‘Ahhh the summer break – how glorious it was to spend time with family and friends and enjoy the sun! What’s that? Work? The business? Oh gosh, where do I begin…’ If you’ve been enjoying a break and are concerned about how you’re going to come back with focus, vigour and motivation then you need to listen to this episode so you can review, reset and rocket propel yourself forward for success!
Listen on the player above or read the blog below.
How to come back with a BANG after a summer break
If you’re ready to come back with a bang after the summer period then this episode is for you. This is about coming back with all of the productivity, positivity and getting back to business.
If like me, you’ve taken some real time off this summer, you’ll know that this can impact your productivity and motivation. Many of the Elevate clan have taken the summer off to reconnect with family and enjoy time to themselves. This is lovely but there is the danger of: “how am I going to move forward and how am I going to come back after the summer break?”
So I’m recommending that all of my Elevate programme listen to this episode. And then inside the programme, we will be working really hard.
If you’re looking to have accountability, that works for your business specifically. Including strategies that go to the foundations and crux of what you do. Have messaging that positions you as the number one choice in the market and get a business model that suits both you and your clients, and sky-rocket from now on. September is a sense of renewal and brings in the newness of your business. If this sound like you, book a call to have a chat, diagnose and do an audit of what’s going on in your business. Plus, what we need to do to make it better and give you focus.
Plan your next break
The first thing I want you to do is plan for your next holiday break. If you know you need to get back to work and accepting the feelings that are going on after a break, planning in the next one will give you the carrot-on-a-stick. Then between now and then, you know you’ll be working on your business to make it the best it can be. Even if you map this time out in your calendar. This will help you focus. It also means you can be better prepared to cover the period while you’re off.
What works when you take a break?
You next need to look at what worked and what didn’t when you took this last summer break. Maybe you didn’t get around to bulk recording your podcast. In which case you had to take time out of your break to do it or it didn’t happen and there was in a drop in your visibility.
It is not a time for berating yourself. But a time to plan better for next time. What can you do to mitigate the risks of the things that did not work so well? And how can you plan better for that on your next break? Perhaps, your expectations were unrealistic. Do you need to delegate or hire?
If you are not able to take breaks from your business, you have to think about how you’d like it to look for the future. Plus, what you need to do to work towards this.
Reflect on your business
You may have been able to reflect on your business while on your break. If not, look at what’s working well and what isn’t. For example, did you feel so exhausted that you really needed the break? This might be that you are trying to deliver beyond your capacity. Or that your business model is not working. Perhaps your programmes within your products, are not set up well to allow you to be sustainable.
You want to review all of this to look at how to improve. It may be that you realise you’re undercharging and need to raise your prices. Jot down all of these things – do a big brain dump on what you want to see changed.
Then I want you to write down what you are going to do differently. What are the things you need to change and what are the steps you need to do to make this change?
Obviously, look at was has been working, too. Give yourself a big pat on the back for what does work. And zone in these activities. This should allow you to see what’s distracting you and isn’t bringing money or joy to your business. Looking at what works well shows you what you need to put more energy into.
Look at the actions you need to take from this.
What are you selling?
This may be something you can pull out of the bag. Or it may be something you see from your review that you need to shift and change. What are you selling and when are you selling it? How much are you selling it for? What is the messaging around this? And what does the launch look like?
You want to look at what are you selling and when at this stage.
Branding and visibility
Next, you want to look at your branding and visibility. What has that been like since taking the break? Have you kept visibility up while taking a break? Has it dipped? Or if you’ve kept some visibility, you need to wrap that up.
Have you got people to sell to? If you don’t have a warm audience, you need to warm up an audience you already have. This can include current clients. Getting clients back on board. It can include people on your list and those following you.
Do not assume this list is thin on the ground. Actually, there is a lot of gold in your existing audience – do not forget this. However, if you’ve sold to your existing audience – don’t assume because there is usually a big uplift of people wanting to start new things in September. So please don’t make the assumption that because you have sold before.
If you want to breathe new life into your audience and getting a wider reach, what are you going to do to raise this visibility and bring new people in?
