What are small-business owners doing this January?
Last month, ISB investigated what small-business owners were doing in the 2024 December holiday period, and whether it was possible for self-employed people to take a break. For many respondents, the holiday period was the busiest – or the sleepiest – period in the calendar. But what about the post-holiday period? We also asked entrepreneurs what they were up to in January; here’s what they had to say.
Prepping for a new year
Many small-business owners said they were using January to plan for the year ahead.
“As a small business owner, I use this time to work “on” the business rather than “in” the business,” said Kate Shanahan, Co-Founder of Brieff.io. “This time is critical to plan and gain clarity for the next year.”
Exactly what planning for the new year entails varied from business to business. A few respondents mentioned catching up on tasks that they had previously been too busy for.
Remi Audette, Founder, Sunday Best Digital Agency: “We use January to do everything we wanted to do during the year but were too busy for. Things like cleaning up our project management system and client folders, rewriting website copy and planning out the marketing for the year.”
Fil Strati, Owner, Tech Seek: “January is not so much about planning but about catching up on any bookkeeping, admin and any housekeeping. This can include assessing current service offerings and also discussing what may need to be changed or implemented moving forward.”
Other business owners said they used January to update their online presences and software.
Avi Efrat, Founder, Fantastic Framing: ”Things calm down during January and that’s the time when we like to hit the ground running and do things including cleaning the stores, implementing new IT software and systems and ensuring that they are rolled out when it isn’t as busy.”
Talitha Cummins, Founder, The Cut Jewellery: “My plan is to finalise fully systemising my business so that we can grow. While my company doesn’t require many employees to operate, there are still a lot of admin tasks that take up a lot of time. Through the data we have compiled over the past year and the many platforms and AI tools that are available these days, I aim to have everything systemised so I can focus on growth.”
Karen Moloney, Founder, Blue Bean Media: “Weeks two-to-four in January are where I get myself set up for the rest of the year with updates to website, socials, systems, processes and plans while my head is clear and day-to-day operations are at a minimum.”
For many, January = business as usual
While some business owners are taking this time to work on the business, for many, January means business as usual. In some cases, this is a peak period. Business owners in the retail and FMCG sectors, for instance, told ISB that orders usually ramp up at this time of year.
Sophie Doyle, Founder, The Fable: “January is a big time for my business. As we specialise in creating our best-selling silk shirts, we always have an influx of orders in January as people look to update their work wardrobes.”
Mick Spencer, Co-Founder, Gravity Drinks Co.: “Being in the “better for you” alcohol space means that December and January is a very busy time for us. We have recently gone on tap in over 100 venues for the first time, and we have had some massive orders placed for the silly season, so ensuring our stock numbers and send-outs are up to date will be a big thing for us in December.”
Communications professionals also told us that January was business as usual for them, with many clients wanting campaigns to kick off with the new year.
Simon Blangiardo, Director, SOD: “January is business as usual, with exciting new website projects launching, campaigns kicking off, and retainers ongoing.”
Nicola Trotman, Director, Greenpoint: “We have also just completed a huge strategy sprint for a number of clients, with all of these campaigns set to go live in January so it will be a busy start to the year.”
One small-business owner – the founder of a tuition business – said that January brings a new sort of work, as opposed to less work.
Max Milstein, Founder, Apex Tuition: “January is our quietest period for actual tutoring. However, it is one of our busiest period in terms of tasks. Our objective is to ensure we bring across as many students and tutors from year to the other and avoid as much churn as possible.”
If you’re one of these business owners who is already struggling to catch a break, ISB also recently spoke to 12 small-business leaders on how they achieve work-life balance while running an enterprise.
