As I write this, the Edinburgh school holidays have just begun, and my daughter has found herself with a rare week where absolutely nothing is scheduled before summer activities begin.
She's fourteen, and a complete night owl. Sadly, she's inherited that from me.
We've been fairly relaxed about bedtimes for a few days. Stay up a bit later, have a lie in, enjoy the freedom while it lasts, that kind of thing…
This morning, however, I discovered we'd interpreted "a bit later" rather differently than she had.
She eventually went to bed at half six.
In the morning.
Part of me thinks we should be dragging her sleeping pattern back towards something that resembles normality before it disappears altogether. The other part thinks she'll probably not have another week quite like this for ages, and perhaps a few days of complete freedom isn't the end of the world.
I'm genuinely undecided.
The whole lying abed thing did make me think about something else, though.
A good use of half an hour
At this time of year it's common to see business owners feeling a wee bit guilty because they're posting less than usual. Children are at home, holidays are booked, routines disappear, and work naturally moves down the priority list for a week or two.
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I'm not convinced that's really a problem, though.
People do need to discover your business in the first place, but once they've found you, what really matters is whether they quickly understand what you do and why you're the right person to help them.
That's one of the reasons I spend so much time talking about helping people understand your business rather than simply helping more people see it.
Being visible certainly helps, but it's only useful if the people who find you immediately understand who you are, what you do, and why they should trust you.
That's why, if you do find yourself with half an hour over the next few weeks, I'd spend it making one thing easier to understand rather than trying to squeeze in another social media post that fewer folk will probably see anyway.
Instead, spend half an hour improving one part of your business:
- Rewrite the introduction on your home page.
- Replace a photograph that no longer reflects your business.
- Clarify one service page.
- Check whether your About page explains how you work, rather than simply listing your qualifications.
Those small improvements will still be working for you long after this week's social media posts have disappeared from everyone's feed.
A few more thoughts on this
If you're emerging from a quieter season in your business, you might enjoy How to rebuild business visibility after a quiet spell. It looks at why quieter periods are a normal part of running a small business, and why trying to compensate by suddenly posting everywhere often creates more pressure than progress.
I've also written about this idea in more depth in The SIGNAL framework: a simple way to think about business visibility, where I explain why being understood matters far more than simply being seen.
And if replacing an old photograph has made you realise your current images aren't working very hard for your business, my guide on How to use your brand photos might give you a few ideas before you even think about booking another shoot.
Summer has a funny way of reminding us that life doesn't always fit neatly around business plans, doesn't it?
Sometimes the most useful thing you can do isn't create something new. It's to make your business easier to understand.
Future you will probably thank you for it.
