Welcome to midsummer! Tis the season of abundant sunshine, early and late days and lots of hard work. The busy season can make or break a business. The requests come in fast and furious, and the tricky bit is making sure the finished projects meet your standards and your clients’ expectations.

The fast pace makes it’s easier to overlook important details which can lead to problems. It happens to nearly every fabricator at some point—a failure in materials, confusion with a client or just simple bad luck. As our story “Failure is not an option” points out, there are days when nothing goes right and it takes skill, grit, creativity and sometimes eating your profits to keep moving ahead.

Moving too fast occasionally means basic communication with clients gets missed—such as how to clean, maintain and store new boat fabrics. Our story “Help your clients clean up their act” provides the latest information about the cleaning products and processes manufacturers recommend that will help your customers keep their boats looking great.

This hectic season may tempt you to skip the close accounting of your financial transactions. Don’t. Working with numbers may not be your cup of tea, but it’s critical to the success of your business. “Don’t leave your profits on the table” will help you figure out how to accurately charge for your jobs so you’re making every penny you deserve.

Our columns this month are all about increasing your efficiency and productivity. Terri Madden, owner of Sand Sea & Air Interiors, explores the how, when and why of shop automation. And Linda Beach and Deborah Hamilton of Beach Upholstery share their favorite time-saving tips for working with upholstery.

Summer is busy, but as we in Minnesota know all too well, the delights of this season are fleeting. Make sure you’re not too busy to pause, stretch your aching back, and enjoy the freshness of the day and the fruits of your labor.