4 Things To Focus On During Slow Season Of Your Business

December is always an interesting time of year as a business owner. 

For many of us, it’s a chance to slow down, work a little less (if you want), reflect on the year, and start prepping for what’s to come. 

Everyone does business differently, so it may not look this way for everyone, but for me, I use December as a really intentional month to look inward – both personally and professionally – and get realigned and recentered so I can show up ready to go in the new year. 

The way my business is structured, I get to make this choice! But for some industries, this type of “slow season” isn’t something you choose, but instead it’s something that comes naturally.

For example, after working primarily with photographers and other creatives, I hear this almost every year. 

“Business feels slow.”

“People aren’t buying right now.”

And while it’s easy to become defeated in those moments, I encourage you to shift your perspective and view slow seasons as a gift to yourself. 

No matter what you do, it’s impossible to always be “on,” and a slow season could be the very thing you need to get re-energized to show up as your best business owner self when your client load picks back up, because trust me… it always does!

To help you view your slow season as a gift (rather than an inconvenience), I wanted to share a few of the things that I intentionally choose to focus on during the month of December.

Most of these things are tasks or projects that have been sitting on my to-do list for quite some time that I just never seem to get around to, but December is where I make sure they happen!

4 Things To Focus On During Slow Season Of Your Business

1) Website Edits

One of the biggest misconceptions about websites is that they’re a “one and done” type of thing, but that couldn’t be further from the truth!

Your website is like your digital billboard, and what good is a billboard if it’s not updated?!

For example, if you’re driving down the interstate and see a billboard advertising a Chick-fil-A one mile on the right and then suddenly you get to one mile on the right and the Chick-fil-A is no longer there… you’d be pretty upset right?!

Well, it’s important to think about your website the exact same way. 

But I get it – making tweaks and edits to your website takes time, and it’s not always something at the top of your priority list. 

That’s why it makes such a great task to take on during the slow season of your business!

During this time, I encourage you to go through this list to make sure that your website is completely accurate:

• Website Copy

Does your copy and messaging still speak to your ideal audience? Do you need to change any headlines or sections on your site to better describe who you help and how? If so, now’s the time to do it!

And P.S. – if you need help with this, I’ve got you!

• Testimonials and Case Studies

As a business owner, you probably know how important reviews are, but taking the time to actually ask for them and then display them in the appropriate places isn’t always top of mind.

Take the time during slow season to ask your previous clients for testimonials and then make sure you update your website with them.

• Service Offerings

Have your offers changed? Are they all accurately listed on your website?

When your audience chooses to work with you, they want the information to be easy to find, and if your website lacks the info they need to move forward, they likely won’t move forward at all – and that’s the opposite of what you want. 

So, use this time to make sure all of your offerings are accurately reflected on your website!

2) Pricing

With your service offerings considered, it’s also important to think about your pricing!

A new year is a natural time to make any price changes, so if you plan on doing that, now’s a great time to make that decision and make sure that those changes are reflected everywhere – including your website. 

If you have any existing clients that will be affected by your price changes, it’s important to notify them in a timely manner (based on what your contract states), so that everyone has full clarity, and there are no surprises come the new year. 

3) Internal Processes

In addition to any website changes, now’s the perfect chance to update, edit, OR implement internal processes in your business. 

Because let’s be real: client processes, such as onboarding, offboarding, asking for feedback, etc. is something that we usually think about when starting our business, but then as we gain clients and get busy, it’s something we rarely look at again. 

And if you’re like me, you’re probably already paying for some amazing platforms, like HoneyBook for example, that has great features, but you might not be using them to your advantage. 

If that’s the case, slow season is a great time to review your current internal processes and update them so that they serve you in a greater capacity. 

Some things to consider for this include:

• Client Onboarding

When you bring on a new client, what’s the process you take them through? Does it feel streamlined and organized?

If not, take the time to create SOPs (standard operating procedures), and create a more automated process so that you aren’t manually doing things every single time!

• Client Offboarding 

Similar to onboarding, consider your offboarding process.

This is a part of business that often gets overlooked, but it’s important to have a standard offboarding process (even if it’s just an email), so that you express gratitude to the client for choosing you. Plus, it gives you a chance to request a testimonial!

• Lead Intakes and Discovery Call Bookings

How do you currently handle your lead intakes? Does it feel structured and organized, or do you just fly by the seat of your pants? 

Thinking through this process can ensure that no lead gets left behind and that everyone has a proper way to book a discovery call with you if needed. 

• Payment Automations

As a business owner with lots going on, you probably don’t have time to manually keep track of all of your invoices and remember when to send them. 

This is one of the easiest automations to set up, and most payment processors make this easy for you! Take time to implement this NOW so that you can save yourself time in the future. 

• Email Templates

Do you find yourself constantly sending the same type of emails to current or potential clients? If so, it’s time to create some email templates for yourself so you can simply copy and paste.

If you’re already using some type of client management software, you’ll likely find that there’s a place for you to easily do this. Take it from me – this is SO worth doing!

4) Intentional Goal Setting

Lastly, slow season (and December specifically) is the perfect time to get intentional with your goal setting. 

And I know… everyone and their mom is talking about setting goals this time of year, so no, this isn’t some kind of earth-shattering advice…BUT it is something that’s easily overlooked as a business owner. 

A lot of times as creatives, we have a TON of things that we want to do, but all of those things just live in our head or are scattered about in our Notes app. 

This year, let’s change that for you and get those things down on paper in an intentional and strategic way!

This December, I encourage you to spend some time actually writing down what you want to accomplish in the new year – either personally or professionally – and then write some action steps for how you’ll actually get there. 

Ideas are great, but ideas that you actually act on are even better!

Ways We Can Work Together

Overall, I encourage you to view slow season as an opportunity to fine-tune things in your business that can set you up for success even more in the future. 

And aside from the things I listed above, consider your business specifically and focus on the things that will improve YOUR life as a business owner.

This will look differently for everyone, and that’s okay. 💛

If you’re looking for support for website-related projects in your business, here’s a few ways we can work together:

• Storysale – a three-month group coaching program for photographers and creatives to market their magic ✨

In Storysale, you’ll receive:

✔️ Three months of weekly, 60-minute group coaching calls with me and guest experts

✔️ Weekly 1:1 Voxer access to ask any questions you have about marketing your services, creating offers that your clients will love, brand messaging, and more

✔️ 1:1 Intensives – every month of our program, students will schedule 1:1 intensives with me to put your website copy, SEO page titles and meta descriptions, and email copy to work for YOUR business and your ideal client

• Copywriter on Call – for the photographer who wants custom website copy…fast!

What You Get:

✔️ 1:1 kickoff call, where we talk strategy and define your project to-do list

✔️ Up to 6 pages of done-for-you website copywriting, with two speedy rounds of revisions to ensure we get it right

✔️ Custom website copy, delivered in Google Docs or implemented on your website

After our strategy session wraps up, I ride off into the proverbial sunset (or, as copywriters often do, into my Airpods-muffled world) to do what I do best: write. ✍🏼

During this time, you get to hang out in your zone of genius or serve your people. In other words, you do you, friend. I’ve got this!

At the end of your project, I’ll send over all of your deliverables or place your copy on your website, and thank you kindly for trusting me with your brand and your business!

Click here to connect, and let’s work together to create your very own word magic in your business. ✨