3 Things You Can Do During the Slow Season

Summer has hit and unless you sell ice cream, you may be experiencing a little lull in your business. And this can be anything from a drop in revenue to the difficulties of trying to set up meetings when every other week it seems someone is out on vacation. Take a deep breath, it’s going to be okay.

If you’re familiar with the ebb and flow of your business and used to the seasonal lulls that may occur, you’ll understand why it’s super important to use this time wisely. Most of my readers know, I prefer to be pleasantly busy and not so busy that I can’t think and my team is on edge. You know what I mean, we sometimes miss our gym class to busy, or we choose loaded takeout food over a balanced home cooked meal. So now that we’ve had the opportunity to slow down, here are some things you can do, both personally and professionally, to not only embrace the present, but also prepare for the future.

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Be Easy With Your Time

Wake up slow. During the winter months, I wake up to darkness and then return home to the same. If the sun did come out, sometimes I missed it. Now, the sun rises earlier than me and I’m okay with that. I’ve traded in my gym time to enjoy walks in the parks with friends, and high up places to watch the sunset. Is there an afternoon yoga class you want to take? Go do it. With less rigid deadlines and looser to-do lists, why not give your mind a rest and interplay some things that treat your body and spirit well? This is especially true of Friday afternoons. If the weather is nice and the sun is shining but it’s not to hot out, you’re likely not going to find me in the office. And I’d be concerned if you were too. These are the moments I wish for when we’re at our peak or when it is just too darn cold to be outside for anything.

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Do A Business Audit

Find out what’s working and what’s not. Sometimes as business owners we are so busy in our business we rarely get the chance to have an outside view or tweak our processes to make them better. My team and I have started to come up with a new interface for showing our clients their SEO reports. My accountant is helping me draw up new payment terms, and I’m reworking our contract and proposal templates to make them even easier to follow. I NEVER have time to do these things when we’re in the peak of our busy season. I’m thankful for the opportunity to take the time to rock these things out now, without feeling like I’m compromising client work or other productivity time.

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Combine Work + Play

There is no law that says you have to work from the office everyday. Or if there is, and you’re in charge, you should immediately seek to change it. There are several other places you can work from, including your neighborhood cafe where everyone knows your name, or the deck of your favorite bar. There’s also the picnic tables at the park, a friend’s office with a more expansive view, or your very own backyard. If you’ve got wifi, you can use the good weather as your opportunity to be mobile. When I lived in Seattle and was studying writing, I used to change up my scenery for inspiration. I quickly discovered that a glass of wine on a bar deck surrounded by lights and nature provided mounds of stimuli to get my fingers typing. What else makes you come alive, and inspires you to get work done?

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Go forth and be merry.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash