How to Deal With Slow Season in Your Business (& make the most of it!)
A coupla years ago I went through my first summer as a web designer. And learned, the hard way, how to deal with slow season in my business.
Let’s take a quick trip back in time.
It was during the ongoing lock downs in Martinique (where I’m based, just by the sea!) but due to the restrictions, there was no beach for me…
No problem, I’d planned to work my 🍑 off - my business as a Squarespace Website designer had been booming & I was glad for the time to knuckle down & get a bunch more websites up and into the world…
Cue… tumbleweed.
Through that whole summer I had just one client… one!
I started asking myself if my business was failing, if I was going to have to accelerate my tentative learning of French to go get a job at Mackies… and of course, I did a bunch of not very useful or productive busy work to pass the time.
Now having navigated a bunch of summers in my web design business I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned about How to Deal With Slow Season in Your Business (&, most importantly how to make the most of it!)
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First things first… unless you’re in tourism, or the wedding industry Summer tends to be a quiet, or slow period in most businesses. Website traffic drops by over 10% in some industries over the summer months, and in speaking to others running small businesses I’ve found they’ve experienced this IRL.
As you’ll know if you’ve been around here for a while… website traffic dropping tends to lead to a decrease in email list growth & enquiry/ sales numbers… which brings me to the first tip in dealing with slow season in your business…
Know that slow season isn’t personal!
When you see the data, you can de-personalize that empty inbox & reduction in website traffic, and remember it’s not you! You haven’t suddenly “broken your business” & you don’t need to go back on the job hunt!
Summer does just tend to be slower as people are on vacay, juggling looking after their kids who are also on vacay, waiting for that “back to school let’s start doing productive things again” feeling to arrive in September (new pencil case & gel pens anyone?)
So tip number one, is to know that summer often means a slower season in your business, it’s not personal AND… like in the actual seasons, it’s probably a good thing - we need all 4 of the seasons for things to grow, including your business!
Take a break when your audience is
So knowing that your audience or customer base are off bingeing ice-cream & burning their shoulders, why don’t you do the same? (Although of course, your shoulders will remain unburnt due to your responsible use of factor 50 - you’re my people after all!!)
Slow seasons are the perfect time to take a break as you don’t have the feeling (that we all have from time to time) that you’re turning down work, or will have a sh*tstorm to come back to. If you have a team, it can be a great time to plan in rolling vacay whilst you need fewer hands on deck.
Flight prices during high season make you weep?
A break doesn’t need to be a vacation - it can be a slowing down of your work rhythm to make time for things you don’t usually do.
This summer I’m taking daily surfing lessons, so I can improve my questionable skills, whilst avoiding the ludicrous jump in flight costs. You could also take more long-weekends, or local breaks, or of course, just chuck your credit card at it & jump on a flight to * insert your dream destination here * !
Some form of break, or digital detox is a fabulous way to recharge whilst you’re in a slower season so you’re ready for when things ramp up again!
Get Organized & tidy up!
When things are busy on the day to day, it’s likely that you’re accumulating a fair amount of mess in your biz… think that guest room which is still stuffed with boxes you never unpacked when you moved in, or the drawer under your desk that’s so full you’re not even sure it opens anymore… let alone what’s in it.
Your biz almost certainly has some digital versions of these - unlabelled files, a hard drive that’s organization system’s seen better days, a bunch of recorded Zoom calls that need sorting or getting rid of. Summer is a great time to clear the decks, both literally and figuratively so that you get organized again, which allows you to work more efficiently, and let’s be honest, just feel more at ease & spacious in your day to day.
Here are some of the things you might want to look at organizing/ tidying up:
Filing and organising invoices & contracts
Going through call recordings to label, organise & delete what’s not needed
Tidy up stock or inventory (both physical or digital)
Organize your calendar - see whether your rhythm is working for your & tweak if needed. Reflect on your batch blocks & reorganize them
Backing up important files (I like to do a double backup on a cloud based system & a hard drive JIC!)
Tidy up your inbox - got unread emails? Get rid of them! And if your inbox is a mess, think about setting up folders or tags so it’s easier to keep organised on an ongoing basis.
Delete inactive subscribers from your email list to improve deliverability (and coz you don’t want to keep sending emails to ppl that don’t open them - bad for everyone involved, especially the environment!)
Update & improve your website
So once the decks & clear slow season is a fabulous time to make improvements & do a little “summer cleaning” of your website.
Why not take yourself through a website audit, and identify what simple updates you need to make (out of date pricing or opening hours & other basics) all the way through to any new service pages, new portfolio items, brand updating or streamlining. Use data if you can to identify opportunities for improvement. Without the distractions of the busy day to day you’ll be amazed at how much you can get done!
Not sure where to start - book a website audit with me & we’ll get you a plan in place based on your strategy & my expertise so you’ll be cookin’ on gas in no time.
If your website’s really getting on a bit, it could even be time for a new one - and summer’s a great moment to jump in & get this done - read this for 6 signs it’s time for a new website to help you decide!
Get caught up on content
I’m a big proponent on batching content creation & the summer slow season is a perfect moment to do just that!
Start with keyword research to create your content plan (I highly recommend taking a peak at SEOSpace to help with this if you haven’t already)
Then plan out a bunch of posts or videos
Script/ write them (keeping your keywords in mind)
Schedule them for publishing.
With the help of Chat GPT for the planning stage (I’m not a fan of it for actual content creation yet TBH…) you could easily get your autumn quarter content created in a week or so, leaving you with so much more time when autumn roles around! And breathe!
