Handling the Holiday Slowdown

Relaxation. Taking time off. Slowing down.

For most people, these are some of the greatest virtues of the holiday season.

But small business owners aren't most people.

You still have your company and livelihood to worry about and the slowdown of the holiday season can mean far less money in your pocket.

Fortunately there are a number of things business owners in any industry can do during the holidays to cope with that drop in traffic.

1.) Work on Marketing

When you're a small business owner, you're spending most of your days preoccupied with immediate priorities and keeping the lights on.

Marketing, especially digital or social media marketing is the last thing on your mind.

But the holidays are the perfect time to get your marketing act together by making an editorial calendar, write content, or create graphics for a new campaign.

Likewise, if you have deployed a specific marketing campaign before the holidays, now may be the best time to check up on those metrics and analyze whether or not it was effective.

2.) Get Ahead

You can use your extra free time to get ahead on tasks in the New Year.

These may include mapping out your annual goals for the upcoming business year or creating things like templates to better automate your day-to-day paperwork.

3.) Make Your Business Seasonal

As the article, “How to Handle the Holiday Slowdown” suggests, for businesses like construction, there are ways to make your business work for the season.

If you have trucks, you can attach snow plows and revitalize your business anytime a storm comes around.

You can also consider trimming down to a skeleton crew during the slower holiday season so you do not have to pay as many employees.

4.) Check-in with Customer Base

Cornell University lecturer Randy Allen explains that small businesses have an unique opportunity during the holiday season.

You have a closer relationship with your customer base than larger businesses or retailers and can make your space more personal for the holidays.

Sending things like holiday greetings or hosting a party for your loyal customers can help keep your business on their radar and remind them that you care on a human-to-human level.

5.) Network, Network, Network

Even when you're unwinding at a social event or party, you can be doing work to help your business.

End-of-the-year parties are a great opportunity to network with other professionals in your industry, get advice, or connect with potential vendors or clients.

6.) Clean Up

Why wait for "spring cleaning?"

The holiday slowdown is a great time to clean up your physical desk space but also your digital desktop.

It's the ideal time to archive old materials and make sure that all your company's important data is backed up on more than one machine.

7.) Get Reading

While relaxing with family and friends, take time to catch up on reading that's relevant to your business.

This may include checking out industry publications to stay up to date on news, following industry influencers on social media, or reading a book that's applicable to your business strategy. It's an easy way to recharge without totally unplugging from work.

Even though traffic slows down during the holidays, small businesses should reframe this time of year as one of growth and opportunity.

From being proactive with networking and marketing to catching up with industry news and your loyal customers, you can make the holidays work for your business rather than against it.