5 Ways to Avoid the Summer Slump in Your Business
By Andrew Patricio
July 08, 2015
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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By the Small Business Content Developers at BizLaunch.com
While some businesses boom during the summer months, others see a serious slowdown. Clients go on vacations and budgets grind to a halt. If your business is one of those that experiences the dreaded “summer slump”, use this time to work on areas of your company that don’t normally get much attention so that you’re streamlined for success once business picks up again.
Think of all those half-completed projects, disorganized files, and documents in disarray. When better to work on them than now? It’s a great time to:
Processes are something we often overlook, but they’re key to helping small businesses grow. If you’re doing everything in your business, sooner or later the time will come when you can afford to hire help. Spending the time now to organize your thoughts and record the steps for certain tasks will help hugely when you’re ready to bring others on board.
What don’t you know that could give you an edge in business? Maybe you want to learn how to setup QuickBooks or start using Instagram. There are ample books, blogs, webinars, videos, and e-courses that you can invest time and money in to help you become a better business owner. Make a list of areas you want to get smarter in, then find the tools to help you.
If you’re normally too busy to do much local networking, now’s the time to join some networking groups in your community. Not sure where they are? Check Meetup to find groups that attract your target demographic or others in your industry.
When is the last time you updated the copy on your website? Or your social media profiles? These are more examples of things many of us don’t dedicate time to regularly, so do a little spring cleaning (or rather, summer cleaning) and make sure that all the information about your brand is up to date. You might even want to upload your newest headshot for your social media profiles to inject a little freshness.
You know what all work and no play does to people. Take time off from running your business while you’ve got it – especially if your kids are home for the summer. It’s a great time to bond with your family, take a vacation, or just curl up on the couch and enjoy a good book. The time will come soon enough when you’ll wish you had free time to enjoy, so appreciate it while you’ve got it.
Before you know it, these slow summer months will be over and you’ll be back to the grind. Make sure you’re productive in your downtime so that later when you’re busy you can thank yourself for making your future work easier.
While some businesses boom during the summer months, others see a serious slowdown. Clients go on vacations and budgets grind to a halt. If your business is one of those that experiences the dreaded “summer slump”, use this time to work on areas of your company that don’t normally get much attention so that you’re streamlined for success once business picks up again.
- Work on your processes and organization.
Think of all those half-completed projects, disorganized files, and documents in disarray. When better to work on them than now? It’s a great time to:
- Go through your filing cabinet and throw out old files
- Reorganize documents and folders on your computer
- Document how you do tasks so you can outsource them
Processes are something we often overlook, but they’re key to helping small businesses grow. If you’re doing everything in your business, sooner or later the time will come when you can afford to hire help. Spending the time now to organize your thoughts and record the steps for certain tasks will help hugely when you’re ready to bring others on board.
- Sharpen your smarts.
What don’t you know that could give you an edge in business? Maybe you want to learn how to setup QuickBooks or start using Instagram. There are ample books, blogs, webinars, videos, and e-courses that you can invest time and money in to help you become a better business owner. Make a list of areas you want to get smarter in, then find the tools to help you.
- Get out and meet people.
If you’re normally too busy to do much local networking, now’s the time to join some networking groups in your community. Not sure where they are? Check Meetup to find groups that attract your target demographic or others in your industry.
- Update your online info.
When is the last time you updated the copy on your website? Or your social media profiles? These are more examples of things many of us don’t dedicate time to regularly, so do a little spring cleaning (or rather, summer cleaning) and make sure that all the information about your brand is up to date. You might even want to upload your newest headshot for your social media profiles to inject a little freshness.
- Play a little.
You know what all work and no play does to people. Take time off from running your business while you’ve got it – especially if your kids are home for the summer. It’s a great time to bond with your family, take a vacation, or just curl up on the couch and enjoy a good book. The time will come soon enough when you’ll wish you had free time to enjoy, so appreciate it while you’ve got it.
Before you know it, these slow summer months will be over and you’ll be back to the grind. Make sure you’re productive in your downtime so that later when you’re busy you can thank yourself for making your future work easier.