The phrase “April showers bring May flowers” is instructive to small businesses. The meaning of the phrase is that in the short-term—April—businesses have to make certain investments in order to see payoffs—May flowers. Without April activities, a business can stall. It’s all about delayed gratification: making investments now to see profits ahead. Now may a great time to implement this strategy.
What to do in April
Focus on the fundamentals and invest in the future. In the short run, you may take a hit to your bottom line; remember, you’re aiming for long-term results to come.
Fundamentals to review:
- Budget. How are your expenses tracking in comparison to your budget? One of the serious issues facing many businesses is the high cost of gas. If you are experiencing serious cost problems because of the price at the pump, do you need to add a surcharge for the present?
- Technology utilization. Are you taking advantage of AI, robotics, and other technology to make your business run faster, smarter, and less costly? Are
- Workforce. Do you have the workers needed to handle your business activities? Nonfarm payroll employment increased in Q1 2026. Maybe you need to add to your staff? Perhaps you can get the work done using outside help? Be sure to classify workers correctly as employees or independent contractors (see the new DOL proposed rule on employee or independent contractor status).
What to invest in now:
- AI. According to a Bank of America report, small-business spending on tech services (including AI) surged more than 14% year over year.
- Customer cultivation. You continually need to be looking for new customers, while at the same time engaging in activities to retain customer loyalty. Keep in mind that it’s much more expensive to find a new customer than it is to retain an old one. Calculate your customer retention costs so you can weigh them against acquisition costs. In both cases, think social media.
- Employee training. Can your employees use AI effectively? It’s been reported that 73% of small businesses say more training would help them successfully implement AI.
- Employee benefits. With the current economy, many employees are struggling to meet their basic financial needs (e.g., paying rent; buying food; handling an unexpected emergency such as needing new tires). What can your business do, if anything, to alleviate this financial stress? Pay raises? Added employee benefits? If the business budget doesn’t have room for additional cost outlays at this time, what creative ways can be deployed to help employees? Consider earned wage access (on-demand pay) to enable employees to tap into their wages before payday. There are pros and cons for doing this.
What to achieve in May
If you make investments in April, what can you expect to see in May?
- Less financial worries. If you’ve revised the budget, perhaps implemented surcharges to cover gas prices and tariff hits to your business, and trimmed unnecessary expenses, you won’t be as stressed now.
- Better customer relations. If you focused on expanding your customer base as well as better connecting with your existing customers, you’re sure to see sales results from your efforts.
- Solid workforce. You want a staff that can grow with your business. If you’ve invested in training and offering employee benefits to the extent possible, you now have a loyal workforce that can handle business activities.
- Better utilization of technology. If you’ve made financial investments in AI and other technology and you’ve done more employee training, now you can reap rewards. This may be, for example, more solid customer relations that are being managed with tech.
Final thought
I have a wooden plaque on my desk that says:
“Positivity, patience, and persistence.”
This sentiment clearly reflects the notion that spending time now to reap rewards in the future makes good sense.
More information concerning ideas for growing your business can be found in this list of blogs.
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