What effect does “slacking off” at the end of the year have on your business? Well, if you’re not careful, it could be devastating!
I’ve mentioned this to some of you before, but I felt it was important enough to dedicate a whole “weekly tip” column to it…
Many entrepreneurs approach the last 60 or so days of the year with an attitude of “nobody will buy my product/service because of the holidays (obviously I am NOT talking to you if you are in retail!). And to that I say “Phooey!” Here’s why you should NOT slack off at the end of the year…
1. You’ll lose momentum! In your marketing, sales, networking, whatever it is you do in your business, you will lose your forward momentum if you let off…then come January you will realize you have to start ALL OVER AGAIN from scratch and it will be very depressing for you.
2. YES, people buy houses (and other stuff) in December…in fact, December has always been a pretty good month for me! Investors often want to either buy more by the end of the year or get rid of stuff by the end of the year, and they will be looking to you for help! If you slack off, your competition will get those deals and you will be left out in the cold. I know a Realtor that was doing floor time on Christmas Eve a few years back and someone walked into the office and said they needed a house before the end of the year. They were a cash buyer and this agent got the deal because they didn’t give up, even on December 24th.
3. Is your business set on auto-pilot so checks are coming in even if you’re not working? If so, then don’t shut down that machine…it’s a money maker! Does Bill Gates “close” Microsoft in November and December? NO! Because he has a machine to make money even if he’s not there.
IF YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT AT THIS AUTO-PILOT LEVEL: Then maybe these last few weeks of the year could be spent focusing on getting your systems down and implemented so that next year will be even better.
4. You’ll get depressed and down because you won’t feel like you’re accomplishing anything. If you INSIST on taking December off, why don’t you look into volunteering for a local charity for a few weeks…they could really use a hand and it will keep you busy and feeling productive.
5. Last One: A friend of mine, Chris Hurn, just made the Inc. 500 list and he said “There’s no way I could have gotten my company on Inc.’s list if I decided to slack off in the 4th quarter of each year…” so take a lesson from a very smart and successful young man and…
Get to Work!
See you next week!
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