There are definitely seasons in small businesses. There is a time for the hard work & time to relax. I wanted to look at what the off season looks like for me this year & how I am utilizing my “off” time to my advantage!
My off season in the past has looked a little different than it did this year because I wasn’t extra preparing for maternity leave. Nonetheless, in the past the off season has been full of to-do lists and projects that take a back burner when I am super busy in the summer & fall!
The off-season is typically a time for me to really dig in deep into my client workflows and website and assess what is working for me & what might need to change. It is also a time I sit down and really look at my finances and make sure we are on track for the upcoming year.
I try to use the off-season to heavily prep for the busy season, so when June-November comes up I am not stressed about my financial workflow, client workflow, or the systems I have in place to handle the editing and gallery completion for the busy season.
While I do tend to spend a portion of the off-season doing things I neglected in my personal life during my busy season like seeing my friends and family, organizing my house, cooking, and just laying on the couch and doing nothing, I do devote a chunk of time, usually a few days a week to JUST work days. This way I am still getting the luxury of having full days to spend time doing what I want but also accomplishing my off season goals!
Some of the things on my to-do list during the off season are:
Updating my website portfolio
Reworking my Client workflow
Prepping Taxes & finances for the year to come
Working on any education I had bought
Prepping and planning for my upcoming senior sessions
Brainstorming blog posts for busy season
Planning logistics for the upcoming busy season
Some additional things I am doing this off season that I don’t normally do are:
Prewriting and scheduling blog posts through the whole off-season
Planning outsourcing
Training Holly to step in during my maternity leave
Purchasing and organizing my travel schedule
PREPPING FOR A BABY!!
I hope this post helps give you some insight into what an off-season for an entrepreneur may look like. While it may not be a full schedule of shooting and editing for me, it is definitely full of the things that take a little neglect during the times I am more busy!
XO,
Mary
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