It is winter, bitter cold, and my business is slow: What am I supposed to be doing now?

  • Feb 2, 2023

By Eva Reinoso Tejada :::

At the time when I am writing these lines It is three degrees below zero in Denver, and I am as worried about keeping my toes warm as I am about getting my business rolling for the year. And this is the never-ending line that lurks in my head every year around this time: My business is slow, what should I be doing right now? Then, my muscle memory takes me to my notes of past years, reminding me that my business is very seasonal and, I find that I am actually very busy these days, doing mostly the following things:

1.     Wrapping up and organizing my finances to get ready for my taxes and for the year. There is so much you can do in your finances! From creating a budget, wrapping up last years numbers to file your taxes, analyzing product line profitability (to decide which products to dump and which ones to expand on). It might be overwhelming or flat out boring, but if you think about the possible outcomes for your business, it helps to find the motivation to do it. 

2.     Going over customer’s lists and giving them courtesy calls, happy new year, etc. I have found this useful to figure out who is in business, if there are new people on those companies, and sometimes you might spark pleasant conversations that eventually evolve into ideas for projects, and ultimately: sales. 

3.     Review price lists with vendors, looking into new products, and reconsidering others. Especially during these inflationary times, it is mandatory to keep an eye on costs of good sold, materials and supplies, to make sure that you are charging a fair price that does not drive you out of business, neither it scares your customers away. It helps to check prices with vendors, as well as competitors, so you can get a good feel for the market and remain competitive. 

4.     Cleaning! Organizing your tools, file cabinets, shredding old documents that you don’t need anymore, in the physical realm as well as the digital one. Empty out that inbox that has a few thousand emails, unsubscribe from emails that you no longer benefit from. 

5.     Revisiting your long-term projects to reassess their relevance and making some progress on them, now that “you are not so busy”. One of those projects might be that dreaded logo redesign or rebranding of your company, or maybe minor remodeling or redecoration of your business space. If you are in the need of logo or brand redesigning, this is the perfect time of the year, and we, the Image Impressions team, are the perfect partner to do this with you. 

Let’s get ready for the warmer seasons now by embarking or rekindling those long term projects that will make your business grow and thrive. We are just a phone call away for any branding needs or questions you might have. Happy winter!


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