When Things are Slow What are You Going To Do?

All of us have slow times in our business.  When business is slow it is difficult to keep out of the cycle of worry.  Seasonality can play a part and of course an economic downturn can impact us.  There have been many articles that speak of business opportunity (I have written one) and others that talk about cutting back.  Seriously though, have you given much thought with how to actually spend your time productively?    If you are like many christian small businesses who unfortunately don’t start marketing or networking until business is slow, you will obviously get on the marketing band wagon to build your business back up.  But you know as well as I do there are still some extra hours available.  Worrying doesn’t count in the “productive” sense.  What can you do to use this time aside from your normal marketing efforts and business building efforts?  Here are some boring, yet practical, suggestions and a few creative, frivolous ideas:

1. Get organized.  You know all of those piles in your office and the randomly saved files on your computer.  Do you remember saying you didn’t have time to deal with it?  Well, now is the time to start cleaning house.  It needed to be done when you were busy and it will still be a mess when you get busy again, so go ahead and take care of it.  Look at processes and opportunities to streamline your business.
2. Revisit your vision.  Remember you went into this business for a reason.  Hopefully it was a calling.  If God gave you the vision, then review and pray about it.  When you were called to this business what did you want to accomplish?  Have you stayed true to the vision?  Now is a time to readjust back to His path if you have lost your way.  If the vision is still clear, maybe it is a new strategy that is needed.  Lift this up to the God that gave you the vision.  Pray for renewed energy and His Holy Spirit to guide your path.
3. Create a new product or service.  It is difficult to remain cutting edge when you are overloaded.  This may be the perfect opportunity to get a big post it pad or download some free mind mapping software and begin to plan and design your newest cutting edge product or service.
4. Invite other business friends to start a Mastermind Group with you.  A christian business mastermind group is a group of individuals trying to accomplish the same goal.  I am sure there are others that have experienced downtime in their business or are right now struggling with the economy.  Get together for coffee or lunch and share your knowledge, ideas, and encouragement with each other. 
5. Do your taxes.  I know it isn’t April but you know there are some of you who filed extensions like I did.  And yes, I finished pulling everything together finally.  Of course my accountant is probably on vacation now.
6. Catch up on promises to your kids.  When we are busy we make all kinds of guilt promises to our kids.  “I am too busy right now, but when things slow down we can….”  If you can’t remember any just go to your kids and ask them to fill in the blank.
7. Schedule your own mini-retreat with God.  This could be packing up your bible, a journal and your favorite pen and finding a quiet place to read, pray, write and, most importantly, listen to our Heavenly Father.  It is awfully hot in S. Louisiana but if you are an early riser it is still cool.  I suggest bringing the above list plus a blanket and a nice Grande coffee from Starbucks (maybe iced) to Highland Park and picking a beautiful oak tree to sit under and commune with the God of the Universe.
8. Interim Performance Reviews with your staff.  Things are slow and the staff feels it too.  What better opportunity to spend quality time with your team.  Give them an honest assessment and take the time to work with them to create individual development plans for how they can be an even better contributor in the coming year.
9. Go on vacation.  Obviously everyone else is!
10. Make a commitment to take three positive strides each day.  1.) Pick one thing you can do to encourage someone today. 2.) One thing you can do to work “on” your business today. 3.) One thing that you can do to add extra value to a customer today.

What if it isn’t seasonality and something is really going wrong in your business?  Well I still think that if you do most of these things you will have more clarity and sense of direction for the next steps in your business.  Getting organized will help you identify problems and opportunities.  Reviewing your vision will help you fine tune your plans.  And spending time with God and the people closest to you will renew your Spirit and provide a sense of purpose.  It also will put idleness and worry out of your mind!

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