Hello again!

Everything in life moves in cycles. There are ups and downs in revenue, there are highs and lows in the stock market, and there is a ebb and flow of energy within us as well. It’s what we do during these moving trends that sets the tone for the next change that is surely coming.

If you’ve followed this series, we have talked about the importance of our attitudes and creating opportunities to connect with others in meaningful ways. To read earlier entries in this series:

1.      The importance of our attitudes.

2.      Connecting with others.

3.      Sharing our abundance.

Today’s topic is all about creativity and flowing through the down cycle (or as I prefer to call it, my “quiet” cycle).

RE-EVALUATING – Like the seasons, there is a time for everything. When sales are slow, it’s a great time to “breathe” and to evaluate where we are and where we want to go.

When the sales cycle in your business (or in your job) reaches a high, you know that somewhere along the line, the trend will fall. There are ways to keep that trend from falling too deeply and thus, keeping yourself on a more even keel; and that is a topic for another day.

When you experience a slow time, maybe it’s the perfect time to take a much-needed vacation. For sure, it is the perfect opportunity to pull back and spend some quality “think” time about your business and your life. 

Where might you go to sit and ponder? Might it be at the beach or in a garden setting? Perhaps at your dining room table, where most in-depth conversations tend to begin?

What are some questions you might ask yourself? Here are the types of questions my clients explore when they are in this “dip” in the road:

• Is the business still going in the direction I want?
• Is the demand curve for my services still on the upswing?
• Am I missing other opportunities out there that have emerged since I opened my business? What can I do differently in order to attract new business?
• In what ways am I making time – making room – for new business?
• Am I still having fun with this – is it still what I want to do?

Have you followed the recent hubbub with McDonald’s, the granddaddy of fast-food franchises? Their desire to stay competitive and ability to understand consumer trends has put them in the news lately. With their high-ranking, coffee-taste tests and their less-expensive Wi-Fi offerings while you visit their sites, they are changing their image and opening the doors to a different breed of customer. 

Will McDonald’s strategy work? What’s the long-term outcome? Those are questions for later pondering . . . First you must do the daydreaming, the exploring. Save the analyzing for another day. But the point is, they have done the brainstorming to come up with new ideas.

Sometimes, the creative options come in simple ways. If you have a public facility where clients and customers visit you, take a trip around the block and enter your area thorugh a customer’s eyes. What do you see? Is it the “same old” look? What can you do to spruce up the physical space to make it look fresh and new? This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. It might be the rearranging of furniture or the placement of your sales merchandise. Keep it lively and attractive.

How’s your “team” these days? Team building can have a great influence on your bottom line. What can you do with your staff — and yourself — to make your team look fresh and new? This is a great time to invest in some training and motivational meetings, to get creative ideas to flow – and to boost morale.

So let’s turn the tables on a slow market. Let’s start by envisioning a successful month and let’s get our heads thinking in new directions. What else can you be doing during a slow time to get ready for the new business that is coming your way? Take a moment now and jot down 5 new ideas that you haven’t yet tried in your business. Make a commitment to explore one of them each month. Write me and let me know what you discovered.

Have a Golden Day!

Coach Darlene