How to Make Best Use of Downtime in Small Business

Every business undergoes a lull at some point. Even the most trailblazing, rip-roaring successes either see a period of plateau in the sales figures, a drop off in engagement online, an unexpected downtime or a hush in the office.

But don’t panic.

Quite periods can be caused by a variety of factors – seasonality, block holiday periods, geo-political changes, strikes, illness, market uncertainty, recessions – you name it.

The fact is – it happens; it’s part of the cycle.

It can be incredibly frustrating, primed as you are with all that energy ready to channel into your business, only to be denied when you try and side-step the inevitable.

But, knowing their inevitability, you can prepare for these periods with a strategy of how to use them productively and constructively.

Here are some little nuggets to think about when that next low wave rolls in.

Refresh Customer Contact

Sometimes your head is so deeply immersed in the multiplicity of projects you have going on with new additions to your client portfolio, or those in the medium term whose accounts have mushroomed, that you simply don’t get a chance to get back in touch with accounts which have been there since the rough and ready early days.

Those earlier accounts might well have helped you get on your feet as a fledgling business, but now their spend has either lapsed or reduced to a mere trickle as you have found juicier fruits to pluck from the tree.

But just as your business may have changed, so might theirs. Take this open period to get back in touch on an informal basis, find out what’s been happening at their end. Explain, diplomatically of course, your own successes.

Are there ways you can work together again? There probably are. Now’s the time to find out, not when you’re two days pre-deadline on a huge project for another client.

Financial Fastidiousness

Yes, it’s everything you have been putting off, but it needs to be done, and a little lull offers you ample time to fastidiously go through all your accounts and financial admin with a small toothcomb.

By taking this opportunity to really get into the nitty-gritty with your accounting hygiene, you will save so much stress and effort at a later date when the taxman comes a-calling. And the taxman always comes a-calling.

By the same golden token, that minor invoice you sent out in the last quarter which still hasn’t been paid? That would still be better sitting in your revenue pot wouldn’t it? Then make the call.

IT Security

Being a small business, your eye may well have been on one of the many other balls you have to juggle.

A downtime is a good time to bolster your security defences against hackers who see SMBs as easy targets. Let’s face it, you may well have been allocating your budgets to other things – marketing to get your product out there and in front of the right audience, staff to get fill the skills gap your client’s requirement demands, maybe even just on office equipment. But you may not have put any investment into safeguarding the key documentation, research and development files, or precious data which separates you from your competitors that, should it fall into the wrong hands, would spark disaster.

Then use this quiet time wisely – make sure your unique business assets have the protection they deserve.

Brave New Worlds

Another by product of being so absorbed in your current slate of projects is that forward-planning can be pushed over to the sideboard. But emerging markets, flexible web-based technologies and changes in world politics are constantly shifting the sands of potential commercial markets for you and your product offerings. So what are you doing about it?

Another way to take full advantage of your down time is to really give some thought to the analysis of potential new markets for your products and how to get them there. That way you can add another layer to your marketing plan for the coming 12-18 months and really have a crack at opening up new streams of revenue.

Update Your Skills and Knowledge

Attending a management training session, a meet-up with other entrepreneurs in the same boat as you, or even a totally objective look at your market and product offering can revitalise your approach.

Similarly, it is highly likely that you will have by now noticed areas in your own skill set which are lacking or which could use a turbo boost in some respect. So why not take some time away from the usual workspace and take that training course you have been craving, or allow your staff a similar opportunity which could improve your business offering?

And what about your own marketing? Could that do with a re-appraisal now you have some time to think about it? The answer is usually yes. Step back and analyze its effectiveness to date. What new tools, channels and media are available to you to talk to your audience? Now’s the time to try them out and, if warranted, assimilate them into your marketing strategy.

So, though a lull in your business might feel a little disheartening, turn the experience on its head and make it work to your advantage. Who knows, it may just give your business that extra edge when the tide changes again and the ebb is replaced by flow.