Are you stuck in a slow season?
Slow seasons are unfortunately inevitable and semi unpredictable. But they don’t have to be an unproductive time in your business.
As business owners, our to do list always seems a mile long and sometimes it feels like you’re never climbing out of that pit. As soon as your client roster is full again, all those important, yet not urgent tasks fall to the wayside and get forgotten about. No judgement, it happens to the best of us!
So, the question is, where do I start when I enter a slow season?
Easy – let me answer that for you.
“A slow season is the time to be working ON your business, not IN it. Here’s five tasks that you can prioritise on your to do list to take advantage of that slow season.”
1. Admin
Yep, I said admin. The dreaded admin! It’s a time-consuming, soul-sucking task at the best of times, and it’s easy to procrastinate on even the most simple of tasks. But now is the time!
Write a list of every admin task that you’ve been avoiding and get cracking! You can get started on your:
Finances — get those numbers in order and ready for your accountant. And of course, keep track of your money.
Clear your inbox — make folders, file everything way, create rules to filter through the accumulated garbage, unsubscribe from that mailing list you forgot you signed up to and just get organised!
Your website — update the photos, update your bio, change up your SEO strategy, revisit the design (if you can).
Clean your desk/office space — a tidy space equals a tidy mind. This is one of the best ‘admin’ tasks to do first because it puts you in the mood!
2. Content Creation
Content creation, while super fun most of the time, can also feel like a real drag when you don’t have the time. It’s one of those never-ending tasks that is crucial if we want to stay relevant and front of mind for our communities. Batch creating content is an incredibly effective way of producing content. Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
Reels — Behind the scenes of your business, industry tips/secrets, works in progress, day in the life
Posts — Share some new work, an exciting new addition to your workspace, informative carousel
Blog posts — Advice, updates, freebie alerts, new product/service announcements
3. Back to School
A slow season is the perfect time to get learning! Sign up for a quick course, or read a few books, or jump on Skillshare. There’s always something new you can learn and while you have the time to do it, you definitely should. Up-skilling and reinvesting in yourself and your business is the key to a profitable, sustainable business.
Or you can try something completely different to your current expertise and see how you can merge the two.
Here’s some great websites to get you started:
4. Refine
Now is the perfect time to reflect on your business. Look back on past projects to determine the strengths and weaknesses and how you can refine your client experience. Re-evaluate your processes and where the breakdowns or challenges occur to refine.
During each slow season I take a long, hard look at all my internal documents, my processes, client experience, onboarding, offboarding and so much more to really determine where I can improve. Without fail, there's always something! If there’s not – dig a little deeper or ask a previous client. Sometimes you need an outsiders perspective to understand how your process actually works.
5. Rebrand!
And last but definitely not least, now is the perfect time to completely overhaul your brand. If you feel like you no longer identify with your current identity, your goals have changed or you just need a little refresh to re-centre and target your existing audience, then now is the time!
You can dedicate the time and energy to really deep dive into your business, work out your goals and values, your mission statement, your brand essence and get clear about who you are and what you offer, to then take all of that and turn it into a soul-infused, strategy-led brand that captures the true essence of your business.
The best part? You can rebrand your business, while working on everything else on this list!
So, who’s ready to get started?