A Gift Of Time

For many businesses there is a slow time of year. Customers may not be calling for new work, others may not be willing to sign contracts until the next quarter, after the holidays or whatever. Professionals and business owners who are accustomed to tight deadlines, or for those who can't seem to get motivated until there is a crisis or deadline, a slow month can be scary.

When this happens I suggest, to clients that rather than panicking about slow business, they consider this as a gift of time. There are always things that need to be done that you never seem to have time to do.

A normal seasonal slow business cycle is a perfect time to clean and reorganize storage closets, discard files that are no longer active. It is a good time to up date procedure manuals, training materials, client lists and clean up computer files to be more efficient.

This is a perfect time to cross train employees on each others jobs. Cross training can multiply your production capabilities during peak times and provide skilled people to fill in when someone quits, goes on vacation or gets sick.

If it is not a seasonal cycle and work is slow then it is a signal that in the past few months you have let your internal or external marketing efforts fall off or the ones you are using are not working and you need to create a new strategy and plan.

Again this is a gift of time. Time to write notes, send cards and call clients you have not talked to for a while. It is a good time to do a client survey and find out what your clients need and want that you are not providing. It's a good time to hire a coach to help you get a perspective on what is working, what is not and create a new plan.

Sometimes the gift of time comes in the form of a client missing an appointment or rescheduling a meeting. Anytime something scheduled on your calendar gets canceled or rescheduled it is a gift of time. A rain or snow storm may give you a whole unexpected day.

The hard part is, that you are all geared up to do what was on your calendar, now you have to switch gears on a dime. It is an emotional and mental jolt, "now what do I do?"

Sometime it's a good idea to just sit back in your chair, relax, breathe deeply and review your current commitments. This may be a great time to make a call or gather information you had not had time for up to now. It could be a perfect time to catch up on your professional reading. Maybe the best use of your time is to go for a walk clear your mind and smell some roses.

Life and work are an ever changing panorama of events and opportunities. Think about things you would like to do the next time the opportunity for a gift of time comes your way.