Posted on: Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Summer's a chance to catch up

By Rhonda Abrams
Gannett News Service

For some businesses, summer is the busiest season — especially in the tourism, sports and construction industries. But for many other businesses, summer means things slow way down.

With fewer last-minute orders or customer emergencies, it's tempting to just let everything slide. Ah, but before you know it, September's going to be here, and you'll kick yourself if you've frittered away three months.

Don't worry. It's possible to enjoy summer and still get things accomplished.

The key is to tend to those things that are difficult to accomplish in your busier seasons while still taking some time off to take care of yourself and family.

Some summer suggestions:

1. Call on hard-to-reach prospects. Summer is likely to be the slowest time for some of those prospective customers who are swamped in fall and winter. Remember those folks who said, "Get back to me when I'm not so busy"?

2. Have lunch with good customers. Now's a good time for relationship-building lunches (or golf games). But try to avoid the week before or after their vacations. They're likely to be trying frantically to clear their desks before leaving or they could be overwhelmed when they return. Ask about vacations before setting appointments.

3. Plan. In my business, we use summer as our time to plan for the coming year. We hold our official annual planning sessions in August, but we start talking about issues and collecting data earlier in the summer.

4. Budget. It's part of creating a plan. But even if you don't engage in a full-blown planning process, draw up an annual budget while you have time to look into costs and suppliers.

5. Catch up and clean up. A slow summer is the perfect time to work on internal operations. Upgrade your computer systems, learn new software programs. Transfer your data to computerized databases. Get yourself and your employees that training you've been meaning to acquire.

6. Meet with your accountant or attorney to take care of loose ends. Summer's a good time for tax planning. Update your estate plan so your business and employees are protected. Review your standard contracts or letters of agreement.

7. Negotiate deals. Summer is likely to be a slow time for many of your suppliers, too.

8. Allow yourself time off when Aunt Anita comes to town. Get things ready for when the kids hang around the office. We transform our conference room into a kids' zone, with beanbag chairs and a TV.

9. Give yourself a break. Go ahead and drive to the beach on Wednesday. Take all the employees on an impromptu picnic. Change your routine.

Finally, don't forget that the word "recreation" comes from "re-create." Perhaps it's time for you to take some time off to re-create yourself so you have fresh ideas and renewed energy to bring to your business. Recharge. Reflect. Renew.