Your learning and development
Then you need to look at what it is that you want to do better. Out of everything you’ve identified, where do you want to improve and where do you need to plug a gap? Bear in mind that the gap may not need to be plugged by you. Make any learning actionable learning. Learn what you can put into practice in your business. But make sure you not learning to do something that you can outsource.
These learning and development activities need to increase your bottom line. You are doing CEO activities so your learning and development need to be CEO level stuff. For example, for me, I’ve been looking at my leadership skills and how I can develop these. I’m investing in learning around this. I can absolutely recruit to support this but as the person at the top of the pyramid, I need to make sure these skills are spot on. I’ve worked on these through the summer and will continue through the next quarter.
Perhaps it is your selling skills or messaging. You can get copywriters for your business but there is nothing quite like understanding what you are selling because you are the driving force for what you do. Always make sure you’re aware of this from the top level. If you are not, no one else will do this for you.
It does not have to be related to business – but keep the brain ticking along.
Find your routine
Again, look at what works and doesn’t in your last routine before your summer break. Make sure that you improve on this.
Big tips for creating a routine:
- Wake up earlier – even if 15 minutes earlier than usual
- Map out your morning ritual and by what time it needs to be done
- Find familiar surroundings – a permanent work station that removes distractions
- Clean your environment if you need to or find a new place as a last resort
- Time block – use an online calendar if possible
Look at your deadlines and timelines
Looking at your deadlines and timelines are so important, especially after a break. None of us are immune to not paying attention to the time. Setting these deadlines is important to get us back into the mindset of paying attention to the time. Put your deadlines into your online calendar to make sure it happens.
If you don’t have a deadline – it will never get done – so make one.
Keep yourself accountable where possible. But remember that you are in control of your destiny and your diary. So, if it doesn’t happen, then you can move it.
If it is an important deadline then you need to make yourself more accountable than putting it into the diary. Tell people. You need public accountability. Make sure someone else can hold you accountable for it. If all else fails, put some kind of monetary fine on there.
When writing my book, I booked the launch before I wrote it. I put down a deposit for The Ritz in London and sold tickets for it. It had to be done. That was my public accountability and my monetary fee. I had a lot to lose if I did not hit that deadline. This will always make sure you hit the deadline.
Timelines of selling
Do you need to launch of your products? Is there an email campaign? You need to be thinking about these launches and inserting the timelines into your calendar. Including any activities needed to get this done. You can time block to make sure this all happens in ample time.
Always leave yourself ample time. Especially if you need to write new copy, emails, setting up tech. Make sure you don’t leave it to the last minute. Plan ahead for all of these events. Then you can use the final week to put the tweaks together. But do not rush to the last minute to get it finished. Always bring deadlines forward if you can.
Top tips
These are my top tips for bringing back positivity, focus and motivation after a summer break. I wish you all the best with this. If you are looking for help to move forward and get this in place, especially if there is a lot that is not working, then you can book a call to see if you are eligible for the Elevate programme.
It’s funny as I’m helping my 8-year-old daughter set up her own business called Enchanted Potions, and it is funny to watch her doing the same things that adults do. The worrying if it won’t work. And she is super lucky, she has me and my partner, Andy, on her side so we know what works and doesn’t work. This is an entirely new venture for us as we’ve not run a product-based business before.
If you are a product-based business, please do not apply for Elevate, we are service-based business experts. I am confident we can help my daughter. It will be a learning curve on the product front but I’m confident we can make it work. We had to reassure her that we’re in this together and will make it work for her.
And this is what it’s like with the Elevate family. We are in your corner and on your side. It takes away the worries. We have the experience to take your business forward and look at your list of things that aren’t working to create a whole new strategy. It is key to starting you off on a profitable foot.
If you are looking at your list and feeling overwhelmed, the best thing to do is get someone on your side.
Useful links:
Book a Call with Jen – bit.ly/claritycallpodcast
Download my FREE Seven Figure Market Leader Roadmap –http://www.marketleaderleague.com/marketleaderroadmap/
Send your emails to jen@jen-hall.com
Available on Apple iTunes, Spotify & Stitcher (Just search Expert Unrivalled Podcast)