While some of my readers are enjoying the warmth of summer, here in the Southern Hemisphere the mercury has dropped and much of life has retreated indoors. Nature shows us that in winter activity often slows and if you have a business that’s seasonal in nature, you may find yourself lamenting your relative lack of income. When in fact, this winter slowdown is the perfect time to sit down and take stock of your business health.
When things are barrelling along and business is good, it’s very easy to overlook business health, simply because you’re busy managing day-to-day operations. However, if you experience slowdowns, especially on a semi regular basis, you can redirect your energy during this downtime to improve your overall business wellbeing.
Winter doldrums can be good for business
Although it may look like your bottom line takes a hit, this is the perfect time to check what’s working well, what’s not, what needs some added ‘vitamins’.
A great place to start is to review your mission statement (or if you don’t have one, write one). Your mission statement is a succinct action statement of how you will achieve your business vision. Usually beginning with the word "to" your mission needs to be easy to understand and remember plus clearly state what you hope to accomplish.
Success AuditTake a moment to reflect on what has worked well the last 12 months…and what hasn’t! It’s important to conduct an honest audit as this will provide you with an overview of what needs your immediate attention. As you jot down your notes, set priorities for what you can accomplish during this downtime. Maybe it’s reorganizing inventory so that you bring in more of the "bestsellers." Maybe it’s getting on top of your books so that you have a clearer picture of your financial health. Where you can eliminate expenditure and where better to invest. Do you need more employees? Do you need fewer? Could you hire temporary help during flush times, and then scale back during lean times, so that you don’t have unnecessary staff overheads? Business Goals
In addition to taking stock of the day-to-day needs of your business, inventory, staffing or finances, it’s also a good idea to reaffirm or clarify your business goals. Businesses change as they grow, so if you’re working off a Marketing Communication Strategy that’s more than a year old, it’s a good idea to review its relevance. Change anything you need to, including your original goals. For example, maybe one of your original goals was to ramp up production and sales during slow winter months, but you can see now that the goal isn’t going to be supported by the marketplace. What can you do instead to keep yourself solvent during the winter months so that you’ll stay in business all year? This is the perfect time to be creative. Maybe you need to expand your operations to include something that is not weather dependent. One great way to do this is to turn your expertise into online information products. This will ensure when your ‘hands on’ work slows, you’ll always have a steady stream of products available to service clients irrespective of the weather.
The thing is, although most businesses do experience downtimes from time to time "just because," if you’re having regular downtimes that are hurting your bottom line, it’s a good idea to use that time for a big wellness review and vitamin boost to ensure you are growing a healthy and productive business.
© 2010 Tania Usher International
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About The Author
Tania Usher is an internationally renowned marketing communication strategist, business coach, author, speaker and adventurer. Her company Tania Usher International is dedicated to providing communication expertise and innovative solutions to accelerate results and positive transformation for entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide. Tania aims to touch as many lives as possible with her authentic and ‘from the heart’ get NAKED approach to business where she strips back the hype to expose raw and uncut strategies for life, business and success.
Go now to http://www.taniausherinternational.com
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