Are you in a business slump? Been there. Here are some unique ways to get out of one.
—
“The good days are great, and the bad days are horrible.”
My girlfriend made that observation not too long ago, and she’s spot on.
Sometimes, those horrible days last for weeks! And if you’re in business long enough, you’ll find yourself in a slump.
Here are some things I’ve actually done to yank myself out of those slumps in my own business.
◊♦◊
1. Take a full day to talk to my mentors.
When my business isn’t growing, the last thing I want to do is take an entire day doing something else. But stepping away from it helps me get perspective on what to do next.
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. They’re not easy to find, and even harder to keep. And they’ve been absolutely crucial to my life as an entrepreneur thus far.
Follow up with a “thank you” email, recap what you learned from them, then get back to work.
|
My mentors are particularly challenging. That’s by design. Yes, they’re more supportive of me than almost anyone else in my circle, but they don’t hesitate to beat my ideas up when I ask them to. Then there are those times when I don’t need my ideas under their microscope. Instead, I need to hear stories about their rise to the top.
I’ll ask them to tell me about the obstacles they had to overcome. Usually they’ll go one step further and share the obstacles they’re up against right now. It’s therapeutic to know that even the best are facing challenges. Really, they’re the best because they’re facing challenges and conquering them.
Reach out to them and schedule a call or coffee for two weeks down the road. Spend the day listening to each of your mentors. Follow up with a “thank you” email, recap what you learned from them, then get back to work.
2. Attend at least one networking event every day for a week.
If you’re like me, you’re very selective about the networking events that you go to. There are great events for people at every stage of business. The key for me has been to match the caliber of the event to my stage of business.
But when the business is down, climbing out from under my rock to meet people can spark new ideas and lead to others who can help me get traction again.
Back to the basics: listen, ask questions, see how I could help the other person, and follow through the next day.
|
I had a tough week not long ago: lost a couple key clients, was doubting my decision to take the business in a new direction, and working through personnel changes. We all go through these types of weeks. Late one night, as I sat by myself at my office, I decided that I was going to force myself to go to one networking event a day for an entire week.
I dug up old invitations buried deep in my inbox, searched through Facebook for events, and hopped onto local sites that promote entrepreneur events in Kansas City. I’ll admit, it was tough to go every day. I felt like I should have been doing something different that was more focused on my business.
But I forced myself to be present. Back to the basics: listen, ask questions, see how I could help the other person, and follow through the next day. By the end of the week, I had gained two new customers, added more than thirty high-quality folks to my circle, and found some startups to pass onto investors. Not bad for a week.
3. Plan (then pull) an all-nighter.
Entrepreneurs often compete with each other about how little sleep they got the night before. It can feel like a badge of honor. I didn’t used to take sleep very seriously, and I felt like a warrior for getting only a few hours of sleep every night. But I started to forget meetings, make silly business decisions, and actually lose money.
When the day comes, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through me as I dive into my work.
|
Now I try as hard as I can to get 6-7 hours of sleep a night, followed by the long days typical of entrepreneurs. I feel great, my mind is sharp, and I can move at a quick pace.
But when my business is flat, sometimes even 8 hours of the highest-quality sleep won’t help me out of my rut. I’ll plan one day within the coming week to work through the entire night. When the day comes, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through me as I dive into my work.
There’s something magical about the all-nighter.
4. Mentor other entrepreneurs.
Have you ever had a rough patch in a personal relationship? I don’t know about you, but I sure have. I was going through a rough patch one time with a girlfriend. I couldn’t figure out how to smooth it over. Then a buddy called, and he asked for advice on his relationship.
As he and I walked through his challenges, I noticed that the advice I gave him was pretty good. So good that I should take my own advice!
This happens in business, too. Stepping away from our own business to help another’s can lead to business-saving breakthroughs.
I’m sure to mentor other entrepreneurs regardless of how my business is currently doing. It keeps me fresh. And this is especially true for me when my business is dragging. There are great opportunities to mentor entrepreneurs through different organizations. My favorite is the MECA Challenge, which only runs in Kansas City.
Stepping away from our own business to help another’s can lead to business-saving breakthroughs.
|
If you don’t have great organizations like MECA in your city, finding individual entrepreneurs can be just as effective–and fulfilling. Or if you’re looking for opportunities to help others, you can jump on Quora and answer one of the thousands of questions people ask about startups.
If you’re going to take the mentoring route, I encourage you to keep one thing in mind. Mentoring won’t work as well unless you’re truly generous with your time and knowledge. Being selfish won’t help you or your mentee.
