The sun has made a few appearances here in Aberdeen, which means one thing: summer is almost here!
Depending on what kind of business you have, summer is either a very good thing – like if you sell ice cream! Or it means business is going to slow down while all your clients go off on holiday. And, hopefully, you’ll be taking a holiday too.
But business doesn’t stop entirely. You should hopefully have at least some ongoing projects to work on, new enquiries to deal with, plus all the day to day tasks to keep your business running.
Whether you’re stressing about not having enough work, or how to deal with everything and still take time off, here’s what you need to do to get your business ready for the summer holidays.
[Tweet “Here’s what you need to do to get your business ready for the summer holidays”]
Any links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links, which means if you buy through them I might get a small commission (that will probably be spent on pretty fonts). This is at no extra cost to you and I only share products and services that I use and love.
What to do when everyone else is on holiday
If most of your clients are taking off to catch some sun, you might be stressing about how you’re gonna pay your bills for the next couple of months.
But don’t worry. Or at least try not to ?
There’s still plenty you can do to hustle up some work and stay busy – here are some ideas:
Networking
Don’t think that it’s not worth going to networking events during the summer holidays. Sure, there might be fewer people there, but that can actually work in your favour.
If you’re an introvert, a packed room feels pretty daunting. But in a quieter room you can be more relaxed. And with a smaller crowd, you can spend longer chatting to those that do turn up and have more meaningful conversations with them.
Create a special offer
If you’re properly struggling to fill up your calendar, why not run a promotion.
If you sell services, offer a few discounted projects (strictly limited of course, as you don’t want to be still working on reduced rates once the holidays are over and your phone is ringing non-stop again).
You could even trial a new service at a reduced rate to test the market, get some feedback and then refine your offering before properly launching it later in the year.
Or if you sell products, run a flash sale to generate some quick cash.
Create a new product
If you’ve been thinking about writing a book or creating a course, use the downtime to finally get it done. Set yourself a challenge to have it ready to launch once the holidays are over.
[Tweet “Been thinking about writing a book or creating a course? Use the summer downtime to get it done”]
Reach out to past clients
Check in with your clients. Ask how they’re getting on, congratulate them on some recent news or achievements they’ve had, or try to be helpful in some way. And ask if they need your help with anything right now – ‘cos if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Write some blog posts and email newsletters
When you get busy, blogging is one of the first things that gets pushed aside. Same goes for emailing your list.
But while you’re quiet, why not get a bunch of posts and emails written. That way when you get busy later, you can skip writing for a week or two, completely guilt-free, and still have some new content to send out.
Get caught up on admin
Has your admin been neglected while you’ve been busy working on client projects? Now is a perfect time to get caught up. Scan in those receipts and get your finances in order. Submit your tax return – you might even find you’re due a refund!
Tidy your office
If the mess on your desk stresses you out, now is the time to clean it up. File away things you need to keep, shred or bin those you don’t and give it a good dust once you’ve cleared some space.
Hang some new pictures on the wall. Try a print by your favourite artist or some motivational quotes to keep you inspired.
And while you’re at it, why not clear out your computer too. Sort out all the random files that you’d dumped onto your desktop, and clear out or archive files you don’t need anymore. Make sure your firewall and anti-virus software is up to date and that you have a backup system in place for your data.
How to prepare when you’re going on holiday
Do you ever find that urgent things happen right when you’re about to go on holiday? Yep, me too.
When you should be packing, you’re dealing with last-minute client requests. Or even if you’re having a stay-cation, instead of relaxing you’re checking into your overflowing inbox and before you know, you’re working.
But if you prepare for your holiday you can minimise the drama and have a proper break. Here’s how:
Let your clients know about your holiday
Make sure all your current clients know about your break and how/if it will affect their project.
If you’ll be completely out of contact make sure they know that. Or if your email will be inaccessible but you can still get text messages and calls, make sure they know how they should contact you. And will you be taking general enquiries and updates, or is this for emergencies only?
Set a cut-off date for new requests
For example, if it’s a small job and your client gets the info to you at least 4 days before you leave, you can still accommodate them, but after that, you’ll deal with it when you’re back to work.
Reserve some time in your calendar for the few days leading up to your holiday to allow for this or you could overbook yourself with these last-minute requests. And if you don’t end up filling those time slots, that gives you extra time to get packed or just chill out with a glass of wine.
Add your holiday dates to your email signature
Add a line to your signature with the dates you’ll be off work so that your contacts can see when you’ll be unavailable. Do this a couple of weeks before you go so that it’s not a surprise or short notice that you’re suddenly unavailable to answer messages.
Fill up your social media queues
If you want to do a complete digital detox while you’re off, you can use a tool like Hootsuite* to schedule a few tweets and updates to be sent out for you. That way there’s still a little activity while you’re away and your profiles don’t just stop for a week or two.
Don’t ignore your money
If you have any bills that will be due while you’re away, pay them before you leave so you keep your suppliers sweet.
If any of your clients have overdue (or about-to-be due) invoices, send them a quick reminder so that you’re not waiting another couple of weeks to chase up these payments.
And if you have any new invoices to send out, do it now rather than waiting until you’re back.
Don’t forget to put your ‘out of office’ on!
When you’re done working, remember to set up an out of office auto-responder email so that people emailing you know when to expect a reply. You can also update your voicemail message, and set up an auto-responder on your Facebook page too, so that people messaging you there know when you’ll be available again.
Aaand relax!
Now that’s all done, the only thing left to do is chill out, drink cocktails, eat ice cream and have a fabulous holiday!
What’s your best tip for getting your business ready for summer?
Get more tips like this
Add your email below to get weekly emails with quick, actionable tips to supercharge your branding. Plus, you'll get access to exclusive special offers, only for subscribers.
Ike Paz says
Great to-do list for your biz this summer. Thank you for this.