Financially Dry January

The Longest Month

Freelancers, small business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone that is self-employed all stand united in their fear and loathing of the longest month, with the shortest days - January. Or to paraphrase the popular new year challenge “Financially Dry January”.

January really is the Longest Month. For those of us in the “make your own income” boat, January starts in mid-December and runs until at least mid-February doesn’t it? 

If January feels like the longest, most difficult month of the year for you too then I have five tips that I hope will help you to navigate your Financially Dry January a little better.

5 Tips for Managing Financially Dry January

1. Plan a 13th Month

Save up 1/13th of your income each month to pay yourself a “13th month”. The “13th month” bonus is something that many firms offer employees in Germany. The annual salary on offer is the same, but getting it split into 13 months with the extra month usually being paid at the end of November is very popular for employees - they have extra funds for Christmas. For a small business owner or a freelancer, I’d recommend holding this back and paying it to yourself in mid-Jan to keep those financial blues at bay. 

Start your savings scheme for next year now! This doesn’t fix this January, but as hard as it feels, saving 1/13th will not make a huge difference to you monthly, but it will be a massive relief one year from now! 

2. Scheduling Annual Billing

Do you have some annual billing that you send out to certain customers or a subscription service that you charge for annually? You could slightly adjust the billing cycle so the invoice falls in late December or early January providing you with some much-needed income.

Of course you cannot short-change your customer so this works best if you can extend the billing cycle in their favour. But if you know that they take 20 days to pay, you can invoice early so that their payment falls ‘on time’.

3. Rummage for Change

I don’t literally mean down the back of the sofa, though I am not above that by any means. 

I mean run through a quick audit of any unbilled work or small outstanding projects that you can finish off in early January and rather than wait until the end of the month, invoice them on completion. You would be amazed what you can find and get done with a little “must pay the bills” incentive.

4. Work Your Leads

January is the time that many of your potential clients plan to get that new project started, which could mean - a new nutrition plan, a fitness schedule, a new job, a new website, home improvement projects, starting a new business or making big life changes. Big projects are usually planned and discussed around November and December but put off until the new year, then life gets in the way again. 

You should remind your audience of their passion project and that you are their solution and support for these big changes. So start mailing your list, showing up on social media, making some calls and arranging some meetings. Be present, be visible and ask for the business. You would be amazed how much business is won by simply asking. 

5. Incentivise

If you have a class, course, or consultancy then creating a special offer in January is a great way to lower the barriers to purchase. I’m not crazy about discounts but January is a time that many people will try something new for the first time, so it’s a good time to help someone make a decision with a little incentive. Here are some ideas that you can adapt to your business:

I hope this helps. Before you know it we’ll be into February, when everything starts looking brighter!