There are only two emotions any small business or entrepreneur feelings. Complete euphoria or utter terror. April is notorious for being Oh, Hello’s worst month in sales. It also happens to be tax month so the hits are coming from all sides. I have a love/hate relationship with our worst month of the year. April is fantastic at giving me crippling self-doubt, but it’s also the best month for innovation and change.
That’s the thing. It’s so easy to let yourself get overcome with the fear of failure and doubt that you just curl up into a ball and re-watch Parks and Recreation for the twelfth time. Tell yourself you tried, there’s nothing you can do, sales are bad for everyone so you shouldn’t feel bad, etc. That’s obviously the easy way out. And I’m done with that.
One of my favorite things about owning my own business is being the one in complete control of my fate. I don’t work for a company that could suddenly start laying people off or randomly put a target on my back to boot me out. I work for myself. If things go south it’s completely my fault. But if things go right, that’s completely on me too.
So rather than looking at April like the business-crushing month that it likes to be, I’m looking at it as a chance to work on those projects I keep talking about wanting to do but never getting around to. It’s been one week of pushing for these new changes and I’ve already found a regained spirit for Oh, Hello. The passion for my company is bigger than ever and I know we’ll get through April like we have twice before.
There are tons of projects Alex and I are working on, but my favorites are in these photos. I’ve never been so excited about clipboards in my entire life and wristlets just seem like a no-brainer for our designs. We’re working on getting pencil cases and makeup bags too. I’ve finally started working on the sticker organizer books I’ve been talking about since Christmas.
The easiest way to get through a rough sales month is to pull out that to do list full of ideas you want to do if only you had time for. And do them. Stay up later. Wake up earlier. Don’t just give up on something you’re passionate about because it got harder. Don’t think sticking to the same routine will work for you like it has in the past.
Everyone always says to “keep busy” when there’s turbulence in your life. The same is true about small businesses. You have to decide if a bad month is going to make or break you. I’ve made up my mind that Oh, Hello isn’t going anywhere. Now I just have to work my ass off to prove it.
