How to make the best of the slow season
For photographers, editors and freelancers everywhere
Slow season is here… but not for long! So, let’s make the best of it! In this post, I’ll be sharing some tips to truly get the most out of this incredibly short, but valuable slow time we have in the winter. Snuggle up, and read on friends!
Here are some practical tips for things to do to optimize your business during the slower seasons:
Get client FEEDBACK from previous seasons. Use this to decide what changes need to be made. I do this by using a end of the year check in form that I send out to all of my clients. Make sure you ask your clients not to hold back - the “negative” feedback helps you to grow and make necessary changes that you wouldn’t make if you didn’t know you needed to.
IMPLEMENT changes. Review processes, client feedback, business plans, update questionnaires and email templates. The slow season is also a great time to switch CRMs, gallery delivery, any system you plan on switching up. This is also a good time to refresh and update your website! This is the perfect time to switch to a new CRM if you’re looking into doing so! We use Dubsado and cannot imagine a better one for our business. You can join with our code mossandmeadow20 and get 20% off of your first year or month!
PLAN monthly blog posts (if you blog) or social media posts and captions, and pre-write or write drafts. This one is tough for me, as social media is not my strength, but I am working on pre-creating graphics in Canva to help me be ready each month for posting!
LEARN! Education in any field is important. Take courses and take time to learn new ways to do your job, to be more efficient, to provide better services. Example, take some courses or watch Youtube videos to learn Photoshop or any other editing platform, learn new ways to use Lightroom, learn to make useful spreadsheets in Excel, or research a potential new offering for your business!
PREPARE for tax season - get together lists and spreadsheets of the past year income and expenses, and have them ready to go when it is time to do your taxes. We use Quickbooks Self Employed which is a game changer come tax season! A good time to start is now so you will have as much info as possible already ready for you next year!
AND REST - enjoy the downtime, take a vacation, and take time for your family and yourself. The slow season never lasts, and when we’re in the thick of it we realize how important down time is.