An Important Lesson About July For Your Business

Welcome to Million Dollar Grit, the podcast that dives deep into the world of entrepreneurship, where tenacity meets strategy and dreams meet reality. My name is Julie, and I explore.

The raw, often overlooked truths of what.

It takes to succeed in business and in life. It's not just about the glossy success stories. It's about the grit it takes to get there.

Hey, everyone, this is Julie, and today I want to talk to you about a really important lesson I have learned about the month of July. Now, I hope this is to help a bunch of you listening. And you may be the exception to the rule, but chances are you aren't. So I'm going to give you the bottom line first, which is July is the sloggiest month in business. And every year, despite knowing this, I start to panic, right? Things are slower, people are quiet. There isn't a lot of action. I'm feeling tired or unmotivated. I'm not sure what my revenue is going to look like. Why can't I get anything done? Even though kids are supposedly at camp every single year, it's the same. The same mood, the same vibe. In July, you might be the exception to the rule if you're in a market where July and August happen to be really busy. So let's say you're in the college prep space or the back to school space or the homeschool market, or maybe you're in a part of the world where July is not associated with vacation. But otherwise, you probably have the same feeling. And it may not hit right away in the beginning of July because we have Fourth of July if you're in the United States of America. But as July goes on, it gets really sloggy. And I'm recording this for every single one of my private clients, every single one of my students, my followers. This is 100% what happens every single July. And it's really hard to stave off panic or worry. Or maybe you're beating yourself up because you're not as productive as you wish you were. But this is also a great news. I have some great news, which is every year that I feel this way in July, it never stays. It never stays sloggy or slow. I have never seen where something slow in July was that same slow in September or October. Everything in life that we see in nature is a cycle. The same is true for business. So unless you're the exception to the rule, July is usually a difficult month. It is a terrible month to make big decisions about your life in business. It is a terrible month to judge Yourself. It is a terrible month to beat yourself up if sales are slow, okay? And it never, ever stays that way. Just the same way that a wave can't stay away forever, it has to crash on the shore. That's the same with how it feels in the summer. So rather than worrying about what it means about you or your business, if you're having a slow July, we're gonna do some other things. We're gonna do some momentum building things, even if they feel hard. The first and really important is we are going to rest. Recovery and rest is as important as action. And I started belly dancing and strength training about a month and a half ago. And as someone who doesn't naturally work out or use muscles like that, I quickly discovered that if I do not rest, I am basically undoing all the good things that I did in that exercise training session. So I learned from my fiance, who works out a lot, that you can't work the same muscle group two days in a row. You have to allow it to rest. Rest is important. It is the other side of the coin to action. July is a great month to rest. The second thing you can do during July is creatively brainstorm. This is difficult if you're busy worrying about what July means for your bottom line or you're worried about what it means for your business long term. We know that it's not going to stay this way. So if we can sort of accept what is about the summer and instead activate some of our brainstorming, take some walks, go to the beach, start imagining the future positively, like, what are the cool things that you could do? What are the big steps that you could make? Not today, but later? Okay? The third thing that we can do during July is clean and declutter. A lot of us have operational processes in our business that are not ideal. So we can do some operations projects that you are putting off during launch periods or during, you know, really busy seasons. And you can get things clean and organized so that when that next quarter comes, when quarter four begins, you have things more organized and in line. And the fourth thing you can do is you can go deep with the current customers and clients that you have. So even if you have a smaller launch or you have less clients, you can go deep with them, you can give them some extra attention and love. This is going to have multiple benefits. Number one, it's going to remind you why you're doing what you're doing, right? Because a lot of us, we need to. The more we interact with ideal clients and customers usually the happier we are because we're like, oh, that's right. This is why I do what I do, right? And so that's going to have a real added benefit to up your morale. You know how they say when you're feeling a lack of gratitude, the best thing you can do is go do something for somebody else? It's the same thing. The second thing is it gets better results, right? Like the more you can give, like the better results, which can in turn turn into a case study, can turn into a joint venture partnership, can turn into a testimonial, can turn into a word of mouth referral. So I'm working on all four of these things this month in July. I'm determined not to let panic set in, not to let the sloggy energy of July tell me anything about who I am or what my business, you know, is or is doing. I'm sleeping, I'm resting. I'm vacationing. I'm spending time with my children. I'm also giving myself time and space to brainstorm what that remainder of 2024 is going to look like, both with Digital Insiders as well as Funnel Gorgeous. I'm also going to tackle a project that I've been putting off and this is very typical for me. And I'm going to get things organized and, and cleaned up so that when the fall comes, and my fall is about to be the craziest fall of my life, I'm ready. And so I'm actually going to be taking this energy in July and August. Both, both months are prepping me because September, October, November, December are crazy. And I am going to go deep as well. So next week I have 25 of clients coming to my home for CEO week. I absolutely love this week. There's a lot of amazing conversation and masterminding and these women and men are coming and I'm so excited. And so I hope that this helps you. This is the advice that I have for you about July. Maybe 1, 2, 3, or all four of them will be relevant for you. Maybe you need to have this energy for both July and August, like I do. If you follow me on social media, you know that this fall I am getting married. So there are a whole bunch of things happening once school begins. First, I'm going to have a senior in high school and I'm going to have a freshman in college. So I have two sort of big transitions. One of my daughters is turning 18. My son is turning 21. I've got a senior. You know, it's like from from my kids perspective, it's a big, it's a big year. Right. I also have two traveling engagements in September. One is going to be in New York City and one is in Providence, Rhode Island. The one in Providence I'm actually going to be speaking at, I'll be talking about that a little bit more. October is wedding month. So the entire month is going to be focused on the wedding, getting the house and barn finalized. All those details I honestly can't even imagine. I'm like, I don't know if I can do Halloween this year because it's like five days after the wedding. So sorry, kids, you guys are on your own for Halloween. So October is a very, very busy month for the wedding and there's also just all kinds of business stuff that are, that's going on in October as well. November. Very excited to announce that the November mastermind for the Digital Insiders is in sunny San Diego. If you are sitting on the fence thinking, when is the right time to join Digital Insiders? Well, I'm going to tell you right now. It is now. You want to get into Digital Insiders and you want to be on that San Diego trip. It's going to be amazing. So we have San Diego. I think we're going to try to go to Disneyland before. I've never been to Disneyland, which is amazing considering that I am such a Disney like freak. So that's very exciting. Then of course we've got Thanksgiving and then in December we have a pre honeymoon and then Christmas and a bunch of birthdays. So it is a crazy quarter four. I need the slog of July and August really badly. And so I hope that this has been helpful if you are having that kind of July. Sink into it, lean into it and I'll talk to you soon. Thanks.

And there you have it, folks. Another dose of million dollar grit. I hope today's episode has left you feeling inspired, equipped and ready to face your own entrepreneurial journey with resolve. Remember, until next time. Next time, embrace the struggle. Harness your grit and keep pushing forward. You're stronger than any challenge you face. I'm Julie and this has been Million Dollar Grit.