Summer is the Secret Weapon of My Online Brand and Business
What Season is Yours?
It’s almost the end of April when I’m sending this edition of Creators Getting Paid. Wild. And even though Denver forecasted to get some snow on Saturday and then hit 80 degrees a couple of days after-many of us are aware of the fact that summer is just around the corner. And while many people are planning to lean into the summer slow down, it is the time of year when I’m ramping up my online business. Today I thought it would be good to talk about the recognizing the moments that you can optimize and grow your brand while others are easing off.
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What Happens During Summer?
First, I would like to start with what normally happens during summer for most online entrepreneurs.
Vacations-Many of us (especially US based online entrepreneurs) have a limited amount of vacation time. We typically would take some time off during the summer. This totally makes sense because school is out (for kids and adults) the weather is great and it’s a natural time of year.
Conference season-I love attending conferences and retreats and many are scheduled during this time.
Festival and Concert season-Don’t forget all of the cool fun things happening at this time of year. Whether it’s in your home town or somewhere else, shenanigans shall ensue LOL!
There’s one last thing that happens during the summer that we need to talk about.
The Summer Slow Down
It’s not surprising that people ease off on the work that they’re doing in their business. This could happen intentionally or unintentionally. What I’m talking about could include:
Publishing fewer posts on your website(s)
Falling behind or slowing down on your content production
Waiting to review your brand strategy, goals or intentions related to Q3 and Q4.
If you’ve been focused and working hard for Q1 and Q2 it’s not surprising that summer feels like the right time to slow things down.
How I Optimize Summer for Brand Growth
Have you ever been told the tale of “The Ant and the Grasshopper?” It’s a fable and basically it shares how during the Spring and Summer a colony of ants are working hard and preparing for winter. The Grasshopper mocks them and plays in the sun. There are two different endings to the story.
Ending #1-The Grasshopper is starving and the Ants take pity on it and help it out.
Ending #2-Is a perfect post capitalistic American ending where the Grasshopper dies from hunger and the cold.
What in the heck does this have to do with building an online brand? I work really hard during the summer so that I can slow down during the winter without going broke LOL! I’m focusing on growing income and banking cash so that I can go snowboarding, spend time with my mom and friends and soak in the hot tub from mid-November through mid-January.
This time of year also happens to be when my energy is at its lowest. I even take time off of social media and focus on decompressing so that I’m fresh for the upcoming year.
What Do I Do?
I thought it would be helpful to share what I’ve done in the past and what I’m planning for this summer. My hope is that this inspires action at the right time of year for your own natural “business clock” and business flow.
Working on my third launch of The Mint Collective-a mastermind/membership hybrid resource. Sign up here to learn more and get on the waitlist. The second launch is a few weeks away in May.
Batch record podcast guest interviews-I try to record as many of these as is humanly possible in May and June. I find July and August to be a bit more challenging to work with guests.
Batch record solo podcast interviews-These are much easier to do because it’s just me. But, I do like to flesh out the content and purpose of the episode. Descript is a great way for me to cut down on the amount of time it takes to do that.
Double-down on email list building-I like to create a number of useful opt-ins for email list building. Several of my lists have workshops as the bonus. These take time to flesh out and work through.
Guest on other people’s podcasts-Summer is a great time for me to be invited as a guest on other people’s podcasts. What I love about recording in the summer is that those episodes typically go “live” during the Fall and Winter of the upcoming year.
Lean into in-person event season-These events could be hosted in my hometown or out-of-state. I love the local events because they often include: hiking/camping/concerts and random stuff that often are the most unexpected way to meet amazing people. My first out-of-state in-person event will be at the end of July, almost 10 months since my last out of state event. In-person time with people is huge.
That’s a pretty busy summer. Why do I push so hard? I want to accelerate my momentum going into Fall and take advantage of other creators taking time off from their brand building.
Do I Take a Break?
Yes! I absolutely take breaks and take time off during the summer. But there are a few things that I do that help keep me energized and focused when I’m working harder during the year. These strategies may be helpful to you as well.
Work from a different location-I like to head to the mountains and stay at a bougie hostel for 2-5 days working on my business. I would consider this a business retreat.
Use a day pass for a spa-I’m obsessed with Resort Pass. It’s a cool way to that hotels have begun giving people who aren’t staying at their facilities access to those facilities. Each place is different. Depending on the time of year I like to head to a place with a pool, hot tub and steam rooms. I also look for places that have a business center or space that you can work from.
Hang out at a patio-I love coffee shops with great patios. Working from a patio is so chill and I get a ton of work done.
What is the Season You Could Lean Into?
Every niche is different and the different niches that I focus on have different seasonality. What is the seasonality of your niche and when can you leverage other people’s off-time in order to accelerate momentum for your brand? I have a list of questions for you to work through to figure that out below. Also, you may need to let go of something else to free up time to let something else in within your brand.