Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 059 – 7 Actions to take when your business slows down
We’re all here for a fun business thats not only fun to operate but generates fun money – and by fun money I mean take home pay and profit. The good stuff!
In an ideal world the entrepreneur rollercoaster would be more like a kiddies ride, nice and gentle throughout.
But thats kind of boring too, you’re never going to get the same buzz from that as you do from hitting those incredible high points!
In this longer coaching episode we’re talking through 7 actions you can take when your business slows down – or FEELS like it is.
KEY MENTIONS
Episode 24 – How to release negative energy and turn your day around
Contact Deirdre via email, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
We’re all here for a fun business thats not only fun to operate but generates fun money – and by fun money I mean take home pay and profit. The good stuff!
But we also know the entrepreneur’s journey is very much like a roller coaster, where you’re riding the highs and hitting some lows on a weekly, daily or sometimes even hourly basis as things happen.
Its super important to recognise whats going on in that moment, do what you have to do so you can take a step back to reset your mindset, take a breather and all that.
In an ideal world that rollercoaster would be more like a kiddies ride, nice and gentle throughout. But thats kind of boring too, you’re never going to get the same buzz from that as you do from hitting those incredible high points.
What I want to share with you today is 7 actions you can take when your business hits the low points.
Actually lets call them SLOW points, when your business slows down, because low point really isn’t appealing at all. Its a slow down, not a complete stop, and a lot of the time its out of your control. But some of the time it is in your control!
Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the past couple of years, you’ll know theres a LOT of talk of the economy slowing down, we’re on the verge of a recession, some countries ARE in a recession, all that stuff.
Economics is not my field of expertise by a long shot, although I did enjoy it as far as financial topics go in business courses because its not spreadsheets full of numbers.
What IS my field of expertise is the mindset around money and getting you thinking and feeling the right way about it so you can make more of it regardless of whats going on in the economy.
Before we dive into these 7 actions you can take, lets just clear up a couple of things.
People are still spending LOTS of money.
Yes the overall economy might be slowing down, your business might be slowing down, but people are still buying houses, still taking out mortgages, still taking holidays and buying new cars.
People are still investing in coaches, copywriters, web designers, social media experts and virtual assistants.
Marketing, sales and engagement can all slow down at various times for various reasons outside your control. Algorithms, summer holidays, people are paying more for essential life stuff now than they were a year ago.
You could spend days, weeks, months trying to figure out whats going on. Or you could spend days, weeks, months getting on with the things you CAN control.
There is money out there, its available to you, me, everyone, we just have to get our heads in the right space to see it.
These 7 actions are applicable now and in the future, anytime things seem to slow down or change.
1 – MAKE SPACE
When things seem slow or not moving, sales and bookings aren’t happening – you HAVE to take a step back and make space. Decluttering your energy and physical space.
Protect your energy and watch out for ‘numbing out’ behaviour. This can be overeating, not exercising, your TV/internet consumption.
Keep your energy high, eat the best food you can afford, make time to get outside in the sunshine, or the rain if thats the weather you’ve got. Get out into the fresh air so you can feel different.
Sleep! You have to make time and space for sleep. I’ve shared before how my schedule is set up to maximise my energy each and every day, and sleep is a key part of that.
The thing is, you can have input or you can have insight, but you usually can’t have both.
Its easy to get hooked into spending time and energy on social media, comparing to what everyone else is doing.
Thats input, consumption of other people’s content that influences your mindset, so we need to make it valuable input, not garbage.
We absolutely do need to be on social media, but be there WITH PURPOSE and INTENTION. Don’t get sucked into the feed, it creates scarcity energy and ‘not good enough’.
Netflix is great – I’m all for a binge session! – but balance that out with something that grows your mind as well.
2 – GAIN PERSPECTIVE
Everything that goes up, comes down – and vice versa. Business is a cycle.
Consider the timing of what you’re doing and shorten up your timeframe during tougher times.
What can I do really fast, in the next week? Make a game of it, set a timer and beat the clock.
What offer can you put out? Share those brownies! Don’t hoard your offers and expertise. It doesn’t matter if it was just 2 weeks ago that you last talked about it, you have to keep talking about it.
Create more positive energy so you’re not limiting your options, that just creates confusion and overwhelm, like sitting in a pool of mud after you’ve fallen over on the playing field and not realising that you can just get up out of the mud right away.
Find clarity, get a fresh perspective on whats really going on for you.
Talk to a trusted business friend or mentor, not any old person or your spouse, but someone who understands your business. And not so they can push you back out on the playing field, but just to verbalise whats going on for you right now and acknowledge where you’re at.
They don’t have to provide you with a solution.
Sometimes just by saying it out loud you’ll hear the answers for yourself without anyone else having to contribute.
3 – DOUBLE DOWN OR PIVOT
I don’t mean this as a reaction, because thats a gambling mentality, carrying on with something when you know its a guaranteed loss outcome.
That may appeal to the Maverick money archetypes who love taking risks, but for the rest of us thats a red flag.
This is an internal call to action, a decision to double down or pivot, to go all in because doing less doesn’t work for you anymore.
Choose something to go all in on.
It could be getting clearer in your messaging, specialising and niching your focus to a particular area of your expertise that serves a particular type of client or industry.
It could be following up on the leads you already have via DM, email, phone call, even though its been a while.
Everyone is busy, we forget things when they’re not super critical in the moment, and most people appreciate a nudge or a reminder that you’re still available to help them solve their problem.
