Hey everybody, it’s Pat here. This is a topic I really wanted to share today. I want to talk to you about the summer slip. I just got back from my yoga class, like just, and thus the yoga attire, but I was at my yoga class, and preparing to go to that yoga class is really what prompted this Facebook Live topic.

I’ve been on the road for a month, out of routine. I’m back now, in London, Ontario, and back in routine, which feels great. I love it. Here’s the thing. My normal routine includes going to yoga two mornings a week. It’s a new habit for me this year, and one I love and that really fits with my three overall goals for the year, which are health, wealth, and happiness.

My buddy, with whom I go to the yoga classes, was not available today nor last Thursday, and so last Thursday I thought well, that’s okay because I’m feeling a little jet-lagged and tired, distractions, and so on, so I let it go and I went for a walk instead, but leading up to the yoga class this morning, I was telling myself, “It’s a beautiful out. I could go for a bike ride instead or I could go for a walk later,” and those are the death words, I call them. Later. Because for me, when I don’t get my exercise in in the morning, later most often doesn’t happen, and I’m sure it’s the same for you.

Okay, so what does this have to do with business, you’re wondering. My thoughts about going to yoga or not going to yoga, a.) because I’ve been out of routine, b.) because my accountability buddy and my yoga buddy was not here this morning, led me to thinking about how we do business as entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly when we go to turn the calendar page this week to June 1st. Here are some key points. Death words can really mess with you as we head into the summer months. I am here to talk to business owners, not those of you who are hobby owners, who are just dabbling in business and just playing around with things. I’m here to talk to business owners.

When I talk about the summer slip, it’s all mindset. What I mean by that is, right now, today, get a grip on your thinking. Get a grip on your projections. Get a grip on your expectations as we head into June, July, and August here, in North America, because our thinking can go the way of the dodo bird. It’s like oh, I’m going to take it easy. I’m going to back off. There’s no business in the summer. Everybody’s away.

I want to caution you on that way of thinking. It’s going to really do you in. Here’s a key point for you. You’ve got to know, recognize, and realize that what you do this week, next week, the week after, in the early months of June are going to show up in your cash flow in September. What you do now is going to show up in your cash flow in three months. I have seen this over and over and over again with entrepreneurs who slow down in the summer and then, come September, their funnel is empty. They have no prospects, they have no business on the books, and they’re scurrying because September, for many of you, can be a very expensive month, especially if you have kids going to school or college.

Regardless, I want to talk to you about the summer slip. Do not fall into that trap of thinking there’s no business, so I’m going take it easy. Of course, you may want to do things differently. In fact, I wanted to record this outside but, again, my laptop and the Wi-Fi weren’t cooperating, because I do things differently in the summer too. I love to network. I love to be around new people. I network differently in the summer, and so I will invite people to meet me for lunch on a patio somewhere. Now, I’ll have an agenda. I’ll be very focused, I will get work done, and I will make sales. It’s just not here in my office.

So some tips for you to avoid the summer slip. First of all, get your thinking in order, particularly for those of you who are serious about business. Get your thinking in order. Do not buy into the myth that everybody is away. When I first moved here a number of years ago, it was in the month of May, and there were so many people who said to me, “Oh my gosh, well, you’re never going to make it in the summer because everybody is at the cottage.” I said, “Everybody?”

Now, I know where I live, in beautiful southwestern Ontario, of course there are many people who go to the cottage, but not everybody, but what I recognized in that language from other business owners here was that that’s how they were thinking. So get your thinking in order. No one recognized there’s still lots of business, and where other business owners are thinking that way, it opens the door for you. Go get them.

I did that and my revenue in July, that year, increased 1000% because I was out and I was open for business. So, set some goals and expectations – key point – for June, July, and August.

Number two, and I already said get your thinking in order, hold true to what you know you can accomplish and to being of service of people. Listen, the pain that people are going through does not disappear because it’s June or July, so be available with your solution to people’s problems. They will appreciate it and your business will and can grow.

Number one is mindset, number two is set clear goals for growing your business, getting out there, being available, and being of service, and number three, get an accountability buddy. That’s the reason I wanted to share the yoga story. Get an accountability buddy because, when the temperature is nice and you may be feeling like poor me, everybody’s out there on vacation and playing, and you’re not, get an accountability buddy who has similar values, similar high-achieving energy, and somebody who will hold your feet to the fire. Someone who will hold your feet to the fire, not someone who will let you loose. Then set up a schedule for your accountability calls to be sure that you show up, that you show up prepared, you show up as the professional, and the b.) part to that is that you set up, together, some kind of reward and recognition system. It might be a manicure for the summer or pedicure, or it might be a day at the spa or a massage, or lunch at a beautiful patio place somewhere, but start thinking about it now.

That’s the key. Do not wait until the middle June or the end of June. Get your act together now. I want you to be thinking about me at yoga. In fact, I had a great conversation with a prospect there. She was asking, “Where have you been? What have you done?” When I explained it, she said, “I didn’t know you did that. I would love to have a conversation with you.” I said, “Well then I’d love to have a conversation with you.”

So, you see, business is everywhere, but you have to show up and you have to show up in your thinking first, so get your thinking in order, set clear goals and expectations, get an accountability buddy, set up a reward and recognition system for you so that you feel good about what you’re accomplishing through the summer. I’ll tell you this much, your bank account will thank you in September. That’s my best yoga/business tip for you this morning. Be sure to leave your comments below. Hit share. Others can really benefit from this. This is a hot tip, I’m telling you, and I’ll be back again with more business building tips. Bye for now.