Top tip - create & schedule your emails & any social posts as part of batching your autumn content for a truly stress-free end of the year!
Revisit your Strategy & Goals for the rest of the year
A common mistake I see small businesses make is doing their annual plan once in the year, then forgetting all about it. The slower summer season is a fabulous time to take a step back, look at your goals & strategy you set out with and see where you’re at, making tweaks as needed.
It might be you need to add more insights to your ideal client & slightly tweak the way you speak with them.
Or maybe you learnt something significant from the data in the first part of the year that changes how you plan to launch a product in the second part of the year.
Maybe you’ve decided not to do something to keep things more streamlined, or to add an additional offering that you’ve had loads of enquiries about.
Whatever it is (and even if it’s a validation that the plan is the right one and that you’re good to go), taking some time out to reflect on where you’re at is invaluable!
Didn’t do an annual reflection or plan in January? That’s cool too - there’s no rule you needed to do it then, and if you want to you can do it now (your biz your rules!)
Learn New Skills!
Slower business seasons like summer are a great moment to take a course or learn a new skill that’ll help you in your biz… heck, it’s a great time to learn a new skill that has nothing to do with your biz too!
This one’s especially for you if you already invested in a course, or coaching and you haven’t started yet - now’s your time! Block out some time each day (or even a week or two solid - imagine it’s a conference) that’s protected for you to dive into some learning you’ve been longing to do!
Web designer or wanna-be web designer? These are two are my favorite courses that I can highly recommend if you’re looking for professional development
Get into a healthier rhythm & habits
One thing I’m guilty of is overworking. It’s not an all the time thing, but there are times that I honestly struggle to put in place & maintain healthy habits around work and life.
Given it takes 21-30 days to create a new habit… and 2 months before that new behaviour becomes automatic, the slower summer season can be a fab time to do put that new habit in place & let it bed in! With less daily work pressure, you can put in place those things you’ve always wanted to build your daily or weekly work rhythm around, and let them bed in, so that when things pick up again you’re already in a habit that’s easier to keep (and much simpler than trying to create a new habit in and amongst the chaos of a busier season!)
You might be thinking here, Helen… that’s allll very well, but I’m out here needing to earn some $$$
I hear you! Happily after having my business running for a number of years now, I’ve built up a buffer to be able to happily pay myself over the summer if things are quiet, but I didn’t have that in year one, and if you don’t have that as yet I totes get it!
So… here a couple of ideas for making some $$$ during the quieter summer season
Reach out to Existing clients
Reconnecting with your existing clients can be a great way to remind them you’re still here & check in to see if they need anything. Given it’s a group who already have trust & connection with you you have less work to do to “prove yourself” and if they’re businesses too, it’s entirely possible they’re having their own quiet summer season, meaning that they might have more time & head space to engage with you than during other times in the year.
Top tip - rather than jumping in with sales, start by offering them value relating to this season in their business & take it from there!
Hold a flash sale
One great way to get a quick surge of income is to hold a flash sale - the urgency that comes from a great deal can help move people off the fence into making a decision & help you increase sales. Depending on your business - you could offer money off a digital product, a bundle of products or coaching sessions at a discount, or even sell a service at a discount that can be used later to avoid the barrier of people being on vacay getting in the way (ie X% off your coaching package - sessions can be booked any time up until the end of the year).
Raise your prices
Hear me out on this one… so this isn’t likely to bring in a whole load of mulla during the slow season itself, but if you look at your prices and think they’re on the low side, increasing them is likely to help you increase revenue in the autumn - hence helping your overall bottom line for the year (does anyone even say that any more without a square shouldered 8Os suit & a mobile phone that needs 2 hands to pick up!)
Chances are your prices are too low for the value you offer, so take some time to see where you bench mark in your sector, what value you offer through your products/ services and decide accordingly.
Mindset holding you back? I can highly recommend You are a Badass by Jen Sincero* for a kick up the 🍑 when it comes to charging your worth!
Cut your costs/ Increase your efficiency
There are 2 key elements to profitability in your biz - revenue & costs. The first 3 ideas are around revenue, but you can also use this extra time you have to identity costs you can cut. Perhaps it’s a subscription or software you’re paying for but not using, or maybe you have a membership to something you simply don’t need any more.
Is there a way of automating something that currently takes you loads of time, meaning you/ your team can work more efficiently & therefore create more value?
A bit of downtime over the summer is a great moment to look at ways to save money in your biz for the rest of the year.
A final thought…
Honestly, the best way to deal with the summer slow season in your business comes down to one word; planning.
In terms of what this actually means, for me I do 3 things…
I plan to make sure I have the right mindset. In this case, that business has all seasons, and we need all seasons - most importantly it’s not about me! If this takes meditation, journalling, listening to motivational podcasts, I do it. Being in the right mindset is the secret to all business success all year round!
I plan financially to make sure that during the busier seasons of the year where I have more money coming in, I pay myself a salary that leaves plenty of money in my business, that way, there’s no risk that during slower seasons I don’t have enough money coming in (also I love having a consistent salary all year long - it makes for much better financial planning, and less month on month stress!
I plan to make the most of it! How many times do I think during busy periods - Oh, I wish I could have a bit more time to (insert thing you’re longing for here!) Well now’s the time - and so I don’t waste it, I plan in advance to make the most of these quieter weeks, coz one thing’s for sure, the autumn will creep up faster than you think!
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