By Emily Suess
Many small businesses see a decline in sales during the summer, but that doesn’t mean small business owners should embrace the slump. When sales slow, it’s the perfect opportunity to plan for your busiest seasons. Whether you struggle with the back-to-school rush or the bustle of the holidays, preparing now means enjoying life a little more when sales pick up again.
1. Revamp Your Social Strategy
Take time to analyze your social media presence. Could you benefit from changing up your plan, participating on a new platform, or leaving sites that don’t significantly impact your bottom line? While you have a chance, brainstorm campaigns for the future. You can get started designing images, writing tweets, and planning promotions now so that you’ll have plenty of time to devote to customers and clients when demands on your time are greater.
2. Take a Class or Attend a Seminar
You can’t possibly know all there is to know about running a small business, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try. Pick a topic that interests you or find something that will specifically benefit your business – either way, you can enjoy an opportunity to step away from the daily grind while still working to improve your small business.
3. Do a Little Summer Cleaning
If summer is a slow time for you, it might be the perfect time to clean and reorganize your office or brick-and-mortar store. When traffic is slow and your mind is a little clearer you can start on that laundry list of things you’ve been wanting to tackle but have never had the time to do. Restock inventory so it’s easier to track and more efficient to ship. Reorganize the counter so it’s more convenient for customers to check out. Clean and declutter your store floor to make it more appealing to passersby.
4. Take a Relaxing Vacation
Being busy and stressed doesn’t make you seem more important; it makes you busy and stressed. Your slowest season is a good time to take a vacation and walk away from work completely. This doesn’t mean you should abandon your business for an entire three months, but hitting the reset button is good for you, your family and friends, and your employees. If you can’t take a break during the slowest months of your business cycle, when can you?
5. Rebuild Your Website
It’s difficult to justify re-doing your website when there’s an unending line of customers and online shoppers to take care of. When the summer slump comes, test your website for speed and user experience. Are your web forms user friendly? Does your site contain broken links? Is your blog missing key content?
Whenever your slow season, it’s essential that you take advantage of the opportunities it provides. Tackling a few big projects during a sales slump lets you spread out your responsibilities and maintain a more manageable schedule all year long. No small business and no small business owner ever profits from a burnout.
