If you run a business or work for yourself, you begin to know pretty early on that consistency is key. Remaining in a state of continual growth or at least being consistently booked for upcoming or continuing projects is a way to feel confident. It also helps you to continue paying yours or your employees’ wages easily, it allows you to continue to spend on important outgoings, it also puts you in a secure place, from which you can figure out where to go next.

However, life and business aren’t this simple. While you may experience long periods of consistency in your business or personal financial ventures, it is very unlikely that this will be the case all of the time. Being prepared for when things slowdown is an essential business skill. One that can benefit you just as much as thriving when things are going at a faster and more consistent pace.

Things to remember

Right off the bat, it is important to remember that business slowing down does not always mean that there is something wrong with your particular business model, or mean that you haven’t been doing things the way you should. There are a myriad of factors that lead to inconsistent periods, and these take their toll on all businesses and individuals differently. Some of these factors may include the season/months of the year (typically the months beginning with J are the slowest, they see most people go on holidays, thus far few events and important business date are held during these time), it may also be that there are external factors in the economy that take their toll. Most, if not all, of this terrain can be traversed if we take the time to stop and re-evaluate our approach.

Making the most of quieter periods

These periods can be time of immense learning, planning and betterment. When we are busy, there are always things we wish we could be doing to build and grow our business – These things we usually feel we no longer have the time for, or that we are getting burnt out trying to do too much at once. 

The quiet periods, in this sense, become an essential testing ground for the business ideas we can try or the updates we need to make to help assure our future success.

This could mean that maybe your website needs an update: do you have all your relevant information together? Press pics and enquiries services? It could also mean that you look to optimise your scheduling or even your physical workplace itself, looking at all of the difficulties you face in your busy times and trying to turn this quiet time into a positive in which you can fix and streamline your practice.

Remember, these periods happen for everyone. If you continue to put one foot in front of the other and make smart decisions, you can grow your future, not just your present. Then, you are on the track to success. One day you may be wishing you had more of this quiet time. So, make sure you do use it when it is there for the taking.

Like every article on TomorrowMoney, this is not personal financial advice.