Whether you’ve taken time off or simply made the most of the natural lull, the end of summer signifies a chance for businesses to refocus their goals and rejuvenate their strategies ready for the new season ahead.
We asked two interior designers and a garden designer to share their advice on how they find their groove, readjust their focus, and recharge their business after a break so it’s ready for growth.
1. Re-establish a routine
A well-deserved holiday or slowdown during the summer months is important for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing, but getting back into work in September can be challenging. The key, say these pros, is to break tasks down, so they feel more manageable.
“It’s helpful to write down the status of key project tasks and business priorities before
the holiday,” garden designer Christine Wilkie says. “That way, you have a ready-made checklist that quickly clears any post-holiday brain fog, so you can hit the ground running.”
Interior designer Wren Loucks of Be-Kin agrees, saying, “Before I go on holiday, I will prepare as much work as I can in advance to lighten the load when I’m away. I also prepare a list of the key priorities to focus on when I return.”
2. Embrace the post-holiday energy with a refresh of your office space
It’s often during periods of downtime that ideas and new perspectives can come into focus, so taking time to refresh your office space can help invigorate creative juices.
“I have a huge tidy-up and sort-out of my office,” Vickie Nickolls of Interior Therapy says. “For me, a tidy office equals a tidy mind. I clear my mood boards so I’m ready to start again come September. This just helps me feel more organised and refreshed ready for the pre-Christmas rush.”
The pros agree this is a great time to clear out samples and brochures, making space for the new season collections. “Purge your samples, getting rid of outdated or discontinued lines to make room for newer, innovative materials that springboard new design ideas for upcoming projects,” Christine says.
“I also love an office refresh – sorting through samples and paperwork, and restyling the office,” Wren adds. “Clearing the energy of my office is important to me. I do this regularly with home healing products such as sage.”
3. Set targets for the weeks and months ahead
With Christmas seemingly around the corner, this time of year is a good point to get projects on track and aim to finish the year strongly.
“At the start of September, I have a similar outlook as I do at the beginning of the year – a fresh start,” Vickie says. “I like to have a plan to try to wrap up projects before Christmas, as you do find that everything winds down over that period. The lead up to Christmas is always a busy period for us – it’s always a final push to complete projects.”
“In the run-up to seasonal holidays, such as Christmas, schedule in contact calls or site meetings with all active clients to ensure everyone is aware of project status and next steps after the break,” Christine suggests.
“A good tip for time management and productivity is to break down your annual plan into bite-size chunks – for example, monthly and quarterly actions with clear deliverables,” she continues. “This keeps the focus on what’s important and urgent, ensuring all actions are aligned to the overall goals and objectives for the year ahead.”
4. Use this time to clean up your digital footprint
Taking time to clear cluttered devices, empty email inboxes, update profiles and refresh your online presence will ensure your digital life is tidy, secure and ready for a new phase.
“Keeping our digital systems clean and tidy is important,” Wren says. “I think of digital storage in a similar way to physical storage: it needs to be clearly labelled, filed thoughtfully, and intuitive to find – and a couple of times a year it needs a declutter.”
“I like to use this downtime to create social media content, so I have plenty of stories ready to go when I start getting busy with projects,” Vickie says. “I also unsubscribe from any unnecessary newsletters – it’s very cathartic.”
Christine likes to use the time to update her Houzz profile to attract new leads. “Curating your online presence by adding new client projects and reviews to your Houzz profile is crucial to maintaining relevance and a decent level of enquiries,” she says.
5. Reconnect with your team
As Christine points out, a well-connected team is at the heart of any well-run operation, so reuniting with your work colleagues after a long break is crucial for boosting morale and realigning on business strategies.
“Coffee catch-ups are great for day-to-day interactions, but, for something more structured, consider a team away-day or off-site,” Christine suggests. “This a great way to reconnect with colleagues and encourage their wider participation in the business. Use such sessions to brainstorm ideas, solve problems, collaborate on new projects and assign areas of responsibility that help to move the business forward.”
Vickie also makes a good point. “Fortunately, many trade shows start up again in September, so this is a great way to get into London, visit the brands we love, and also see the new collections, which then provides some much-need inspiration after the summer break.”
6. Have an autumn ‘spring clean’ of your admin
Tidying up and reorganising your files, invoices, templates and other physical admin will improve efficiency and productivity. “I like to have all my processes and templates in place, including templates for invoicing, contracts and time-tracking, and set up files ready for any new projects,” Vickie says.
Houzz Pro software can help with this, as there are numerous tools that allow you to create templates for tasks such as Invoices, Proposals, Schedules and Email Marketing. It’s worth making the most of any downtime to review your existing templates or set up new ones.
By taking your time to organise your processes efficiently, you’ll reduce stress and have a greater sense of control over your business.