5. Brainstorm other startup ideas.
I remember awhile ago when my startup felt as if it had hit a wall. No new sales, no new clients, and nothing but stale leads. Someone had suggested to me that I wasn’t solving the right problem, and the numbers were suggesting that his suggestion was correct!
So I sat down and thought about my startup.
As it turns out, one of those ideas led to a breakthrough in the project I was working on at the time.
|
At first, all of my ideas centered on my particular startup. All of the solutions I came up with were focused on the problem I was currently trying to solve. Eventually, new ideas dried up. That’s when my brain started going to other startup ideas.
I jotted down solutions that were completely unrelated to what I was working on. As it turns out, one of those ideas led to a breakthrough in the project I was working on at the time.
The surprising thing about those couple hours was that it was fun!
It brought me back to the nights I had in college. My entrepreneurial buddies would come over on a Friday evening. We’d put a case of beer in the middle, then we’d go around the circle spouting off business ideas that we’d never pursue.
We accomplished nothing, but we left feeling excited to work on our main projects.
That might be the type of spark you need.
6. Read articles about business and find the holes in the story.
There’s no shortage of articles about business.
I once hopped onto the Internet with the singular goal of punching holes into the business articles I found. After reading the article a couple times, I talked through my argument out loud as if the author was sitting in front of me.
The goal was to get my brain to think critically again.
|
Trust me, not every punch I threw was strong! But that wasn’t the point.
The goal was to get my brain to think critically again. Arguing with the air kicked me into gear, and it helped me look critically at my own strategy.
7. Be silent for one entire day.
Sometimes I talk too much.
And sometimes, I think too little. I didn’t notice until just now, but I tend to break out of my business ruts when I create some space to actually think about my business.
I’ll shut up for an entire day. This is a great way to give myself space to think about my big vision and how to get there.
|
It’s incredibly easy to get so deep into your business that you lose perspective on what’s happening around you. Take the time to get that perspective. I’ve also had days when I did nothing but reach out to people. Phone calls, emails, webinars, podcasts, one-on-ones. Those days turn into weeks if I’m not careful.
So I’ll shut up for an entire day. This is a great way to give myself space to think about my big vision and how to get there.
8. Make an entire day’s worth of sales calls before lunch.
This approach may not apply directly to you, but the idea behind it might. The idea is to double your production in the morning.
My business makes the majority of its revenue from commissions. It’s nearly dependent on reaching out to people to make a sale. Even though I’ve built something a little bigger than me, I still do the bulk of the selling.
It feels so good when I finish my calls before lunch. It refills my pride, and I’m more effective during the second half of the day.
|
Before I go to sleep, I’ll write a number on a post-it note and stick it to my bedroom door. That number represents the number of sales calls or emails I want to send during the next day. 80% of my sales process happens before I even reach out to the prospect. I usually put in tons of time researching my prospect and crafting a personal pitch for them.
But there are times when the fish don’t bite, and it’s not because of the lure.
Sometimes, it’s because I’m not casting enough. Even though I love selling, I can still get nervous before the pitch. I still get in my own way, and I’ll procrastinate.
So instead of doubling the total amount of sales calls I make–which would leave me drained for the second half of the day–I double my production in the morning. It feels so good when I finish my calls before lunch. It refills my pride, and I’m more effective during the second half of the day.
Sure, the pitches might not be as on point. But that wasn’t the point.
The point was to get my mojo back.
9. Ask people who know nothing about business questions about my business.
The key with this one is to find people who know nothing about business. Not just nothing about your business, but nothing about business in general.
They’ll ask you simple–almost dumb–questions. That’s perfect, because you’ll be forced to give them simple–almost dumb–answers.
|
Believe it or not, these types of folks can sometimes bring an enlightening perspective to your project.
They’ll ask you simple–almost dumb–questions. That’s perfect, because you’ll be forced to give them simple–almost dumb–answers. We’ll be forced to explain things without using industry jargon, and we’ll have to whittle away at our explanations until anyone can understand.
Not only does this help us become clearer to others, but it also gets us clearer on the solution we’re trying to provide the world.
◊♦◊
I’m far from mastering this, so I’m curious…
What have you done to get yourself out of a business funk?
Drop a line or two in the comments below if you’ve got a tip or story that you think will help our other readers.
Remember, slumps are inevitable. But overcoming them isn’t impossible!
—
Photo: Flickr/slgckgc