Are you raring to go or do you have the January blues?

Coming back from any break away from the business, there is a little lag while you mentally bring yourself up to speed and then press forward with the new ideas that you had while away.

For some reason this year, it feels like there is a little more lag and not quite so much raring to go? Perhaps it is the weather or the constant stream of bad news from around the world making it feel like it is raining stones for the small business owner.

So what can be done? Well in the words on the cover of the “Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy” Don’t Panic! Use this time to look again at your plans for the year, perhaps even run through your budget documents, to re-assure yourself that despite any slowness in the market, your business and your business plan is still robust.

At the same time it is always worth having a think about the customers that you want. Do your recent sales match this ideal and if not, does your marketing or sales messaging need tweaking slightly? Now would be the time to make any changes to your approach.

With a robust financial plan and a clear picture on your ideal customer sorted, the next focus has to be on increasing sales in a tough market. We have a monthly plan with marketing activities to complete virtually every day. This works for us, as a busy studio, as it is all too easy to put things off while you are focusing on today’s work. The danger is that any procrastination on marketing activities will mean, in a very few short months, you are scrabbling to refill your sales pipeline and regenerate the brand awareness you have lost.

To give an example, today is the day in our marketing plan to write our blog and, because it was known to be coming, you can at least start to mentally plan the content. Yes, it is sometimes difficult to come up with a blog, we know, but it becomes increasingly tough the more pressure you are under to bring your marketing plan back up to date, at the same time as rushing around to find new projects to keep your studio filled.

Creatively Yours Ltd helps businesses like yours succeed online through website design, website development, and our Helponomics system that offers support and training as you need it and highlights areas that could increase your sales.

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Then why not drop us a line to helping@creatively-yours.co.uk, or simply call us on 01536 23 98 98 or 01493 718 300