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There are market conditions. There are seasons, holidays, and weather fluctuations.

There are times (for some reason or another) people don’t have your business top of mind—how annoying!

In all seriousness, as an entrepreneur, no matter your product or service I can guarantee you will need to learn how to direct your energy when the sales aren’t rolling in.

The dirty little secret is the work entrepreneurs do behind the scenes–in preparation for the busy periods—is crucial to the health of your business. Focusing on a long-term strategy—and riding the waves of the slow sales periods—is going to help you.

But many of us forget this.

Due to the instant gratification of the Internet, we are used to receiving automatic feedback. Instead of sitting around pressing refresh all day on your email, follow these five tips to get you through a slow period in business:

1. Education.

It can take just one powerful book to help an entrepreneur see the light. In fact, it is essential for entrepreneurs to learn new methods of thinking, new tools, and have epiphanies about business approach. If you’re not drinking from this well of knowledge almost every single day you’re missing out.

A few I have recently read include “The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow A Remarkable Business In Any Field,” “The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism,” and “No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich.” If you’re reading this article, you are most likely a young, self-employed person—guess what? You don’t know everything. You have a lot to learn. The answers are in the books.

2. Cleaning up and organizing “the shop.”

Do you know you have many more sales leads than you realize? They are sitting in your email or on your LinkedIn or stashed away on a business card in a drawer somewhere. Most sales are lost because we don’t follow-up.

Did you know you need to touch a lead five times before a deal is closed? By implementing an organized folder where you store your leads you will realize how much potential you actually have within your grasp. I personally use Gmail, MailChimp and 37 signals to keep myself organized.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money to keep your lists clean and up to date. Use this period to look at what you’re doing to stay organized. You have so much more than you realize you do. I promise you that. Look in the couch crevices!

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