A Woman With A Business

This week I am talking about Slumps and Slowdowns ... how to know if you are really in a slump or slowdown, when to freak out, and what to do about it! Today is all about analyzing stats.  Over and over I have witnessed people freaking out about slowdowns because their stats are down from a day ago, a week ago, and a month ago ... but just this is not enough information to know if you are really experiencing a slowdown.  Retail sales are cyclical, and you need to know your cycles.  If you cannot deal with the natural cycles in your business, then you need to develop a new product line that will work opposite those cycles in your current business.  Trying to even out cycles in your current business is much harder than creating a product line that you market to a different market to fill in slow cycles.  Also note, that cycles in business will fluctuate year to year, and your sales should be increasing during these cycles year to year.  Although as your business grows, you may also fin

Steady sales ... it is the goal ... it is the dream ... and it is also somewhat of a fairy tale!  If you look hard, sometimes you don't have to look hard, you can consistently find a business person complaining that they are experiencing a slowdown, that their shop is dead, they wonder if it is the end ... Seasonal ups and downs are normal, should be expected, and your season may not be Christmas! First, every business throughout the year, experiences ups and downs.  Those ups and downs do not occur at the same times for all shops ... even shops selling almost identical things don't always experience ups and downs at the same time.  Your competitors may be reaching a different market than you or have brought a previous customer base with them.  Do not kill your shop comparing it to other similar shops.  Base your fluctuations on your own shop visits, not another shop's visits. All businesses should keep track of their sales and visits to their shops.  It is up to you

Managing the expectations of you and your business is a tricky thing ... I would say that this is more of a problem when you are new and just starting and have a list of things a mile long.  However, after 13 years, I can tell you that I still have days when I feel completely overwhelmed and have to wrangle in the expectations of myself. Do one thing at a time.  The idea of being able to work at home for yourself is very romantic ... you can have laundry going, the dishwasher going, the kids playing a board game in the other room, all while working away on your business like a boss!  What really happens is, you throw in a load of laundry, and it sits in the washing machine wet for 6 hours because you forgot it, requiring it to be washed again.  You start loading the dishwasher, but the phone rings and the kids drop the board game, causing 250,000 cards and dice and pieces to scatter down the stairway.  The dog throws up, the power goes out, and you realize that you don't have a c

When starting a business, a lot of people will tell you that you need a business plan.  However, a lot of people starting a business simply start with an idea or just simply wanting to supplement their current income.  A business plan isn't something that they think is necessary.  Business plans are thought of as something that only large businesses trying to get funding need.  However, business plans can provide an important road map for even the smallest of businesses. In a lot of cases, people spend more effort planning a dinner or lunch date, than they do on planning their business.  It starts with an invite to eat, should you invite others, what time will you meet, what restaurant will you eat at, where is the restaurant, map the location on your GPS, do you need to make reservations, how long will it take you to drive there, do you need to make arrangements for parking, how expensive is the menu, what will you wear, and how long will it take you to get ready if the dress is

What are your expectations of yourself?  What are your expectations of your business?  Do these expectations match?  Do you have the skills needed to meet your expectations?  I saw a very lofty post yesterday.  From someone that has zero social media experience.  Admittedly, they just set up a social media account a week prior and they are looking for information and advice on how to be a social media manager.  They do not know anything about social media platforms and are asking for any advice.  They want to become a social media manager and, in 6 months from now, be making $10,000 per month running social media accounts for businesses. They have high expectations of themselves, high expectations of their business, and no current skills to meet those expectations.  They do, however, have the guts to admit all of this and start seeking information.  Do you think that their expectations can become a reality?  I answer, maybe.  The outcome completely depends on their determinatio

Expectations in entrepreneurship are big, bold, lofty, and the pressure to succeed is huge.  You may feel pressure to perform, sell, grow, and do do do.  Managing those expectations look different for each entrepreneur and it is important to manage your own.  What are your expectations of yourself? Social media burst onto the scene in a big way, and the pressures on businesses to have a social media presence are huge for entrepreneurs.  We are expected to be available, post great content, post fabulous pictures, grow, interact, and be available. As an entrepreneur, you are in control of managing those expectations of yourself. Set limits and times to post on your social media accounts.  If you find yourself going over those time limits, consider a timer that beeps at you.   Monitor what content you are reading, and if it is content that is meaningful in your life.  If you find that you are reading a lot of content that is not having a positive impact on your life and relationships,