Making the most of the summer slowdown
For many UK businesses – depending on what sector they’re in – the summer can traditionally be a slower time of the year. As a business owner though there are lots of tasks which could be tackled during this potentially quieter time, which you can then reap the benefits of over the next few months.
Here are some ideas:
Conduct a business review
Whatever sector you are in, Covid-19 will have changed the landscape for your business. Use this time to look back and see what worked and what didn’t. Set some goals and make plans for the next few months, and perhaps even write a strategic business plan? If you employ people, now could be a good time to see which areas of the business you might want to recruit into over the next few months? For many industries, recruitment is tricky at the moment, so look at ways to perhaps redeploy or promote people around in your business. This could also be the time to see if there’s additional training or qualifications your team could be doing – which could have additional benefits to your business too.
Look at your systems
When lockdown came along, moving your business into a working from home scenario might have thrown up some challenges with your systems. Now could be a good time to look at what systems, such as IT, CRM and telephony, might need an upgrade or an overhaul. You might want to change your accountancy software and we can help you with that. You could also take time to audit your suppliers and see if they are providing you with the best service and prices.
Plan your social media and content
We all recognise how important creating great content for your website and social media channels is. Now could be a good time to create a social media calendar and plan content and campaigns. Also, why not sit down in the sunshine and write some of those blogs you’ve been putting off? It’s always good to have a few in the pipeline for when you’re busier and don’t have the time or energy to write them. Also consider whether your social media channels are working for you and whether it’s time to add a few more to the mix.
Look at your branding
Now you’ve got the time, why not look at whether your company branding is continuing to work for your business, particularly if your business changed direction during the pandemic. Does your brand reflect that? You might want to also look at your website and see if that is continuing to make the right impression. Did you launch new products and services during lockdown and are these on your website?
Your connections
Having had a break from real life meetings, now could be the time to make a list of contacts you’d like to meet up with over a coffee? There might also be colleagues in your own business you might not have met yet? In addition, now could be the time to think about new networking groups to join or simply spend a morning updating your LinkedIn profile and writing a few testimonials for people who’ve helped you out recently. They are always appreciated and, very often, reciprocated.
And finally
We would say this wouldn’t we, but the one guaranteed way of making the rest of the year less stressful is getting your Self Assessment tax return (if you are required to complete one) submitted well ahead of the 31 January deadline! It might only be the summer, but once autumn arrives the time will soon disappear. Here at Lewis & Co, we would always suggest that people plan ahead and give themselves the time to find our how much tax they need to pay.
The sooner you can send all your information to us, the more time we’ll have to work through any questions we might need answered before your form is completed. For this reason, why not use the summer months to gather all the information together?
For more information, please contact: info@lewisandco.biz or call us on tel: 01892 513515.