blog post

4 Things to do When Business is Slow

NPCreative.

Time to put your feet up and take a sip of wine (glass, bottle, however you please) as it is the start of a new year and golly gosh have the last couple of years been something! 

From our experience, the beginning of the year is generally one of two things. Either dead quiet on the client front, or busy with no end in sight!

When business is slow, it’s easy to get stuck in an anxiety driven *how do I win more work* state of mind. And boy have we been there. But there are so many better ways to utilise that free time and spare energy.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled our favourite 4 things to do when business is slow.

AKA, get your brand to its strongest because you are at your strongest.

1/  Set your 2023 goals

Business goals are the predetermined target which your business plans to achieve in a set period of time. They give you a clear understanding of what your business is striving to accomplish and provide the clarity and motivation to reach your targets. 

Maybe there was an aspect of your business in 2022 that wasn’t as successful as what you had hoped for but you still want to give it a red hot crack. So, create a goal and provide yourself with the focus and direction you need to make it successful. 

Million $ question: how do you set your business goals?

One of the most proven to be successful goal-setting procedures is SMART, an acronym for:

1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Relevant and
5. Time-Bound.

Utilising this method will see you to create an actionable plan which will boost your productivity and reliability and see you reaching your goals.

We encourage you to regularly monitor and modify your SMART goals to ensure that they continue to remain attainable.

Because a well detailed and clearly communicated goal is more likely to be reached then one based purely off determination. And accomplishing your goal will make you feel like you have a page full of gold star stickers!

2/ Improve your systems & processes

How do you feel about logistics and processes? If the question gives you a set of hives – it’s time for a refresh for efficiency and effectiveness. 

i. Project management system

A well set-up project management system should:

• Save you time.
• Improve internal and external (client) communications.
• Promote project collaboration.
• Enhance business decisions as you understand your business in all its stages.
• Give your business an edge over your competitors through more streamlined processes

Whether you have one already or not, check if your current systems and processes check the above points, and if not, it may be time to rethink your systems.

Still unsure what a project management system is? Wrike gives a more in depth run down.

Some project management software that we recommend: Asana, Basecamp and our personal fav – ClickUp. So set it up and watch your work management stresses become non-existent (so that you can actually enjoy your Summer).

ii. Refresh your website

If the last time you refreshed your website was a couple years back (6+ years is definitely more than a couple), it may be time for a revamp (give us a call)!

Or have you checked on your website performance lately? Updated your content with SEO?

HOT TIP: What is Search Enginge Optimisation? Improving your site to increase its visibility for when people search for things relating to your business. When your website has better visibility from search results, your business will attract prospective customers. We understand that SEO can be difficult to maximise which is why we recommend the interactive SEO Starter Pack which shows you how you can optimise your website’s SEO.

iii. Saved email templates

Email templates save our asses more times than we can count because it is just that easy! No more time wasted sending kindaaa the same email from muscle memory as you have a pre-made email template. 

Our recommendation is to:

1. List out all of the “common” types of emails you send out (i.e. onboarding, pitch emails etc)
2. With a typical client in mind, write out what you would usually write for these emails
3. Look over it again and take away the context of that particular client and change any client/job/product specific information to another colour so that you can easily change that later
4. Save it as a template!

Check out the below videos to help you create these templates for Outlook and Gmail. 

3/ Learn more about your customers

When business is slow, it is the best time to enhance your business’ client experience for 2023. You can receive great insights from your customers through simple communication: 

• Send out surveys when you ship off orders.
• Conduct informal interviews through casual chat (put that lie detector test away!!).
• Review your customer testimonials and complaints.

It is also beneficial to look at your social media insights and see what your customers have liked, shared and commented on as the posts with the highest engagement are usually the ones which they like best.

4/ Update your skillset 

Finally have the time to learn that thing you keep pushing on the backburner? Do it. Okay, not to be so abrupt, but the world of business ownership can be unpredictable, so you’ve got to take what you can get when it comes to free time!

You could truly up-level your business and:

• Learn a new skill to eventually offer as a new service 
• Brush up on current skills to enhance your client delivery
• Work on some personal development to better set yourself up for a big year

If you’re feeling a little bit nervous about starting and sharing a new skill, we recommend listening to the below podcasts to remind yourself of just how much of a kickass business owner you are (as well as gaining some good tips and tricks). 

Our Podcast Recommendations:

• The Clare Wood Podcast by Clare Wood. Clare helps you to maximise your profits through the mindset that your business is something you love and believes that you CAN and SHOULD be making more money (we do too). 
• Straight Up Small Business by Bec Buchanan covers all things finance and small business. You will finish the podcast feeling more informed and confident on your business’ day-2-day’s finances. 
• StartUp Creative – Your go-to source for straight-up business advice by Kaylene Langford. A mouthful but a good mouthful as it covers everything small business related and is filled with precious information. 
• LADY-BRAINS by iHeartRadio Australia and LADY-BRAINS picks the brains of some of the world’s most exciting entrepreneurs to share their knowledge and recommendations with you. 

These podcasts will invigorate your love for your business and leave you confident and filled with ideas of how you can make 2023 your year.

When business is slow, it is a blessing in disguise as it allows you to recoup and do all the back-end aspects of your business which may have fallen off as a priority throughout the business.