What does Ghost Month mean for Chinese – American businesses?
Every year, as the calendar hits the month of August, you will surely hear or read stories about Ghost Month. This is not just a play on words for August. It has a meaning that is way deeper than you think.
What is Ghost Month?
Ghost Month is the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. During this time, the Chinese observed rituals and superstitions mostly focused on things that should be avoided because these are believed to bring bad luck.
In business, launching a new venture during Ghost Month is believed to be inauspicious and is bound not to last. Superstitious buyers also shun buying properties during the month — whether it’s a new house or a car — as it would bring misfortune.
Despite the seemingly overwhelming amount of things to consider in the ghost month and the general belief in bad luck, this should not stop businesses in their tracks.
Superstition or not, businesses can still make the most out of this ghost month. We’d like to share the best practices we do during this month and we do hope that it may help you as well.
Assess Your Current Venture
It’s time to ask hard questions so you can come out of Ghost Month unscathed. Are you not doing enough promotions? How badly has COVID-19 affected your business? Do you have enough manpower to run your operations? Do you need to start cost-cutting to survive? When it comes to investment, ask yourself if you should bulk up your stocks or further diversify your portfolio.
Avoid Getting New Debts
If you’re running a business, you know that Ghost Month sees slow and low transactions. People aren’t actively engaged in business since they’re being extra careful. And that will have an impact on your income. Since your business’ cash flow will be affected, it’s wise to postpone taking in unnecessary debts.
Build Your Emergency Fund
Have a robust emergency fund by putting your money in a high-yield savings account. Set aside at least 10% to 20% of your pay consistently and you’re well on your way to building a dependable rainy day fund.
Plan and Strategize
Evaluation of your current business processes and getting to know the opinions of your workers may help you now in strategizing and planning your next business steps. Having the initial outputs from the previous steps can guarantee you to create more concrete strategies this ghost month.
Keep a right mindset
No matter what time of the year an essential element for a businessman to succeed is to have the right mindset that drives them to reach for goals. At the end of the day, believing it or not the misfortunes ghost month can bring will not matter if you are not working to improve your own business.
Looking to Outsource Bookkeeping and Accounting Services?
Whether you believe in superstition or not, not knowing the costs and financial health of the business can set back the business. JCSN Accounting Services always strives not only to deliver its best customer service but intends to provide value-added benefits to our customer’s daily operating activities when it comes to financial record keeping. In the United States and the west coast, we provide Accounting Services in San Diego California and Accounting Services in the Philippines.
Having the best interests of customers in mind, JCSN is devoted to accomplishing excellence rather than just simply completing tasks. Contact JCSN today
