I don’t know about you. But business sometimes slows down. I feel it too, the last couple of months. I wondered if it was just me and dropped a poll on Instagram. 69% of replicants confirmed: their business is going slower than usual as well.
When times (and economy) are uncertain, companies often freeze budgets. Especially for design, photography, strategy, branding, etc. They’re reluctant to say yes to projects.
When assignments or clients stop coming in, we tend to paralyse or panic a bit, as entrepreneurs. A quiet moment in our businesses does not mean ‘oh, you can take an extra vacation’, like one of my friends, who works as an employee, uttered at our last dinner date.
I decided: when business is quiet, I will do the opposite. Instead of silently crying in a corner, I’ll use my emptier schedule to work even more focussed at my business. I started with a list of 20 actions I want to take, now that I have the time for it. Here, I posted the list of 20.
This is not easy, by the way, because it means a deliberate shift in your mind: from panic mode to action mode. When you succeed to make that shift, you activate a different zone in your brain, resulting in a totally different feeling. And a totally different outcome as well.
When self-employed, one of the skills you should train is the ability to deal with discomfort: the uncertainty of not knowing what the future will look like. This can be a nagging, loud or overwhelming feeling. And it ‘s important that this feeling doesn’t take over.
But how, I hear you ask. How to stay on track, even when there’s no clear sign of improvement of your situation?
> self belief: not the same as self-confidence. Self belief means: you know very well which steps to take, following a clear strategy. You strongly believe that every step brings you closer to your goal, even though there's no visible result yet. Keep going, don’t give up & become 1% better every day.
> get over yourself: something I discuss with clients often. Don’t base your actions on what other people (or competitors / colleagues) might think of you. Example: I used to post on Instagram once a week for a very long time. Not more, because I didn’t want to annoy my followers with my content. It took me a while (and a podcast with a US based entrepreneur who posts three times every day) to put myself over that thought. Now I post a lot more. Get more reach. And more followers find my content.
> do or do not invest in your business when revenue is lower than your costs: this is a difficult one. Precisely because of the discomfort and uncertainty: will my investment yield the necessary return or will it put me even deeper in financial stress? My advice would be: yes, invest, but only thoughtfully, only with a clear strategy.
Back to my 20 actions plan. Did I succeed in taking some concrete actions while business was slow? Well yes, I did.
At this moment, these are ongoing actions:
(1) to rethink my sales process - investigate the option of other income streams ***
(2) to set up a marketing campaign I never did before
(4) to test and document a new technique in my field
(6) to visit a colleague
(7) to follow up on leads I never really finished
(9) to rethink my positioning: more niche, or on the contrary, reaching for a wider audience?
(10) to take a fresh look at my target audience
(12) to write down what kind of work I want to be doing in two years (I know, exciting!)
(13) to advertise **
(16) to talk to someone outside of my field *
(17) to make something creative, without assignment or briefing, without client, without deadline (yes, yes, you’ll hear about this later)
Stuff I do often, some even daily:
(15) to visit an expo, fair or vernissage - almost always on my own
(18) to exercise or a long walk (for that fresh endorphin shot)
(19) to rest
For curious readers, I shortly zoom in on 2 actions:
* (16) to talk to someone outside of my field - I had a conversation with someone working in a shop of a big chain in the apparel industry. He told me that managers of the firm came into the shop to see for themselves why revenue was so low. Made me realise: it’s going slow in a lot of industries, not only in the creative sector.
**(13) to advertise - I did not advertise lightly. I set up a strategy first. In order to become known to potential clients in my neighbouring country, the Netherlands, I conducted market research and decided to target a specific audience in Amsterdam. I gained 100 new followers out of that campaign. I analysed their profiles and followed back the creative professionals. Now I adjust my content a bit: re-introduce myself, my values, my work and making some fuzz about the intro talk - which is my starting point with every potential client. My goal this month: planning an intro talk with 4 Amsterdam based creatives, studios or agencies.
***(1) to rethink my sales process - In addition to setting monthly targets, I began experimenting with daily targets. I also rethought how I ended my intro talks, making my call to action more concrete and less vague.
I couldn’t recommend it more: slow times in business are the right moment to take action. Yes, the slow times will pass. But what you do with it now, will determine the future of your business.
Some questions to get your head started:
Which of the 20 actions do you pick to put on your list?
Which thoughts are wandering in your mind, but do not serve you, nor your business?
What could happen if you, for once, didn’t listen to these thoughts?
And lastly, I warmly recommend action number (20) if the quiet starts to feel too heavy, talk to someone about it. Book your intro talk with me if you didn’t already. Are you a former coachee of mine, feel free to book a strategic or follow up session.
Ready to set your next actions straight!