“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
Stephen Covey
Are you being proactive in business or reactive? Being proactive means creating or controlling a situation by causing something to happen. Being reactive means acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it.
Wouldn’t you rather be the one in charge rather than fixing or catching up with a situation after the fact? I know I’d rather be proactive and feel in charge and in control of the direction I’m going whenever possible.
We’re in business because we want to be and I want you to make sure that you’re not:
- At the mercy of circumstances that you could have had some control over.
- At the mercy of the passing of time to your detriment. Time is going to pass one way or the other, but you do have the power to work with time on your side.
Summer can be a time of year when we pull back and maybe slack off in business for a variety of reasons. For those of us here in the Pacific Northwest, we are just so happy to see the sunshine and we want to get outside! It’s also a time when kids are home with parents and we want to go do fun things as well as feeling more distracted by all of the activity from kids while working from home.
Another tempting time to slow down is when the holidays are approaching. Of course the holidays bring on plenty of extra tasks and obligations. But we can’t just check out during the summer or during holidays or we’re going to lose a lot of valuable time during the year.
Don’t throw in the towel on business but make sure you enjoy life too. It’s about a balance and not letting any one thing completely go out the window. It’s June now and we’re almost halfway through the year. Whatever seeds you sow now may not pay off for weeks or months to come. So enjoy the summer months while you sow some seeds and while you anticipate upcoming holidays being another slow time or time of distraction. Here are some things you can do to stay proactive now.
Things We Can Do Now to Save a Scramble Later
- Keep marketing. Sometimes marketing can pay off right away. But it’s more common for our message to need to be repeated over and over before someone is ready for our service and remembers that we provide the service. Marketing during the slow times will help bring us out of slow times faster.
- We can fill time now so we’re ready to work when our clients are. If you know your business is quieter during certain months, fill that time in a productive way. Put events on the calendar that you want to attend. Clean out files, both paper and digital. Organize your office so you can work efficiently.
- Update social media profiles on LinkedIn and your business Facebook page:
- List new volunteer positions you’re holding
- Update with a new headshot
- List new services or products you offer
- Add new credentials you’ve earned
- Touch bases with past clients. See how they’re doing and if they have any questions or needs.
- Create a content calendar for social media posts for the remaining months.
- Order holiday cards and start addressing them a few at a time now:
- Summer cards
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- New Year
- It’s not too early to order just because the season isn’t here yet!
- Choose a time of year that cards makes sense for your business and will make your business stand out.
Action Item
- Make a list of 3 things you can do now to help yourself finish the year strong.
“Dig the well before you are thirsty.”
Chinese Proverb
