How do you guys deal with bad/slow months in Entrepreneurship?

[Lex DeVille]

How do you guys deal with slow months/ bad times in your business when it isint generating as much as previous months?

Mainly wine or bourbon. Just kidding.

The answer might depend on the kind of business you run. But when things aren't working well with fastlane pursuits, I pick up freelance work to supplement. Freelance isn't always predictable though. So more recently I've built what some might call "passive" income systems.

For instance, the Udemy courses I launched last month make money in the background for teaching things I know. T-shirts, courses, audiobook narration, ebook publishing...any of those can be turned into a full-fledged business, but they can also serve as supplemental income. In any case, the more you put in the more you get out.

Beyond that it's mainly money management. Keeping my expenses low so it doesn't take that much to cover them. A single freelance gig can pull enough cash for expenses. Combine that with the mostly passive background systems and there's not too many "bad" months. However, don't make the mistake of thinking you'll toss up 3 t-shirt designs and sell automatically (you'll need to have some business systems in place even for passive opportunities).

The last thing I'd suggest is to take showers, workout, go for walks, and get out of the house or office. Let your mind refresh if you get stuck and let it wander over creative ideas until it finds the right answer for you. Sometimes a little mindfullessness is where solutions hide.

 

[theag]

Multiple streams of income.

Currently my main income is from a single ecommerce store, but I still do some very steady consulting work on the side, which would cover my living expenses even if my business goes completely bust.

So its good to have an in-demand skill, like ads management, coding, copywriting, product sourcing, amz listing optimization etc. Depending on your business you will likely pick up at least one of those on the way anyways, so doing some freelance work with it is not much of a reach.

Planning to add more streams by diversifying products, sales channels, and at some point also industries/niches. Saving your money is obviously also helpful for rainy times.

This article is pretty good: http://wallstreetplayboys.com/building-a-recession-proof-life-ten-steps/

 

[IGP]

You have to smooth out the ups and downs by having a longer term goals.

For example, in any given day you probably don't look at how much work you got done from 7:45-8:45 AM. And you probably don't say man I only made $XXX amount of money in that hour either, right?

This is because your "goals" are longer than 1 hour at a time. You may have a goal of making $XXX/day.

Now, if you have a longer term goal than that. For example: 3 years. What happens in any given month won't matter either. It will be smoothed out over time. So, you have to change your mindset a bit.

Now, obviously this is more mental/strategy and won't pay the bills for that month. So, if you are having finance issues, you need to do have some reserves or have another stream of income.

 

[dimraj]

This is something no one talks much about, with a job you know at least you are guaranteed an income everymonth. With entrepreneurship, nothing is guaranteed

How do you guys deal with slow months/ bad times in your business when it isint generating as much as previous months?

Since i have gone self employed i have realised you can never exactly guarantee yourself a monthly income, my best month i am pulling in well over what people make in a whole year here, with my worst month making a loss

What i have since found about entreprenurship is Its constantly insane highs and sometimes crushing lows. I am not complaining just wondering how other business owners deal with monthly irregularities, and the fact that you can do everything right and ultimately nothing is guaranteed.

 

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[Flybye]

Multiple streams of income.....

THIS

The most important thing Ive learned from people with money is they DO have multiple sources of income. Finding the balance to ensure each are successful will be the most difficult thing to do, but use your time wisely, and I believe it can be managed. And it eventually comes to the point where each source of income can manage itself.