Are things slow and you’re wondering what you should be doing to continue growing your business? There are a lot more important steps to be taking in your business right now while you aren’t busy then you would think! So here are 10 things to do in the off season. 

Update Your Website 

I don’t know about you, but I’m tweaking and updating my website weekly! I LOVE updating it and improving any way I can. You don’t have to invest in a full website re-brand or design if you don’t have the funds for it at the time, but instead can try to play around with it yourself while you have extra time! Set aside one hour, if that, a week or a month and update some aspects of your site. 

Here are some things you want to keep in mind when building your website: 

• Does it clearly communicate who you are, what you do, and who you serve? IN THE TOP FOLD. People’s attention spans are short, so it needs to be communicated right away!
• Is your contact form easy to find and fill out?
• Is your branding consistent with how you are across all social media platforms and in person?

I also have guides I created, my Pricing Services + my Engagement Session: What to Wear Guide, on my website and I love playing around with and updating those as well. I have had them as hidden pages on my website for a few years now and always love how easy it is for me to make changes and send people to when I need to. 

Find ways that you can improve and update your website, because it is such a vital part of your business!

Update Your Client Guides + Client Workflow

As I mentioned above, I’m often updating my guides that I have created for my clients on top of updating my website! You need your guides to fit new education you are learning, and new aspects as you are improving your strategy. I know many photographers love using guides as a form of communication in their workflow, but take a look at WHAT guides you are sending and WHEN. and also WHAT information you have in each.

There is an art to it because you don’t want to be sending information overload at certain times of the process. So you want to make sure your guides and communication are educating them at the same times that they need that information. 

I’m also always adding and tweaking my clients workflow in Honeybook and always trying to improve it for my future clients. It’s something I actually really enjoy doing! See where you can add in steps, or make improvements, or get feedback from clients where you can improve anything, etc. 

Once I focused on my client experience and educating them, my business changed drastically and I saw a huge increase in demand and was then able to raise my prices and generate more income in my business.

Revamp/Reorganize Your Workspace

Next is to revamp and redo your workspace! I personally did this before baby came because I was nesting like crazy, but even by moving where your desk sits, or getting a new plant or photo that inspires you, it makes a difference! By switching it up sometimes it helps get a whole new motivation and excitement to be at your workspace. 

The changes don’t need to be fancy! Just cleaning it out and organizing it will feel so much better, and I don’t know about you.. But I do NOT have time for that during busy season. Seriously LAST THING on my mind. I have plates and dishes and crumbs everywhere… i dont care because ya know.. Busy season! So take advantage of any time you have during the slower seasons!

Invest in Education for Yourself

This one is my FAVORITE! It’s no secret I am an education junky. I consume myself in it and love learning from as many people and resources as possible. If you aren’t ready to make a big investment in your business right now, there are smaller, affordable offers out there too. It just depends what you are looking for!

But you get out of what you put into it, whatever you decide to do. So take that into consideration! Use this time to invest back into your business, I promise you that you won’t regret it. 

Plan Out Your Social Media

Obviously things can change, but take a day or two to plan out your content for the few months ahead! This can mean batching reels, planning out your feed for your posts and creating captions, scheduling pins for pinterest on your tailwind, or even updating your highlight covers on Instagram!

Really any type of content planning so you can be prepared ahead of time! I know for me personally, when I do this, I ROCK social media.  But when I don’t, I get overwhelmed and end up not even showing up or posting at all because I don’t have a strategy. So while you have the time, plan out some content and prepare for when you don’t have the time!

Ask for Testimonials and Reviews

I personally like to have this step set up within my workflow for each couple I work with. But, if you do not have this in your workflow or you are looking to add more in different places, now is the time to reach out to past couples to ask if they feel called to leave you a review!

Most of the time they are more than happy to! What you could also do is offer a small reward in return, such as a $5 Starbucks gift card or something similar. 

Use these updated reviews to add to your website or share on your social media!

Dive Deeper Into a New Platform

We are in 2021 and times are changing! Being an entrepreneur means keeping up with all of the changes in the tech and social media world. Try exploring Tiktok, Instagram reels, Clubhouse, or any other newer platform or features you haven’t dove into yet. 

I always think it’s a good idea to expand your reach and try marketing to different platforms and not have all your eggs in one basket. Then you can see which one is giving you the best ROT (return on time) I like to call it. If you are spending HOURS into something that is giving you nothing in return then maybe you’ll know it’s not the right thing for your business.

BUT DON’T GIVE UP…. don’t just try it for a bit and give up. It takes time to grow and see where opportunities can come for you! So experiment and put in the time to explore a new platform. 

Plan for Your Year’s Events & Promotions

Another one of my favorites! Sit down and plan out your whole year. I love to make a Google spreadsheet and break it down into quarterly pages with projects, collaborations, and launches that I have going on. That way I can see it laid out and broken down into what I need to be focusing on and what I have coming up. 

This has helped me be able to map out my marketing strategy, launch plan, and estimated quarterly income too! This is a big game changer, and something to take time for!

Partner & Collab with Other Businesses

This is the perfect opportunity to reach out to other photographers, entrepreneurs, or businesses that you’ve always wanted to work with. See if you can come up with a type of collaboration that would be beneficial for BOTH of your businesses!

I have found a lot of my growth comes from these types of collaborations and expanding my business in that way, and I am always open to collaborations with other businesses. Not only are you both benefiting from it, but you are expanding your audience to someone else’s audience which opens up the door for new opportunities for you as well. 

Allow Yourself to Rest

YES this is a BIG one! If you find yourself needing to rest and recharge.. That is okay too. I am a big believer that rest is equally as important as the work that you do. You do not want to work yourself to the ground and get burnt out, and you will not be able to continue to grow your business in an impactful way if you are not allowing yourself to rest.

As an enneagram type 7, I sometimes find it hard to force myself to rest and not want to do ALL THE THINGS. But, I have gotten better about allowing myself and knowing that it is equally important. Sometimes for me that means going out in nature without the distraction of my phone or going on a hike, getting coffee with a friend, or hanging out with my mom!

ANYTHING that makes your soul feel rested and recharged is worth the time!

Final Thoughts

There is no right or wrong way to spend your extra down time whether that be during your slower season, or slower week if you don’t really have an off season. But these are my absolute favorite ways to spend any free time I have in my business and I hope you loved them and can implement them!

Check out more of my Gold Biz Podcast episodes here!

I have a super fun FREEBIE resource video on a BTS of an engagement session and how I pose + direct my couples.

Watch a BTS video of me posing + directing my couple HERE!