Navigating Your Business through a Slow Season

A slow season means less business and more competition. In this post, we discuss ways you can make the most of some extra downtime. Combat post-holiday blues by finding out how to boost your design business during a slow month! If you don’t have a schedule filled with bookings, start focusing on how you can improve your business elsewhere. Home décor isn’t the only thing you need to master to stay competitive in the design industry…

Host a fundraiser

Not only does hosting a fundraiser make you feel good, it helps your local community and reflects your business in a positive light. You can host a fundraiser and guarantee a solid turnout without even advertising your business (though you may want to). Everyone loves to join together for charity! And on that note, network with other local businesses to expand your fundraising potential. Contact your go-to vendors and offer them the chance to give back to the community. Vendors will appreciate the gesture, keeping your connections with them strong and reliable. Moreover, including other businesses will expand your target audience. Reaching a larger amount of people will benefit your cause and market your business!

Focus on your business model

If you haven’t had the chance to do this in a while, now is the time to get your business plans in order. From simple organization to analyzing your business strategies, rethinking your business plan can have a positive impact on profits. To narrow down what you need to focus on, create detailed lists on the following areas:

• What is going well for your business
• What you need to improve on
• How you can make your design process more efficient
• How your business budget can be improved

Every design professional will have different areas to improve upon, including business profits, expanding client bases, website design, social media efforts, etc. Not everything can be fixed at once, so focus on one or two key points to get started. Be creative and brainstorm a few strategies to increase your business success.

Reinvent your website

Changing up your look doesn’t have to be a total overhaul—a few tweaks here and there can make your website more animated and stylish. Think about adding new photos from your most recent events, or changing the layout of your web design. Take time to research what makes a website great. You want your site to do two things: be user-friendly and bring in clients! Do a run through of all the pages on your site to make sure they work properly. If there are any dead-ends or blank pages then you’ll need to do some editing. When you have some extra time, take a peek at other design websites to keep up with your competition in the industry.

Take a break

In order to fully recover from a busy event season, you need to focus on yourself as well as your business. Your personal needs can range from rest to catching up on old hobbies to meditation. Take a part of your life that you’ve been neglecting and focus on yourself! Taking a break is the best way to recharge your mind. Thinking up creative ideas is nearly impossible when you’re tired or overworked. You’ll reap the benefits of taking a well-deserved vacation—even if it’s just a few quiet days!

Write for your local paper or blog

What could be a better advertising technique than writing your own newspaper article? Writing a quick piece on design tips or business ideas is worth a shot! Your local paper could publish it and, who knows, maybe even make you a regular guest columnist! You could also reach out as a guest blogger. This is great for promoting your design services and also showing that you have a thorough knowledge of the industry. Being featured online or in print is a brilliant way to build your client base. It’s also one of the easiest (once you figure out what to write about!) since the marketing is already done for you.

Catch up with clients

A great way to spend a day during a slow season is to connect with clients via email. Reach out to both old and new clients. If you created a design for someone recently, ask for feedback and thank them again for their business. Don’t forget to check if they have any upcoming plans to redecorate! Let your clients know that you’re prepared to work with them again—this will give them incentive to book your services in the future. I mean, don’t we all want to hire someone who knows what we like and how to design a great space?

Test new software

Interior design apps and software have become a staple in the industry. These apps can organize budgets, color-match, and keep clients in the know. If you haven’t tried any yet, take some time during the slow business season to test these apps out. You may just find one that makes a BIG difference in how you plan your designs in the future. Check out some top design software that could save you time and save your clients money! Developing your business takes time, so focus on improving your skills and organizing your life when you have a slow season. Let us know your favorite tips for improving your home design business when things are slow!

Ready to put your best designs forward? Read our list of the top ways you can beef up your design portfolio!