Small business owners, we see you. Slow periods are stressful, so I thought I’d share some ways to make them some of most valuable moments in your year, that we have learnt over the past few years.

 When orders slow down, you finally get the headspace to work on the business rather than in it; clearing bottlenecks, tightening systems, and setting yourself up for a smoother, more profitable busy season.

These are five high‑impact things you can do, which we prioritise during slower times.

1. Service Your Equipment

Your printers, label printers, computers, scanners, without these, shit stops moving. And like anything mechanical, they need love.

Here’s what we do when orders slow down:

• Give everything a proper clean

• Check for wear and tear

• Update software and drivers

• Ask an AI model for step‑by‑step servicing instructions for your specific machine

A bit of preventative maintenance now massively reduces the risk of breakdowns when things get busy again. Nothing derails a dispatch day like a printer meltdown.

2. Try Red Tagging to Clear Clutter

Borrowed from Lean methodology, red tagging is a simple but powerful way to reclaim space and reduce time‑wasting clutter.

The process is straightforward:

• Identify anything in your workspace that isn’t useful

• Tag it with a red label

• Move it to a dedicated “red tag” area for 30 days

• If no one reaches for it… it goes - donate, recycle, or dispose

Clutter is a silent time stealer. I’ve learnt to drop the emotion around ‘stuff’(mostly) and get brutal for the sake of the bigger picture.

3. Review Your Processes (The Big One)

When I say “process”, I mean every tiny action you take in a day:

• Opening your emails

• Planning prices

• Packing orders

• Uploading products

• Managing customer service

• Even how you move around your workspace

Pick one ‘process’ each day and ask yourself:

• Why do we do it this way?

• Is there a step that can be removed?

• Can something be moved closer so I’m not walking back and forth?

• Can I add browser shortcuts so I’m not hunting for the same pages?

• Is there a template, automation, or tool that would make this easier?

Small improvements compound. A 30‑second saving on a task you do 20 times a day is huge over a year.

I promise, this will show up some very easy wins. A small example to get you started - look at where your kettle is located and then the rest of the tea and coffee making - can you move it all so it’s within hand reach? 

4. Sort Out Your Password Management

Not to sound dramatic, but hacking is on the rise, and small businesses are often the easiest targets. We learned this the hard way when our Facebook and Instagram were hacked a few years ago during our busiest season. It was stressful, disruptive, and expensive.

Now we use LastPass to generate, store, and share passwords across the team. It’s a bit of a setup project, but once it’s done:

• No more guessing passwords

• No more insecure spreadsheets

• No more “who changed the login?”

• And a dramatically reduced risk of being hacked

This is one of those investments that pays you back in peace of mind every single day.

5. Planning for the Year Ahead

Slow periods are ideal for zooming out and looking at the bigger picture. Our favourite way is to get a big year planner, we use this one.

Plot out:

• Key retail dates

• Team holidays

• Sale periods

• Product launches

• Trade shows

• Events happening 

• Birthdays

• Content and comms 

This always brings up interesting conversations and helps us look ahead. It helps us spot pinch points early, and gives a clear runway for planning campaigns, stock, and staffing. Having this up on the wall in the studio means it becomes a helpful tool to refer to often.