5 Ways To Grow Your Business This Summer

I used to think that business was dead in the summer. I also thought that business was dead around Christmas, any other holiday, and if any major event was going on in the world. So basically, I went through my whole year thinking that these long stretches of time were “supposed” to be dead — and I acted accordingly. Since I just assumed it was a dead season, I didn’t market my business like I would’ve. And sales reflected that. But then one December early on in my business I thought, “What if I just marketed things like I normally do? What if I didn’t buy into the story that sales would automatically be ‘dead’?

And what do you know – I had one of my highest sales months. Since then, I try not to buy into these old wives tales we hear about “July’s always slow” or “never launch anything in August.” I’ve launched something with MAJOR success in August, and I’ve had crazy busy Julys.

Long story short: you can absolutely grow your business in the summer. You can also choose to take a quieter season or a season that’s more focused on lead generation than sales, if you want. Either way let’s plant some seeds, water them, and watch them grow – whether it’s now or in the fall…

Ways To Grow Your Online Business This Summer

1 // Get Connected

Summer is a great time to propose meeting with new connections, social media friends, other owners of small businesses, or someone in your desired industry. People are much more excited about talking growth strategies and all things business growth in this beautiful weather than they are in the dead of winter.

Ask someone to join a Zoom call, or (if it’s safe) take a walk outdoors. Face-to-face connections (even if they’re done virtually) are invaluable to building your business. While you’re at it, chat about how you can team up and host a webinar, collab on a blog post, or make plans to pursue any of the other ways you as a business owner have found success in attracting new customers for when everyone’s back in session.

2 // Schedule Fall Events

Maybe your business is quieter in the summer. Use this time to reach out to new brands, blogs, or companies to schedule collaborations for the fall.

If you have a choice, I don’t personally recommend scheduling yourself to be featured on a Facebook group, a webinar, or something similar in August. People are away and getting ready to go back to school (or send their kids back). It’s not to say you shouldn’t spend all of August nurturing your business and existing customers, but you want to get the best bang for your buck in marketing your products or services.

3 // Recharge

Even though you should use this time to nurture your business, you should also take the time to nurture your mind, body, and soul. Summer is a great time for small business owners to prioritize self-care so you don’t get burnt out.

Savor this time. You can get outside, work at a little table at a coffee shop, celebrate all of the holidays you can in the sunny days before labor day, etc. Do all those things that, come February, you’ll be so grateful you did.

4 // Plan Your Year (1/2 is left!)

Sometime on a Friday afternoon, or a quiet business day, block out time to sit down and plan the rest of your year in 90-day blocks.

Take into account all of the holidays, the time of year, the seasons, & the different topics that come to mind with each. Plan with purpose and intention, with one thing flowing (sensibly) into the next. That way, everything you’re hustling for this summer will have a clear purpose and goal in mind.

5 // Host a (Virtual) Business Warming Party

Celebrate you, your hard work, your business, and all that comes along with being an entrepreneur by hosting an informal, fun Business Warming party. There are 2 amazing things I love about the idea of a business warming party:

• Putting JOY in Your Business…

Put the joy back into your business by actually celebrating, appreciating, and recognizing where you are, where you’ve been, and what you’ve built so far. Starting your own business is so serious and stressful. It’s important to remember why we wanted to start our own businesses.

It’s also so important to get into the mindset of really taking ownership of our business & what we do now (not just legally owning our businesses).  Throwing a party is a great way to own it. It’s your opportunity to tell everyone, “I’m a health coach” “I’m a website designer and graphic designer”…. and you’re damn proud of it.

• Frankly, it’s great networking

Hosting a business warming party is a fantastic & fun way to let absolutely everyone you know more about what you do. And why is that helpful? Because they’ll know how to tell other people what you do & they’ll know the right time to refer someone to you.

I don’t know how many times I’d run into people over the last year who, although I thought they knew what I did, would say “how’s your yoga business going?” I had a health coaching practice, not a yoga practice. I’m not a yoga teacher (although I wish I was!!).

It was such a wake-up call!  Sometimes we get so deep into our own businesses we think what we do is super clear to everyone else. Although it’s best to have your Business Warming party focused more on fun + celebration, you can give a quick, informal spiel on what your business is all about (who do you work with? how do you help them? what problems do you solve? what services do you offer? how can your family & friends help you grow your business & spread the word?)

What are you doing to grow your business this summer? How do you take advantage of the season to grow your business? Do you think throwing a business warming party would help you spread your message (and ultimately grow your client list)?

PS. Watch my free legal workshop: “5 Steps to Legally Protect & Grow Your Online Business.”