Doubling down or pivoting doesn’t mean you need to work harder, just commit.
Commit to your CORE content, CORE is an acronym for Create Once, Repurpose Everywhere.
Take a piece of content, maybe you do a weekly video already, and repurpose it – highlight it to your email list, share it to all social media platforms. Take snippets of it for social media posts or quote graphics, turn a transcript into a blog post.
Ask yourself – How can I make MORE of what I’ve got going on here already, without having to actually DO more, to create more?
4 – PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Simple, but effective. This is the overarching theme of the book I talked about last week, “Outrageous Openness” by Tosha Silver. Feel grateful for everything and see the wonder, joy and fun all around you in any given moment.
I’m sure a lot of people thing that if they’re grateful for what they’ve got, does that cut them off from receiving more? No. You can be incredibly grateful for what you have, and be open to more coming to you.
It can be as simple as “I’m grateful for 2 sales conversations per month, and I’m open to more every week.”
5 – CHOOSE THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL
Another simple, clear and effective action you can take.
YOU get to choose the story, you can change it if you don’t like the one you’ve got.
Don’t buy into the story being told by others that business is slow, the economy is slow, nobody is buying.
Whats the story you want to tell instead? Reframe your situation and apply tip #2 – gain more perspective.
Ok, business is slow right now but its temporary, plenty of people are buying what you’re selling, at higher prices than you’re asking.
Its time to get noticed with a clear concise message about who you are, what you do and who you help.
Be crystal clear about what you want. Then focus on your own excitement and possibilities – ITS ALL WORKING FOR ME. Put that on a post-it note and stick it somewhere you can see it as a reminder of the story you WANT to tell.
6 – RELEASE
This one is closely tied to choosing a new story – Release the negative thoughts and feelings about yourself, get out of the shame spiral, let go of regret and the “Oh but if only…” language that comes from holding onto the past.
That stuff is done, dusted, gone, history. We can’t change it but we can release the negative energy around it and move forward.
If you want some insights on how to do that, I shared my favourite technique in episode 24 called “How to release negative energy and turn your day around”. Its tapping, or EFT, emotional freedom technique.
Weird but super effective so don’t dismiss it purely because its weird or makes you a bit uncomfortable.
Catch the thoughts and feelings you’re experiencing, don’t indulge in them.
Ask yourself “What do I want to feel instead?” Choose a positive feeling instead.
What makes you feel excited? Grab hold of THAT and see where it leads you.
7 – CHOOSE THE MEANING YOU GIVE THIS TIME
This time right now is a season. Its not forever.
Business is seasonal, there will always be ups and downs, it would be extremely boring and NOT FUN otherwise.
You get to choose what it means for you. It doesn’t have to mean anything negative about YOU, your skills or your future.
It doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do just because nobody is taking up your offers.
Its more likely that you’re not being clear enough in your messaging, you’re being to broad and general about your expertise and you’re being too broad and general about who you help or work with.
You can’t help everyone with everything, so choose to mean something to a very specific group of people in a specific way.
Choose this time to mean you can be SMART to uplevel your processes. Fill the gaps and potholes in your business NOW, that you didn’t have the time to do before, so you’re well prepared for an influx of amazing clients and money.
You don’t have to build your empire in a single day, just build it in a small way, step by step.
There you have it, 7 actions you can take when your business slows down, or feels like it is. Lets recap those:
1 – Make space.
Get away from the computer and screens, take a walk, play with the dog, snuggle the cat, do something different.
2 – Gain perspective.
Everything is constantly moving and changing up, down and all directions. Business is a cycle, its not static.
3 – Double down or pivot.
Choose something to focus on, make a decision to go all in on it because faffing about isn’t serving you right now.
4 – Practice gratitude.
You’re not rejecting the good things still to come when you appreciate the good things you already have.
5 – Choose the story you want to tell.
Reframe your situation and change the story if you don’t like the one you’re telling at the moment.
6 – Release.
Let go of the negative thoughts and feelings, tap it out and move on.
7 – Choose the meaning you give this time.
You can’t help everyone with everything, so choose to mean something to a very specific group of people in a specific way.
Make these 7 things part of your regular mindset practice so you can catch the negative thoughts and feelings before they take hold and derail you completely. Like legit slow your business down without intending to!
You can take a day to watch Netflix or lay around in bed when things get tough. But don’t let a day become a week, or more. I’ve been there, it doesn’t help!
Train yourself to recognise whats going on and take action to refocus on whats really important to you.
Thats what I’ve got for you today!
Mindset is a HUGE part of everything I do, even the parts that are completely practical and implementation focused.
If you’d like my support with your mindset as you take action and move your business from slow to warp speed, I’m currently taking on new clients in IGNITE, my private business and money coaching program.
IGNITE is you and me, one on one for a minimum of 6 months as we niche, specialise and up level every aspect of your business and money.
If you’re a coach, consultant, copywriter, web designer or digital creative providing services to other businesses, IGNITE is for you.
Send me a DM so we can have a chat about IGNITE and make sure we’re a ‘swipe right’ match for having the most fun ever! I’m @funbusinessfunmoney, all one word, on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. You can’t DM on Threads yet, but you can tag me.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and send me a DM there, I’m the only Deirdre Amies in the online world.
Or you can email hello@deirdreamies.com if you prefer email.
You’ll find the links to all of those in description and in the show notes!
Take care, have fun even when your business feels like its slowing down, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
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