If you’re relatively new at owning an online business, and it begins to slow down during summer, don’t worry. There is plenty you can do to make your business better. Consider summer as breathing time to get things done. This can include business promotion, making things run more smoothly, cutting down your expenses, and changing things up (web pages, etc.). Planting seeds in the summer months can bring you a lot during the busy times. Here are a few things you can do while you wait for business to pick up again. You’ll be glad you did.
1. Keep a List of Things You Need to Deal With
You know that list of things you’ve had sitting on the backburner? They’re not important to everyday functions of your business but in some way, they are still relevant. Maybe it’s filing, or actually creating a filing system. This will help you to find things more quickly when business picks up again.
2. Think of Ways to Refine Your Business
I am guilty of not starting a business plan. I just started writing for people, but I didn’t have an expectation of where I expected it to go. In some ways, I believe it has slowed my growth because the potential is there. Even if you started with a business plan, your company may have taken on surprising twists. This might mean that it’s time to reassess your long-term goals for your business and where you want to see it go.
3. Create Surveys and Newsletters for Later
Getting out your newsletter or surveys every week or monthly can be really challenging in the middle of busy times. Take advantage of the slow summer months to create engaging content for your potential and current clients. You can put in the time to really think about what you want to offer readers. You don’t have the pressure falling on you which can result in amazing ideas and killer content.
4. Learn More about Important Stuff Related to Your Business
Whether it’s a Tony Robbins course or reading Tim Ferriss’ new book, Tools of Titans, you have the time to learn and grow while things are slow. One of my current daily activities is chilling in the sun while I listen to a podcast that allows me to learn something new. I write out notes and think about how I can incorporate it into my own business. If you want your business to keep growing, you have to keep growing too. Think of it as a reflection of yourself. Read books on how to make your product or service more appealing. Learn how to market your product online, on your own, or you might even consider taking up Master’s in Marketing Online so you’re better able to manage your business’s marketing functions. It’s all there for you.
5. Change up Your Website
If you have a business where people can order your product/service online, the best time to revamp it is when fewer people are on your site. You alleviate disappointment and confusion by tweaking your site during slower times. You want to make sure that it’s working seamlessly and quickly before the masses start making purchases.
6. Create a Free e-Book or other Resource
To gain more traffic, subscribers, and customers, you can create an e-book or valuable piece of information. This can often take quite a bit of time but in the end, it can be very rewarding. Work on it throughout the summer and launch it in the fall.
7. Do a Website Blog Post Audit
If you have a website and a blog, make sure all the links are working. Make sure as well that you’ve linked to other pages on your site. Maybe you didn’t have the time to internally link before. Well, now is the time. Check all your images, and make sure that they display the way you want them to. Sideways pictures are a killer for a business. Update the information about yourself or your business.
8. What do You Mean You Don’t Have a Blog?
If anyone out there with a business doesn’t have a blog, that right there is what you might want to dedicate your summer to. Creating content for your blog takes a lot of hours. Making them perfect with the right keywords, etc., takes even longer. If you have time to kill this summer, and you don’t have a blog, get working on it. It can be free. You can get professional help if you want it. It will improve your business.
9. Think about Your Bottom Line
Saving money is as important as making money. So you may want to create a budget when things are slow. Think about what expenses are giving you something valuable. If you can live without them, get rid of them. Even with some of the courses you take, you may be able to cut down on some manpower. Running a business for less will cause you less stress during the quiet summer months for next year.
10. Take a Vacation
Instead of sitting there waiting for orders and inquiries to come in, go on a vacation. If cash flow is sparse, do a staycation. Stay at home, but don’t think or do anything business related. This is actually really important because it will give you a recharge you need. Lay in the sun, hang out with friends, get outside, and have fun. It’s summer. The time will come again soon where you’ll be sitting in your “work cave” during dreary winter months.
11. Get Creative
Your business probably requires a lot of analytical thinking. To give that part of your brain a break, do something really creative. Get a canvas and a few colors of paint. Paint a terrible picture. It’s fine. It’s not about successfully creating a Monet. It’s about opening up the side of your creative mind so you can stop analyzing everything. Again, this can give you an excellent re-charge and you will probably walk away with new ideas. Creativity is where innovation grows.
When you preplan details of your business on a daily basis throughout the summer, you’ll feel incredibly productive. You won’t worry so much about what you’re making at the moment because you tune into your possibilities for later down the road. Get yourself ready for when everyone hangs up the sun umbrella and spends more time on the computer in the fall and winter months.
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