Things to work on in the off season - lets build a bad ass resource

[mariusk]

The slow season is coming up and you know what that means. Vacation! Just kidding.

I'm working on an episode and I want your opinion. Help me brainstorm things you can do to improve yourself and your business during the slow months.

1. Website revamps and SEO work - Google Reviews, GeoTagged Photos, Yoast SEO, listen to episode 118.
2. Email templates - auto emails that go out to customers when they request a quote or after a service. The workflow is critical. Jobber helps. Add exclamation points. Format them professionally. Bullet points. Numbering systems.
3. Recruiting and hiring materials - hiring flyers, scope of work documents, on-boarding template emails, employment offer letters and employment contracts.
4. Video training library or written training manual for employees
5. Learn spanish - open up your business to a wider group of potential employees
6. Do a P&L analysis. Project profits if you hired yourself out of a job. Do you need to raise prices?
7. Get out and recruit some employees
8. Network and find people who can refer you business. Episode 44 of the sweaty startup.
9. Do you need to fire customers? Figure out which ones
10. Read self help books

Help me remove crappy things from this list and add good ones!

 

[mariusk]

A few more:

• Analyze your hourly wage and where you spent it to earn the most money per hour. What was your most profitable work?
• Analyze your marketing. What worked? How did customers hear about you? A survey might be in order.
• Send christmas gifts to people who refer you business (or you want to later on)
• Look at trends in quote requests to pin down your busy seasons so you can prepare to spend more time in the office chasing leads during those times (this likely coincides with the busy on the truck stuff unfortunately)
• Look at expenses and analyze what you can cut. Maybe shop for good fall deals on used equipment and vehicles.
• Run cashflow projections 100 different ways.

 

[disciplehusbanddad]

@mariusk Equipment maintenance and replacement so you are not down a critical system during the upcoming active season

Continuing education, not just self help books. There is a wealth of classes and courses related to all aspects of business, including specialist businesses like those many here target, to consume, digest, and apply.

Pursuing licensing. This is the time of year to get that pest control licensing done, or to pursue a higher level of licensing that you have so you can be competitive.

Connect with others in your space. Find out where others who do what you do are at and mingle with them. Can be online or in person. Exchange ideas, share problems, and ask for help. Everyone likes to be seen as an expert or knowledgeable so will often freely share information.

Investigate your competition both locally and in ever expanding rings out from your core operating areas. See what they are doing, make notes, and check back on them next year. If you see a business stagnating from one season to another, reach out with an offer to buy their book/business to reduce competition and solidify your hold as THE premier x in your area. See what services they are pushing, how much do they cost, what areas do they service, what advertising are they doing, etc. Use this information to better understand your area across multiple areas and adjust as needed.

For recruiting, if you are targeting college students start reaching out to local colleges and seeing if they have programs that connect students with employers and how to get into them.

Consider using the extra time above and beyond all the reworks in your primary business to start another one or getting all the licensing, GMB, website, etc all setup so that you can increase your income. Use what you learned on the first one so that by the end of your next down season you have people in place to take you out of the day to day.

 

[sankey]

@mariusk Offer discounts for a review from some of your favorite clients

Follow up with your current clients, you don't know if you don't ask!

Consider adding an additional product/service, listen to your customers needs they will tell you what they want