By Robyn Parets

If you’re a wannabe entrepreneur, your upcoming summer vacation isn’t the only thing you’re dreaming about while at work. Starting your own small business is likely top of mind when you’re staring out your office window.
There are always reasons why the time isn’t right or ideal to launch a business or become your own boss. However, if you’ve got a great business idea, here are five reasons why you might want to turn those dreams into reality sooner rather than later:

1. You have found a way to solve a problem and you think your future small business can achieve this better than any other possible solution out there.This is paramount to succeeding with your small business, and many upstart entrepreneurs founded their companies to address a consumer problem. Take a look at Uber, an app created to get people from point A to point B for a low price Or what about GrubHub? This app lets you order food on demand to be delivered from a myriad of restaurants—from wherever you are.
2. You’ll be happier being your own boss.While this may be a generalization, those who are self-employed experience greater job satisfaction and are often happier than those who work for someone else, according to Fast Company.
3. Technology is on your side.You may not be flush with cash, but you can create a website and blog yourself or hire a web designer for short money. You can also make use of cloud computing for accounting and marketing tools. Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter let you easily reach thousands of customers, as do inexpensive email marketing sites like MailChimp and Constant Contact.
4. You have many financing options.Long gone are the days when you had to take an advance on your credit card or beg your parents for a loan to fund your small business as you couldn’t get approved for bank funding. Times have changed and there are an abundance of non-traditional funding options available to new businesses, including crowdsourcing through sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, as well as numerous online lenders that loan to small businesses and entrepreneurs of all sizes. If cash flow is a concern when you’re starting out, sites like Fundbox offer another funding option: Advances on outstanding invoices. With this scenario, you’ll pay back those advances plus a small fee, but you’ll get your money much faster.
5. You can choose when to stay or go.If you have a comfortable job with a reliable paycheck, you may prefer to stick around for a bit while launching your small business at night or on the weekends. This is a good way to build up slowly until you can devote 100 percent of your time to your new endeavor. On the flipside, if you’re unhappy at work and want to leave right away, you can still do that and take a part-time job just to make ends meet. The economy is thriving right now and jobs are plentiful, so why not take advantage of this?

The bottom line is: There’s no time like the present. If you sit around wondering when the right time is to bust a move, you’ll be waiting around forever. Besides, even if your business doesn’t pan out, perhaps it will lead you to an even better idea for another new company. You won’t know until you try, and 2016 just may be the year for a leap of faith.

​By Robyn Parets

For some small business owners, summertime means taking longer vacations and extra days off. This isn’t just because the weather is nice: It’s also because the hotter months mark the slowest time of the year—the annual small business summer slowdown.
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Fitness studios are particularly prone to a small business summer slowdown because customers and students tend to travel over the summer and often prefer to work out on their own outdoors.

Judy Hudson, owner of Easton Pilates in Easton, MA, has come to expect this slower season. She prepares for it by running promotions, experimenting with new classes and adjusting her expectations. She also uses this time to gear up for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. Hudson opened Easton Pilates and Myofascial Release Center 12 years ago. She offers group apparatus classes, Pilates mat and barre classes, semi-private and private Pilates sessions, wellness workshops, and myofascial release services. During a myofascial bodywork session, Hudson applies moderate pressure to soft tissue to release tension and enable muscles to stretch. It is generally considered a great compliment to Pilates workouts, she says
To help others manage their small business summer slowdown, here are Hudson’s top five tips:

1. Promote New Classes and Market Them.

For July and August, Easton Pilates drops its class load down to four classes a week compared to its usual 12 during busier months. Even with a shoestring schedule, Easton Pilates runs promotional specials and new classes. This year for example, Hudson is introducing a six-week poolside “Summer Shape Up” mat and barre class series—in her own backyard. She is also offering two similar series at her regular studio location. The pricing is slashed in half for the summer months, from the usual $30 a class to $16. The goal is to introduce new students to Pilates and barre and offer a discount to her loyal students who wish to continue over the summer. To promote the program, Hudson is blasting backyard paradise photos on Twitter and Facebook.

“I rely heavily on social media and email blasts through Constant Contact. More recently I’ve been promoting classes on the Thumbtack app as well.” 

Even if she doesn’t get an overwhelming response, the creative new poolside class series is bound to grab some eyeballs and hopefully put Easton Pilates on the map for those looking for a fall fitness routine. “I’m always looking for new ways to pique interest. We’ll see what happens with these classes, but I think it will be fun to work out and cool off by the pool.

2. Adjust your staffing needs.

Hudson sometimes adds teachers to her roster if her student base expands. In the summer, however, she flies solo when she just doesn’t have the student base to support another teacher. This way, she can keep expenses down and not worry about depleting her cash flow.

3. Supplement your income.

Hudson, a board-certified therapist and fitness trainer for more than 20 years, picks up per diem physical therapy jobs at nearby hospitals to supplement her income. She also sells nutritional supplements and uses the time to focus on this side business.

2. Take a break when things are slow.

Easton Pilates used to bring on other teachers to cover classes when Hudson was on summer vacation. Not anymore. The studio closes down for two to three weeks as this is the only way Hudson says she can recharge without worrying about her business. Her wake-up call came a few years ago when she hired a teacher to run things while she was in Italy. Four days before she boarded the plane, that teacher quit. She had no choice but to close. However, because students signed up and expected their Pilates, Hudson scrambled to film her classes and provide them with free DVDs to work out in her absence. They loved it, but it proved to be a stressful few days. “Now I don’t leave anyone in charge over the summer when it’s so quiet anyway.”

3. Gear up for the busy fall.

Summer is a great time to regroup and plan for the fall and winter, says Hudson. Easton Pilates, for example, is planning to expand its offerings to Hudson’s new home-based location in nearby Foxboro. The studio will then be able to attract clients from a wider geographic location.

This story originally was published here.