Question: how do you feel about the seasons of your business? And how do you want to change based on your findings from last week?
When I first took a look at my business this way, it was very eye opening. I looked at my prior year and saw exactly where I was falling short. This really helped me prioritize my time when things slowed down. I personally found that if things were too slow, I would start to panic, so I started focusing on getting monthly retainer clients because I knew I wanted a set income every month. Then my bigger project based clients came during a busy season and acted more like a bonus than a sigh of relief.
There are so many great ways to make use of slower periods of your business, whether it’s taking a much needed break, preparing for busier times, or driving more business in. Here are 40 specific things you can do during your slower seasons:
- Intentional networking/meeting new people
- Continuing education (attend a seminar or take a course related to your niche)
- Goal setting (with and/or without your team)
- Brainstorm ideas to grow and improve your business
- Planned relaxation time (without stress or guilt)
- Vacation/time off
- Book yearly appointments to fall during this season
- Market research
- Industry/competition research
- Host a webinar or customer event
- Lay the foundation for any new products or services (design & development)
- Increased personal presence on social media
- Work ahead and schedule social media posts
- Work ahead and schedule newsletters/other marketing
- Review your advertising results and update your plans
- Add and onboard new employees so they’re fully trained by your busy season
- Look for ways to outsource tools/resources/personnel that will streamline your processes (do NOT do this when you’re busy – there will always be kinks to work out)
- Launch or update your website
- Reconnect with past clients/business relationships
- Personal check ins with customers (customer interviews, gather testimonials)
- Website and SEO Optimization
- Clean out, organize, and tidy up your space (you know you’ve been avoiding this)
- Show extra customer appreciation
- Create a downloadable lead magnet
- Find a tangential business to collaborate with
- Inventory management
- Reach out for PR features (use these tips to help)
- Schedule yourself a CEO Day
- Build a new habit that will add value to your business
- Look at your financials and trim the fat
- Find an area of your process or customer communications that you can automate
- Read that personal development book you’ve been eyeing
- Find a coach
- Update your portfolio
- Clean & segment your email list
- Send out cold emails to other businesses who might need your services (B2B)
- Develop the marketing assets for your next big promotion or sale
- Explore emerging tech tools and learn how to use them for your business
- Send out a customer survey to see where you stand
- Develop your own online course that you can use to create another stream of income
As I was coming up with this list, I realized I have talked in depth about a lot of these topics. I included those links so you can look back – hopefully that can help give you some direction as you fill your slow season with productivity!