The vast majority of contractors will have good years and bad years. There will be some years when it feels like you can do no wrong, when lucrative contracts land into your lap without you even needing to pitch for them, and when your bank balance is blooming as a result. The good years should be cherished, as it’s inevitable that there will be bad years to follow– for every silver lining, there’s a cloud.

If your contractor business is in the process of suffering through a bad year, it can feel like you are treading water just to survive, never truly making any progress. The stress that this causes to you, the contractor and entrepreneur, is undeniable. To try and keep you on an even keel, here are a few important strategies that you can utilise to ensure that you — and your business — manage to make it through a rough year, and come out of the other side unscathed.

The Benefit Of Fresh Eyes

Many contractors choose to outsource the specialist, niche tasks of their business, such as accountancy or marketing. If this is the case for you, during down times, it’s always worth looking for fresh eyes to see if they can identify problems that have otherwise been overlooked.

There are thousands of different firms out there, so you don’t always need to go for the company you have always used. You could try the likes of Qdos Accounting specialist contractor accountants, or ask local business associates for their tips on a new marketing firm. You never know; the answer might be right there in the information you already have, and you just needed a fresh pair of eyes to see it.

Keep A Sense Of Perspective

It’s important to try and remember that all businesses have bad years. Just because you’re having a bad year at the moment doesn’t mean you’re at the start on an inexorable slide. Think about it: did you ever really think the good years were going to last forever? Probably not, so there’s little point in assuming the bad years will last forever, either.

If you find yourself struggling with your mood and optimism, then you could always give meditation a try. This can help improve your confidence, and thus improve the way in which you approach your work as a whole.

Focus On The Small Details

Often, the key to turning your contractor business fortunes around is to focus on the small details. From the software you use to invoice to the wording on your advertisements, there’s always an area of your business that can be tweaked and improved. Look at the entire process by which you go through a job; is there anything that could be done faster, more efficiently? Examining in close detail can often reveal more than just the “big picture” alone.

In all probability, things will turnaround for your business soon, and the bad year that you are experiencing will be nothing more than a distant memory. Good luck.