Improving Your Business on Slow Days

Work in this business can sometimes ebb and flow in a way that we cannot always control. Some months you're so busy you wish for less work, and then when things slow down, after taking a breather sometimes you can be left wondering what you can do to change things. It isn't always possible to change the call volume right away, but there is always a way to improve your business.

If I get a day off without having estimates or work in the field, one of the first things I like to do is figure out a way to clean and better organize the shop or the vans. I am sure some of you will agree that when stuff gets scattered all over the place, it hurts your productivity. It also helps to know exactly how much finish, wood and sandpaper you have so you aren't always buying too much inventory.

My best efforts in downtime come when I work on improving my marketing efforts. It isn't something that I pay for, other than brochures, but it pays off down the road. It's no longer enough just to have a bare-bones website with some pictures if you're serious. You need to have well-written content and explanations of exactly what your business is all about. You would be surprised at how often I go to websites with grammatical and spelling errors. If you have a day off, then why not call a few friends and get their honest opinion about your site? Just like Wayne Lee said in his last post in #6, ask for constructive criticism and be worried at a lack of it.

When the days get a little slow, it's easy to worry about what work you don't have, but that gets you no closer to a better workload. Here is a quick list of ideas for getting the ball back on track no matter where you live:

• Go to a networking event or a social function in your town
• Drop into a Toastmasters group and improve your speaking skills for bidding
• Start a blog about your projects
• Write thank you notes to your customers or call them to check in
• Create a survey to see how you can improve your service and send it out
• Read a good book, magazine, or website
• Call someone from the industry and ask for business advice.

As you can imagine, the list could go on and on, but I just want you to know that keeping an extra spring in your step in the slow times will make the difference. Your efforts today might not always give an instant return, but they will put the fuel on the fire over time. Keep on keeping on, guys and gals.