What to cut in January so you can invest
Photo: Avila Ops Tecnologia
In January, cut four things in this order: subscriptions and services nobody uses, products tying up cash with little margin, customers costing more than they pay, and manual work someone repeats every week. What remains, in money and hours, goes into one thing that makes the new year different from the last. Not three. One.
For many small businesses, January is the weakest sales month and the only one with time to change the structure. February often has Carnival, March is already busy, and cuts not made in January are carried all year.
Why cut before investing?
Because investing with tight cash creates the worst decision: stopping halfway. The half-built website, the contracted system never implemented, the ad running two weeks before stopping. Cutting first ensures the investment has the breathing room to finish.
And because cutting reveals the number. Small businesses often think they “have no money to invest,” then discover, after adding the four piles, that they spend every month on things bringing nothing.
What to cut, what it yields, and how to do it
| Cut | How to identify it | What it yields | How to do it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unused subscription | 12 months of statements, nobody has signed in for two months | Money every month | Cancel before renewal, export data |
| Low-margin product that brings no other sales | Per-unit margin below average, customers buy only that item | Cash tied up in inventory | Clear it in January, do not restock |
| Nonpaying or unprofitable customer | Recurring lateness, discounts every purchase, high time demands | Collection effort, time, and losses | New rule for everyone starting January 5 |
| Repeated manual work | Someone types the same thing in two places every week | Hours per week | Automate or eliminate the step |
The first three were detailed in this December series, starting with Cancel what you do not use: forgotten subscriptions. The fourth usually yields the most and is counted least, because it does not appear on statements. It appears on the calendar.
Calculate manual work this way: list what is done by hand every week that a machine could do. Moving WhatsApp orders to a spreadsheet. Copying received Pix payments into records. Sending collection reminders one by one. Updating inventory after counting. Add the hours. Multiply by the hourly cost of the person doing it. It commonly exceeds all subscriptions combined.
Where should you invest what remains?
In one thing, chosen by the goal depending most on it. If the year’s main goal is repeat purchases, invest in customer records and automatic follow-up messages. If it is nonpayment, invest in collection methods and the reminder sequence. If margin, inventory and product cost control. If time, removing manual work from the week. Next year’s goals tells you which.
What not to cut, even with tight cash: domain, hosting, and professional email, because they take everything down and cost little; backups; anything communicating directly with customers and working (WhatsApp Business, Google Business Profile); and the person who knows how operations work. Cutting people in January to invest in tools is the mistake that costs the year.
A rule for deciding between two investments: the one removing work that exists today beats the one adding new work. A system removing the weekly spreadsheet is worth more than a new social network requiring daily posts.
What to do now
Add the four piles in December, with statements, product list, customer list, and the week’s schedule on the table. Write the amount left per month. Choose one place for it, connected to the first goal on the page. If your choice is escaping manual work and you do not know where to start, describe your business; the assessment is at our expense: avilaops.com/jornada or contact us on WhatsApp: wa.me/5517997811471.
Frequently asked questions
Should I cut ads in January?
Cut ads not measured through to the order. Keep those whose contribution you know, with a smaller budget. An unmeasured ad is the list’s most expensive forgotten subscription.
What if nothing remains to invest after cutting everything?
Then the year’s investment is time rather than money: hours freed from manual work. Use them for collections, follow-up messages, and customer records. Much of what changes a year costs discipline rather than cash.
Will cutting products or customers reduce revenue?
It will reduce revenue and increase margin if cuts are based on numbers rather than irritation. Revenue leaving no margin is work for the supplier. What matters is what remains, and the goals page measures that.
Turn what you learned into your next step.
Tell us about your company and what you want to improve. We can explore the right tools, integrations or custom project together.