For many businesses, certain times of the year will be slow. Summertime being one of those times for a large majority of businesses. This can be alarming to a business owner or it can be an opportunity. If you prefer to see the opportunity and capitalize on the extra time on your hands we have outlined some great starting points to help boost your business during these summer months!
1) Time off
You may right off the bat say, "time off" - how is this going to boost my business?! Well, for several reasons (and time off does not mean your business needs to shut).
First, you can always schedule your personal time off around the predictably slow periods of your business. Burnout is detrimental to the growth of business and ensuring you have the time to unwind and reset is essential to your business and employees. Everyone needs a break and many studies have proven that some R & R actually improves post vacation productivity. Science shows that coming back refreshed will increase your creativity and productivity.
Secondly, Automations are imperative now a days for multitasking and strategic planning time. If you are worried about taking time off - have you looked into what you can automate? What can you delegate to an assistant - which will cost you less in the long run - think about how much you pay yourself per hour, based on what you could delegate to an assistant for a fraction of the cost.
2) A Review
Conduct a review of all of your processes to seek efficiencies that can:
Make sure you are investing your time in the highest value activities and outsource lower impact/high effort activities. Now might be the right time to hire a virtual assistant to take away higher effort, lower impact tasks so you can focus on the highest impact tasks for your business.
Enhance profitability by reviewing your supply chain and seeking out time and/or cost inefficiencies. For example, perhaps your business has subscriptions that are not being used or other expenses that could be negotiated down. Take a look at what you are spending money on and whether or not you are using those systems.
Look to your future. How do you want to end the year? Set goals to get you there and more importantly confirm that you have the processes in place that can get you where you want to be in the future. Look around at the most successful businesses in the world. They are almost always very process-driven.
Clean up old tasks. Do you have any outstanding projects that go put at the way side this year, or even last year? Take time to revamp and reassess your projects and set new deadlines and expectations.
3) Seek out new revenue streams
Find ways to improve profitability, review your accounts to ensure there are no customers who are dragging down profitability, and upskill employees. Are you capitalizing on your current clientele? It is easier to work with the clients you have then to spend money and obtain new clients. Introduce your current clients to new ideas and use the time to network to seek out new business opportunities.
What new objectives have you sought out lately? Here are some things to consider:
Are you networking properly? How are you currently networking in 2022?
How old is your marketing plan? Do you even have a marketing plan set for the rest of 2022 and moving into 2023?
Do you have an affiliate or referral program so that your connections can benefit and your business can grow?
What promotions do you currently run? This does not have to be discount promotions but valued resources that new clients can benefit from.
“If only I had the time” is something many people say to themselves throughout the year. What are you going to do during your seasonally slow times now that you have read the tips above?
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