While for many people the summertime is spent outside enjoying the sunshine, for small business owners it’s a crucial time to make the most of a busy season. The following tips — from hiring a small business accountant to honing your social media presence — will be a huge benefit.

The life of a small business owner is very different to that of a boss of a large organisation. If you happen to be in the earlier years of business and either work alone or with a small group of employees, you’ll have plenty on your plate at all times.

That means summertime — which is often hectic for many businesses — is the time to capitalise on what has the potential to be a very lucrative season.

Here are a few tips to keep you on top of a busy workload and help your business to prosper this summer.

1. Delegate

As your company grows and the volume of employees increases, you’ll have more opportunities to delegate tasks and responsibility.

Doing so allows you to focus your efforts on the more important aspects of running a business and stand a much better chance of having a productive summer. It also frees up a lot of your time to seek out new business opportunities that you previously wouldn’t have had time to consider.

You also have to consider the benefit it has on your employees. Being trusted with more responsibility not only helps them to grow as professionals but also improves morale by showing their hard work has been recognised.

2. Hire a Small Business Accountant

If you have already hired a small business accountant, then you’re one step ahead. Good job! Doing so puts your finances in the capable hands of a professional who specialises in small business finance and accounting for freelancers.

This means that they’ll be familiar will many of the day-to-day issues that small businesses face, and be able to give you valuable advice for the future.

Hiring a small business accountant to maintain and organise your finances throughout the summer is one less (extremely time-consuming) job for you to do. They are also a dab hand at preparing your company for a small business tax return.

It’s not for a while yet, but you’ll appreciate the professional help when the deadline is looming.

3. Don’t Neglect Your Personal Life

Although it’s essential to spend a lot of time building and maintaining a successful company, you should never disregard your personal life in the process. Working your fingers to the bone for a successful career is an admirable ambition, but you should always make time for family, friends, and yourself.

A healthy balance of work and your personal life is essential to maintain a positive mindset and sense of happiness in day-to-day life. As the owner of a business, you’ll be the one employees look to for guidance and a morale boost.

If you’re run down from long hours and minimal rest, it will have an impact on your ability as a leader, which could cause serious problems for your business.

4. Write Seasonal Blog Content

Every small business in the digital age should have a website. Without one, you’re allowing your rivals to enjoy the benefits of being online while you stagnate. So you have a website, fantastic — but do you have a blog?

Writing a blog has become much more than a platform to rant, rave, and talk about your favourite TV show. It’s now an efficient and productive way to engage your target audience, improve your website’s SEO, and market your business.

With summer almost in full swing, it’s an ideal opportunity for seasonal content. No matter what industry your business is in, there will be ways to incorporate a summer theme into your blog posts.

Covering upcoming summer events, deals you may have running, or writing engaging pieces that discuss new trends in your company’s sector — they can all provide great angles for written content and reasons for customers to visit your site.

5. Stay Active on Social Media

The current era has given birth to more variations of modern tech than you could ever count. The internet and social media are undoubtedly the biggest game-changers in regards to the way people live their everyday lives, and how businesses choose to operate and market themselves.

As a small business owner, you should already have social media accounts on various platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you don’t, you’re missing out on an abundance of business opportunities.

With the sun shining and people joyously posting content on these sites daily, you’re missing a trick if you aren’t active on social media.

For some businesses, the summertime is the busiest time of the year, whereas for others things tend to slow down. The tips listed above will be helpful for your business in both cases.

For example, if your day-to-day business becomes hectic and leaves you no time to organise finances, hire a small business accountant to keep things in check. Or if your website isn’t getting much traffic this summer, writing some seasonal blog content and remaining active on social media will market your company effectively during a quiet period.

Chris Weston is the director of Aston Black, a Milton Keynes-based accountancy firm.