Woo! This post is very timely for me because all last week the UK was in the grip of a nationwide postal strike. This was very stressful for me because I send all of my parcels by Royal Mail (the UK’s postal service) and I do not use couriers (YET!). Even though my business is reasonably well established and I am very fortunate in having lots of loyal regular customers; I never ever take anything for granted and each order (no matter what it’s size) is precious. So last week when the postal strike was on you can imagine things went somewhat quiet…approx. 50% quiet!! This resulted in fair amount of nail (and cake) biting. Was it me, was it something I said, don’t people want to make bags anymore, is a competitor holding a big sale? etc. etc. etc. Thankfully as soon as news of the end of the strike action was on the telly things went back to normal and I can breathe sigh of relief (whilst still taking nothing for granted).
Neaaaargghh! Head for the hills, that damn postal strike will be the end of me!!!! Luckily my partner bought me some gorgeous flowers, told me to calm down, and he told me that I’m doing everything that I can, and I’m doing well.
Here are 4 things that I did during that quiet week (and other quiet periods) to prevent myself from jacking it all in and running away screaming:
- I started my Fall/Autumn Sale 2 weeks earlier than planned – at first I found the idea of having sales hard because I didn’t have much stock anyway, and the thought of buying more stuff to sell (when I already have stock that wasn’t selling well) was pretty scary! Well, after trading for 2 years I can say that Sales are worth having even if you only break even (or even make a loss on some items). This is because you get to clear your stock, you’ll often find that customers will come back anticipating a future sale, and sometimes they will buy more items with the money saved. These are all things that you and I do when there’s a sale on. I know it’s hard (I’ve been there) but don’t get attached to something because you love it, if it’s not selling (even after marketing it) see if lowering the price will help. One of the main attractions to any shop is not just what it sells; it’s also the new things that it sells. It’s important to keep things fresh because it keeps your customers interested. So, I am having my Sale to make room for new stock!
- I share my concerns and worries with my partner and my friends – running your own business can be lonely at times. It’s scary to think that your business is totally reliant on you and even if you have ace employees the buck still stops with you. Most of the time the responsibility feels more like freedom and it is the main attraction to running your own business, but we all have days when nothing seems to go right and then the crazy voices come out to play… This is normal, it doesn’t matter how hardy you are; you’ll still have rubbish days/weeks/or months and it’s so important to talk to those around you when you feel wobbly, don’t keep it in! Sometimes your loved ones will be able to provide practical help, or they will just give you kind words of encouragement and a nice cup of tea all of which you will need!
- I treated myself – (my friends will laugh when they read this) but if things are quieter you will have a little bit of extra time to step back from your business and be good to yourself. You work hard (and most likely long hours), and even if you enjoy it (as I do) it’s essential to treat yourself every now and again. Because if you feel great, you definitely work great. Yes, you can (and should) catch up on some of the boring business admin, but you’ll feel happier after a nice hair cut, or a pretty something from Etsy. You’ll feel uplifted and raring to go!
- I did some research – one of the most important things you can (continually) do for your business is research. You need to keep researching for what’s going to be popular, what is popular now, and what your competition is doing (so you can do something different). For some this is just part of the web surfing that a crafter would do anyway, for you as a business owner this is way to keep abreast of what’s going on out there. Of course if you have a bit more spare time you can do some marketing for your craft site which is something else that you should do continually. In doing research during your quiet periods you are focusing on ways to improve your business in the future which is of far more benefit to your craft business than fretting and getting depressed over the quiet period.
Do you also drive yourself crazy with worry during a quiet patch? 
What do you do to keep calm?