10 Things You Should Do For Your Business This Summer

It’s summertime: many businesses feel a little sluggish this time of year. If that’s your business, are you making the most of your downtime? If not, here’s a list of 10 things you should be doing to help grow your business.

1. Check Your Goals/Resolutions.  If you made resolutions for your business at the start of the year, you may not have looked at that list since. Now’s a great time to review your goals and see if you’re on track. You may need to realign your efforts with your goals or even change some goals to better reflect where you’re currently headed.

2. Look at Your Pricing.  If it’s been a while since you raised your prices, consider doing so now. Research what your competitors charge, and determine whether the market will bear a price increase. Start small, and increase over time.

3. Clean Your Office.  Seems silly, but cleaning up both your desk and your computer files can get you more productive. You won’t spend as much time trying to find files. Stick them in the cloud, and organize them with descriptive file names for easy searchability.

4. Meet with an Industry Leader, Complementary Service Provider, or Mentor.  Midyear, you’re probably suffering from a bit of business sluggishness. What better way to inject excitement back into your business than to have a tete-a-tete with someone in your field? Sometimes just shooting the breeze over coffee leads to amazing ideas.

5. Check in With Your Staff.  If you’ve been bogged down running the company, pay attention to how your employees are doing. Are they happy, or are they overworked? By interacting with them more, you can spot potential issues before they become big ones.

6. Show Some Appreciation.  Take your staff out to dinner or host an office party to show them that you appreciate their hard work. Try to sprinkle fun throughout the year so they know you’re always thinking of them.

7. Hire More People.  If your growth indicates that you need to hire, do so now. You can get a great deal with new grads, if you’re willing to put in the time to train them. This is your opportunity to create employees who will stay with your company for years.

8. Reassess Your Strategy.  A business’ strategy should be pretty permanent, but if you haven’t really considered yours since everyone used film cameras, it might need a fresh look. Tweak as necessary.

9. Join a Networking Group.  It’s a great way to meet other business owners, as well as find potential partners and customers.

10. Get Out of the Office!  Enjoy the sunshine. Take a vacation. Enjoy your family. You’ll come back refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle the world.Photo Credit:  monkeyc.net  via  Compfight  cc