Summer Loving Or Loathing?

Hello and welcome to the You Can podcast. In today's episode we're going to be talking about summer loving or loathing, your guide to balancing business this summer.
Now I know that it can be tricky to balance the kids and your business and everything else that's going on in life in general over the next six to eight weeks and so I wanted to put on this extra bonus episode for you to share with you some of the ways that you can navigate this I've been navigating it now for the last three summers and self-inflicted because we went to preschool too early but anyway that's a different story and so you know there is so much going on there is so much to sort of manage and you don't want to be in that position where come september you're starting from scratch with your engagement at a time when actually you can be really making the most of people being back on it because at the moment there are fewer customers around and that is something worth noting is other people are also distracted particularly if you're a b2b but even b2c people have got children in tow they've got other things to think around if it's not a child orientated opportunity in which case you know stop listening to this podcast and go and make hay whilst the sun shines as far as a business that makes the most of the school holidays with school support etc etc and thank you very much for providing that um but for those of you which aren't in that industry those of you it should be to be or b2c with people your target target audience are people who have children at of school age. And that takes up a rather large percentage of the population.
And so how do you start to navigate this? And how do you come out the other end with a business which is still engaged, you still got an audience that is engaged with them and you haven't just deserted them over the last six to eight weeks. You've kept in touch with them and you are now in a position to better serve them once again well what the first thing that i would really say actually is is it true that your audience isn't interested right now is it true that they are distracted and they would rather wait and put things off until september now i think it's very easy sometimes because everyone else is telling us that's the case and maybe it doesn't seem as easy as normal to get clients engaged and onto programs etc that actually people aren't buying because there are a lot of people out there who aren't parents or who actually that they are sorted out with child care and they want to go around their regular process there's some people who who enjoy and thrive on having that sense of normality of having things that they are working on over the summer and actually for some businesses where their customer base is distracted by summer holidays then actually this can be a really really good time for them to upskill and to learn things or to work on their business so don't write it off completely sends check is this actually accurate are my ideal clients also busy are they also um distracted if it's a case of you know what actually they could do with my help right now so you're in the sort of business service sector or something like that then what you can look at doing is looking at what you can how you can support them what you can do for your ideal client right now based on the capacity that you have and that is something that i'll come on to in a few moments around being realistic in what you can achieve over this period of time but to start the focus on you and how you can keep things going in your business first of all I'm going to focus in on your social media okay so you want to continue that presence because you've probably put a lot of effort into into building up that momentum into building up awareness you don't want to lose that and so I've got sort of three kind of key tips for you to keep things ticking over the first one is to use scheduling I'm not the biggest fan of scheduling on a regular basis if you can do it live so that you can get behind the post and do the interactions then I would strongly recommend it but if that's not feasible if your day is going to be what we could call it fluid, and you're going to be responding to things, you're going to be out with the kids, etc, then obviously scheduling is the way forwards.
It enables you to be there without actually being there. You're not tied to having to do something at a particular time.
And so scheduling can be definitely your friend. On that note, what I would also do is be looking back and reviewing some of your content and look to reuse your content.
I think this is something that people totally underutilise. I know people when they start working with me, we look at actually what content are they repurposing and there is very little that is being repurposed.
They tend to create new content all the time. And I can see the value in updating or keeping a certain type of content or a certain perspective up to date with relevant examples etc but you can use the general crux of the email or the other post time and time again if that is something that you are regularly talking about if that is you specialize, then people are going to expect to be receiving emails

and seeing posts from you on a regular basis, which contain information that is in that post. So don't over underestimate, don't overlook your content that you have already created.
That can save you so much time and help you to get ahead. One of the ways I get clients to kind of get ahead with their content is also to create double the amount over a number of days or weeks to get them into a position where they're working ahead of time.
Yes, it can feel like a lot of work at the time when you're creating the content, but it can give you that buffer and you can use that buffer going forwards. And so actually you're not doing things by the seat of your pants as much.
You are in a position where you are able to create it and schedule it or put it into a folder that you can then dip into so you can be a couple of weeks or even a month ahead of schedule on when you need to be posting that really can help take the pressure off and in that process it can actually help you be more creative another thing to think around is allocating 20 or even just 10 minutes a day, five days a week to interact on your socials. So that is kind of with clients, I get them to do between 20 and 40 minutes a day into 10 minute blocks where they go on to social media, they'll interact with people, answer questions, respond to stuff to be present.
That's when you're working organics. So that's when you are doing your organic marketing to generate your sales, if that's the position you're in, then doing even just, you know, a half or even a quarter of that will help you stay forefront of people's minds, it will help you to stay in favour with the algorithm, to be interacting on those social platforms, now I can't help but say at this point that it is really, really important that you don't do all the platforms because when you're looking at, okay, I'm gonna work all these things, you're spreading yourselves too thinly.
If you are in a position where you're spending 10 minutes a day on your social media to do 10 minutes across five channels, that's two minutes per channel, you're only just getting into it and you're having to swap onto another channel you haven't having you're not having the impact always have one channel as your kind of focus and then another as your backup yes when you've created videos for example you can disseminate them onto other platforms because you know it's out there in that medium but that's not what who you're creating it for and when you come back to bare minimums of scheduling you schedule for your key platform and your backup platform the others are nice to haves and can be added in as and when you can but that is a really effective way of working the algorithm working social media so that you are able to continue the momentum around your posts and your brand as a whole point number four i wanted to make isn't about your social but about your approach to your business in general is to be realistic during this time okay with what you want to achieve. Think about why you have your business, why you set out to have the business and a lot of the times people want it for flexibility and freedom and so this is your opportunity to use that flexibility to use that freedom.
Now if you are anything like, then the lead up to summer is the best time. It's the most exciting time.
It's the time where things really are getting momentum and new opportunities are springing up here, there and everywhere. And you're thinking, I cannot believe this is happening because now I'm going to go off and spend less time in my business over the next, you know, six to eight weeks.
And so you are there in that position where you feel torn between the opportunities that

