How You Can Use Slow Times to Grow Your Business

Slow times are natural for every business, it’s a fact.

But you probably have heard completely opposite statements in that regard, haven’t you? Well then, let me tell you one thing, without slow times your company would collapse really quickly.

Slow times give you a chance to step back and look at your business from a different perspective. Thanks to them you can finally focus on things you wouldn’t normally have time for. And I don’t mean your equipment maintenance or catching up with the bookkeeping. These things are important too but slow times give you the opportunity to look at how your business performs and fix whatever you feel isn’t right.

Yet, in spite of that many business owners fear them.

They consider them a sign of trouble in the company, industry or business in general whereas in most cases they only show that you did a great job for your clients. You satisfied their needs, solved their problems and now it is time for you to take a well deserved break from them. Your clients will eventually come back to you once they have new problems to solve or needs to fulfill. Until then, this is your time to push your company forward.

From my experience though, most business owners sit back and whine at the state of their business when slow times come. It’s a natural reaction, of course. Let’s face it, most of us feel secure when the company is busy, once things quieten down a bit, we lose that feeling straight away.

Luckily, you can keep yourself very busy during slow times and grow your business at the same time by doing those 5 things.

5 Super Essential Things You Can Do To Grow Your Business During Slow Times

1. Analyze your mistakes. Look at how your business performed in the last few months. Find out what you or your employees do wrong (and there is always something) and figure out a way of correcting that.
2. Get in touch with 5 of your best customers and ask them why they are still with you and what they would like you to improve. Getting client feedback is something you usually don’t have time for when things are busy. So, once things quieten down, take your time and visit 5 of your best clients. Ask them to reveal how they view your business, what they like about you and the way your company does the business and what would they like you to change. Based on that you will be able to improve the way your company works and become even better supplier to your clients.
3. Analyze your industry. Check how your industry or niche is performing overall. Are your competitors booming or dropping prices and closing down? Are they hiring new staff or do quite the opposite? Your position in the market is based on how hard you work on differentiating yourself from competition but also on how good you are in predicting the changes in the industry. When the business is busy, you don’t have time to think about it but once you do, pay attention to your niche. Not only you may discover that unless you act quick you may be in trouble but also, and most importantly, you may find a new avenues to explore. Ones that can bring you new business and more money.
4. Update your prospects list. You probably already know how much importance I give to sales. To me, they are the lifeblood of any business, whether it’s a freelance or a bigger operation. But in order to keep sales happening you need to have a fresh list of prospects. Qualify more of them, add names to the list, research them, maybe even discover new markets you could explore. And then, start selling.
5. Read at least one business book and implement ideas from it straight away. Yes, I know, this is a bit of a lighter tip compared to the others. But it is crucial too. In order to succeed in business you need to study it, and you need to do it all your life. Unfortunately though, when things are busy and your company is working on full speed you don’t have time to expand your knowledge. Use slow times to catch up with the books you have been meaning to read and implement ideas you find in them to your business.

Last but not least, here is the slow times’ dirty secret – they won’t last forever. And it is your choice to sit and whine about them or use that time wisely and grow your business.