While talking with a client recently, he was bemoaning the diminished traffic during the winter snows. When asked what he did with the down time, he replied, “Oh, you know, the usual. I cleaned, organized and took care of some loose ends.” When asked if he couldn’t have an employee do that, he said, “Well, I suppose, but I know exactly how i want things.”

This is a perfect example of working in the business, not on it. We talked about how he might have made that time more profitable and here’s part of the list:

• Call customers and say, “Thanks for your business - what can I do for you?”
• Look over his Facebook page and add posts to it
• Look over his Facebook page’s friends and see what they’re talking about; knowing that can help you know what they’re likely to want or need so that you can advertise to their comments
• Look for local happenings on the different calendars and see if there’s an event that would offer people and a theme that resonates with his business
• Call his vendors and see if they have any marketing ideas or have any examples of some other customer’s promotions

As you can see, the list is as long as your imagination. If you have employees, let them do the busy work. It’s easy to fall into doing menial tasks when you’re stressed because, as Dennis Waitley says, “They are tension relieving, not goal achieving.”

So, don’t fret the snow. Use that time to build customer relationships and boost your business.