Quiet periods for your business can be looked at in two ways. You can worry and panic, thinking that your business is crumbling and there is nothing that you can do, or you can catch up with things that you never got the chance to do because you were so busy with running the business.
It can be scary to think about the amount of money that you need to make each week, day or even hour when you have work coming through the door, never mind when your going through that horrible quiet period. All you can seem to think about is everything is collapsing around you and about all those bills you have to pay.
The Switch
Every business has it's busy periods which inevitably means that there are going to be some quiet spells as well, so don't let that worry you because there never really is a happy medium where everything runs smoothly, with a comfortable trickle of work coming through the door.
It's like a switch where one day you can't even have a bite to eat because you are so busy, and then the next day you could have just kept the doors closed for the day.
Create Work
Business is a tough gig, so be prepared for the quiet spells and instead of worrying, why don't you re-evaluate things like your business practices and see if there is a way that you can improve them.
Spend some time looking into the previous years or months and try to figure out when you are most likely to have a quiet spell, so that you can prepare as best as you can for the inevitable happening.
Maybe figure out a special offer that you can offer your customers for these times and gain some more business, and maybe some more loyal and long term customers.
Catch up on the things that you said you would get round to, like painting the workshop floor, or tidying your bundle of messy papers and organising things a little better to speed up your office efficiency.
Give the place a good clean and do some repairs that you always said that you would get round to, because there is no better time than when you are quiet.
There are lots of things that you can do with your quiet periods instead of sitting, watching the phone or panicking that nothing is coming through the door.
Look on the bright side and remember that in business you will go through these spells and there isn't a lot that you can do about them. Just know that things will get busy again and that you won't ever get around to doing all the things that you said you would do, especially if all you are going to do is sit and worry.