With holiday shopping starting before Halloween and many promotions floating around before Black Friday, businesses that wait to launch their holiday marketing will find themselves scrambling to catch up this November.
Waiting too long puts you at a severe disadvantage -- you need to be ready to capitalize on the increased traffic and the mindset of consumers during this period.
When you're prepared, you have a system readied in case things go wrong. The same rules apply to the holidays -- and even more so to business during the holidays.
Most entrepreneurs can't wait to feel the sweet relief that accompanies finishing off their financial task list. Without diligent accounting in summer, however, the holidays may not seem so sweet.
In the week before Easter last year, Americans bought $823 million in creme-filled eggs, chocolate rabbits and colored marshmallow Peeps, according to Nielsen data.
If you're a bah-humbug type you may not find this amusing. But if you can pull yourself out of your Scroogeness, you may just find yourself singing along.