, your inventory has arrived and your staff is fully trained.
If you have a choice of what time of year to open your doors, are some months of the year better than others? How well a business does in its first few months can determine whether or not it succeeds. Therefore, if you’re going to depend in large part on seasonal business, it’s probably best to open during what you anticipate will be your busy season.
A big part of starting a business is getting all of the necessary paperwork filed. This is where the time of year can be a factor. Secretary of State offices process a lot of incorporation paperwork in January. This could slow down the process if you join in that New Year’s rush.
If you want to launch your business in the early part of the year but don’t want to file your paperwork when many other entrepreneurs are doing the same, you may want to consider a delayed filing. You could file your paperwork in the latter part of the year but make your business’ start date effective in January. If your business is a corporation or LLC, this helps ensure that the business entity has the necessary approvals by the time you’re ready to begin.
Productivity might be another factor to consider. A study last year by Redbooth (a task management software company) found that the most productive season for the average worker is autumn. According to its research, they’re 20% more productive then than in the winter, 11% more than in the spring and 7% more than in the summer.
Whatever time of year you plan to have your business up and running, you want to make sure that all of your permits, registrations and other legal requirements are in order. It’s essential to have experienced legal guidance as you do this in order to help things go more smoothly.