are within your business and spending that time that you so value with your children but I can tell you your business will be there when you get back okay you want to do the actions you want to make sure that you are present and that you know people are still remembering you but you don't have to chase all those opportunities right now a lot of those opportunities can and will wait and you've got to think you know what if that opportunity can't wait then is this the right opportunity for me based on what is really important to me based on my values which we talked about in episode three with Amanda so please please do keep that in mind and don't put too much on yourself there is a lot to manage in the school holidays even if they're going to clubs etc etc it's the dropping off the picking up all the different timings all the different equipment and everything else it's a busy time but it's not a time that will last forever and so make sure that you can make the most of it as much as possible the logistics of the school holidays leads me on to kind of point number five which is have a plan. Now I literally have a printed out calendar for August that I've put on all the different things.
I'm quite fortunate, unfortunate in that the time scales that I'm needing to sort of focus in on are just over five weeks so I haven't got the very long holidays that I've had to deal with before and that means that I'm not going to get as much time with the kids and so I want to make the most of that but also you can fit it very nicely onto one sheet of paper and so that's what I've got I've got it mapped out I've got different days with different activities I've tried to make it so that we haven't overscheduled and I think that's something that I'm reading more and more around you know the scheduling and the overscheduling of our children when you think about the amount of hobbies and after school things that we used to do versus what our kids are now doing and we want the best for them that's why we're running around ragged helping them to do all the things is because we want the best for them but actually sometimes getting within that downtime is also a good option but having a plan over what's going to happen there is nothing worse I have been there where I thought you know what we're just gonna gonna keep things nice and fluid we're gonna be flexible we're gonna see what what comes up and then it gets quite stressful because you're like actually we have nothing in the diary we have nothing to focus on we have no structure and structure in my family does not go down very well or a lack of structure I should say doesn't go down very well and so it helps to have that plan in place so everybody knows where they are so get clear on okay what's going to be a tricky day when do I need to work when can I not work for me what I tend to do is I tend to have meetings in the afternoon so my meetings with clients start at the earliest is kind of like one o'clock with the odd client that I need to fit in in the morning so but rule of thumb is sort of one-ish and so you know that runs through then to sort of like three or four and that enables me during the school holidays that I'll do the mornings and my husband does the afternoons and that's how we tend to work it I also work sometimes into the evenings because of working with the US and so that fits us very very well that also fits with my personality which is I enjoy working of an evening and going to bed later and it is my thing so having that plan having that structure there means that come the holidays everyone knows where they are at and that's the thing is is we tend to as women take that burden of that. And so being able to share that and be very, very clearly of what we're expecting from other people can be really quite helpful.
You've also got, that's the sort of next point I wanted to come on to, which is asking for help. You are not a superwoman.
You can't do everything. It is impossible for you to do the hours, if you're doing full time or even part timetime it would be impossible to do those at the same time as looking after your children your productivity greatly reduces when you are being completely you know consistently interrupted by your kids and they don't mean to but it's like a magnet isn't it as soon as you get onto a task they are drawn to you with 101 questions about all weird and wonderful stuff and so asking for help getting clear on you know where you could do with some focused time and there's nothing wrong with this there's nothing wrong with wanting to continue okay if you're like you know what I don't want to spend all day with them I want to continue working in my business this is what I enjoy and this is where you know where my skills lie and rather than you know painting and drawing dinosaurs and doing all the other things and that is absolutely okay that's what works for you if that gives you more energy and get helps you to be a better parent a more patient parent when you are with them then do the stuff that you need to do to keep you in a good headspace because there there is nothing worse than trying to battle your way through a tricky holiday, feeling stressed, getting snappy, when actually giving yourself a little bit of time out, a little bit of space to do the things so that you don't feel stressed.
Could have changed things around totally differently. Okay? You know, kids remember how you made them feel and the interactions that you had.
So work on that and give yourself the best opportunity of having nice times with them that doesn't have to cost money it doesn't have to be days out and but just doing fun stuff together or just hanging out together and but a stressed overworked overstretched mum um it's not so much fun to be around and you don't want that and they don't want that either. So I hope sharing that with you has helped.
I hope it's given you some food for thought and got you thinking around how you can best manage it for you and your business and your family. And that's the thing is guys, at the end of the day, this is your family, this is your business.
You know your family, you know your business, you know your own needs. The key thing here is to work with those to create a summer holiday time that works for all of you works for you and and helps you to continue working on your business in whatever format you want during that period of time so that's it for me guys for this bonus session if you do have any comments want to share what you do then please do go ahead and comment or alternatively jump into the you can facebook community and share your thoughts on this the more insights the the more different ways of doing things we can be sharing um the better it is for everybody to to come up with their own and to create something that works for them so that's it for me this bonus episode if you would like to hear more podcasts from me then please please do follow the podcast

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have a great rest of your week bye for now