As a business owner, when it comes to running your company, you should be learning something new everyday. ICB Consults has taught me a plethora of lessons these past two years. Some of the biggest lessons occurred when my company’s sales were either slow or stalled.
Reevaluate Product Launches
In my first year of business, all of my eBooks launched at once (in the fall of 2013). The next set of digital products weren’t released until November of 2014. That is a huge gap in product release, which is strategically horrible and bad marketing. You should be constantly working on new products as well as revitalizing old products. This goes for product based companies and service companies. Customers want new things constantly presented to them. Your clients only want to purchase old products that have gone on sale. My current product schedule is to release one or two products per month.
Audit Company Assets
This year, I wanted to launch several new products and introduce new streams of income. However, I needed to make sure the assets in my current portfolio were solid. Before starting a new product or service, I try to determine how I can fix or improve what is out there already. There are 17 digital products that I can truly say I’m proud of. I have made adjustments to designs by adding styled stock photos to showcase them versus just using a cover photo. So, when I add new assets to my portfolio, they align with my other ones.
Forecast Projects
If your sales are slow this month, what projects can you work on to help you prioritize your time? Quarterly Goal Tracker and Yearly Project Tracker allow you to forecast projects far in advance so you can continuously have something to work on. It’s March right now, but you could be working on finalizing a project that is set to launch in June or even as far as December. Always be working on something new while striving to be innovative.
Develop New Skills
Utilize this down time to learn a few new talents to help improve your craft. There are a loads of platforms out there that you can learn new skills on. You can learn to code this weekend, take an eCourse, and the list goes on. This not only helps you in the long run, it’s something that you can charge your clients for once you’ve mastered it.
Financial Planning
People think freelancers don’t live paycheck to paycheck, but there are some who have to. They’re waiting on the next big project to land or to sign a contract. Before the times get slow, get your finances in order. Make sure you have 3 months worth of living expenses saved, as well as, have your business expenses stacked up. Create multiple streams of income for your business.
Slow business days, weeks, or months are the best times to learn & improve your small business. What are you doing during your company’s down time to increase your company’s revenue stream?
