26 Things to Do When Business is Slow and in Downtime Mode(Contd...)

Brainstorm Ways to Obtain New Clients

In addition to searching for new jobs, freelancers should also take this slow business period to brainstorm about ways to gain the most amount of new clients in a short period of time. This may involve reconsidering one’s advertising methods, checking the available finances to see what resources they can use to gain more clients through advertising and looking over the current offerings to see if the business can offer more valuable services.

Network and Make Business Connections

This is the best time to make more connections for your business. This can take the form of exchanging links, posting on forums, joining community sites, posting your articles to article banks, using social networking sites, etc. Here is an article I wrote on Successful Viral Marketing. It is a must-read article if you are interested in viral marketing and networking successfully.

Make Money on the Side
There are plenty of ways to make money both online and offline. A few ways to do this are:

• Write articles for sites that pay for them.
• Sell used things on eBay for a profit.
• Fill out surveys for money.
• Place Google Ads on your website or blog.
• Place affiliate marketing ads on your website or blog.
• Sell products on CafePress by coming up with unique items.
• Take pictures and sell them to Stock Photography sites.
• Here are ideas for web designers and graphic designers.
• Blog daily and put Google Ads on your blog”¦believe me the money will come in.

Take a Vacation with the Family
Since many freelancers work seven days a week, vacations are usually few and far between. When business is slow, this is the optimal time to get away for a little while and reconnect with the family. Since freelancers are never too far from their “office” as they usually work out of their home, getting away from it all in the way of a vacation is the perfect thing to do. Due to the fact that business is slow, there are no excuses with regard to being unable to get away from the office for a vacation.
Take the Time to Have Some Fun
If you don’t have the time or cash for a vacation, then at least allow yourself to have a little break from work. Use this free time to take a walk, go to the park, walk around in the mall, go out with some friends, go to the spa, or whatever floats your boat. Soon you will have more work than you can handle, so why not take advantage of this free time.
Take Care of Household Duties
For those who do freelance work out of their homes, it is often easy to overlook household duties and tasks, especially in the height of the work season. During the time when business is slow, use this time to take care of household duties whether it be something as simple as cleaning the bathrooms to something more extreme such as cleaning out the garage.