Today we have a guest blogger! Her name is Lisa Smith has a BA in Psychology & is the Owner/CEO of Regionz Kidz, a multi-cultural infant & toddler company featuring organic clothing lines, educational products and artwork with ethnically diverse characters and designs. She publishes a blog on her website regionzkidz.com that discusses cultural diversity & children & is a frequent guest blogger on other blogs and websites regarding parenting and children’s issues.
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When you own your own business, sometimes it becomes difficult to maintain your productivity year round. Because we are usually a one-woman-show however, it is important to try to maintain some sort of momentum for our business even during the slow times of the year or times when we have a lot of personal commitments that can take time away from our business. The following tips can help us all to be more productive during the down-times.
1. PLAN, PLAN, PLAN – Nothing is more effective in keeping our business running strong throughout the year than an organized business plan. Sometime during the first of the year, sit down and plan out your year in advance. Take into consideration holidays, time off and slow times for your industry and then plan your activities around those things. If you wait until the last minute to write up your plan, you may feel overwhelmed and like you don’t have the time to get everything done. You may also feel like there is nothing to do during the slow times and if there is a plan in place, it can help direct you to productive things you can be doing in your down time.
2. Always Prepare for the Next Big Thing – Always try to be one step ahead of the marketplace and buying schedule. During the slower summer months, prepare your holiday line, pricing, marketing strategy, etc. as well as the spring products you want to focus on. Staying ahead of the curve allows you to be productive and gives you a bit of wiggle room for changes and the ever famous “things that come up!”
3. Do the Little Things – We all have a list of “things” to do with our business that never seem to get done because there is always something else that is more important that comes up. During the slow times or down-times, get this list out and slowly start chipping away at smaller items. Even though these tasks are not vital, they still need to be done and you will feel much better for crossing them off the list.
4. Keep the Momentum – There are times in our business when we seem to work 24/7 and we are productive and generating good momentum, customer contacts, sales, etc. When we get through those periods, there is a tendency to slow down, take time off and stop doing things that enhance and grow our businesses. While taking some time away and relaxing is necessary, I encourage you to keep moving forward. Do not sit back and think, “Ok, I’ve had a great month, I’m taking the next month off.” This attitude destroys momentum and after stopping what you were doing successfully, it makes is very difficult to resume the drive.
Here’s to our continued success – Let’s make this year the best yet!
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Thanks Lisa!