Does August Equal “The Dog Days of Summer” for Entrepreneurs?
The weather is hot, but your business activities don’t have to go cold.
The weather is hot, but your business activities don’t have to go cold.
As a #LinkedInCreator, I recently published an article about keeping your business going during the hottest days of the year.
The “dog days of summer” are the hot, sultry days of summer, beginning in either July or August and lasting 30–61 days. They were historically the period following the rising of the star system Sirius (also known as the “Dog Star”), which Hellenistic astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. The phrase now often means the time of the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Sirius, also known as its Latin name “Canis Major,” is by far the brightest star in the night sky, and ancient astronomers all over the world noticed. In Egypt, its return to the night sky became known as a precursor to the annual flooding of the Nile and was worshipped as the goddess Sopdet. In Greece, it became known as the precursor of the unpleasantly hot phase of the summer and believed that the annual return of Sirius was responsible for bringing severe heat, high fever, and sudden thunderstorms.
In popular culture, the dog days of summer were often associated with bad moods, bad luck, and overall suffering, especially before air conditioning. Actually, however, Sirius is 8.7 light-years (8.23×1013 km) away from Earth and has no effect whatsoever on the planet’s weather or temperature.
Entrepreneurs: To Work or Not to Work in the Summer? That is the question.
Many times, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs fall into the mind trap that summer is not the time to try to get a lot of work done. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Yes, many people take vacations in the summer, but many do not.
Yes, it may seem that many people just aren’t paying attention in the summer, but many are.
Of course, in these times of COVID and climate change with so many fires, floods, etc., things may be different for now. But the dog days of summer are always the perfect time for you to get a lot of work done in and on your business. (As long as the power stays on and you have air conditioning…)
5 Things to Do to Grow Your Business in the Summer
Connect and re-connect without current customers and clients. It costs 7X more to gain a new customer or client than it does to keep and nurture the ones you already have. What retention activities can you complete during the rest of the summer?
Step up your prospecting activities. You should always be prospecting, but summer is an excellent time to move previous prospects to your priority contact list. What type of marketing campaign can you design and implement now so that you can soon have new customers or clients?
Revisit your sales and marketing plans. During the summer, you are already in the 3rd quarter of the year! Many things may have changed recently. What changes and revisions can you make to your sales and marketing plans during the summer to prepare for a successful 4th quarter?
Promote yourself and your business offerings constantly and consistently. People’s lives naturally get busier after Labor Day and during the rest of September. Before all of the holiday promotions start inundating people’s attention, summer is a great time to get their attention. What multi-faceted promotional activities can you plan and complete this summer?
Relax. This IS summer, after all. Many entrepreneurs and solopreneurs work TOO hard, and the next thing they know, winter is here! While you are working on #’s 1–4 above, remember to take time to work on yourself. Rest and rejuvenation are just as important to your personal and professional success as all of the other activities. What fun outdoor activities can you enjoy during the rest of the summer?
The “dog days of summer” don’t have to drag you down. You can make great progress in your business AND enjoy the summer months.
Let us know how your summer is going!
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Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.