This is a guest post by my own coach, Alicia Forest.

Have things slowed down for your business now that the warmer months are upon us and people are on vacation or otherwise taking a break from their usual routines? Use this downtime to focus on getting your business ready to rock for the fall by implementing some of the 8 ideas below:

1. Evaluate your staffing needs

If you haven’t hired an assistant yet, whether that’s a virtual assistant, an in-person assistant, or a combination of the two, now is a great time to do so. Begin by creating your ideal profile of what you want your assistant to look like, and then start putting out feelers to your networks about exactly what you’re looking for in an assistant.

Once you’ve found the right person for you, the summer months are a great time to train someone so they are up to speed come the busier fall months.

If you already have help, take some time to evaluate their performance. This includes taking a look not just at your current assistant(s) but also any outside vendors you work with, like your web designer, your shopping cart system, your list service, or your copywriter.

If you’re finding their work to not be meeting your needs and expectations, follow the same process as you did for hiring an assistant. Start with creating the ideal profile of who you’re looking for and then put that information out to your networks for recommendations.

2. Increase your learning to increase your earning

The summer is a great time to educate yourself on whatever it is you need to know to take your business to the next level. Choose a business-building project, like building your list or increasing your search engine rankings, and invest some of your education budget into a program or product that will help you learn what you need to know. Then plan the time to actually learn and implement the material, and you will reap the benefits come the fall.

3. Makeover or create your ezine

Take an objective look at your ezine, and ask a few colleagues if they’d be willing to offer you some feedback on it as well. Make any changes you think might help it be more effective as marketing and sales tool.

If you haven’t started your ezine yet, the summer is a great time to put one together and start sending it to your list regularly.

4. Clean out and organize your email

Is your inbox an energy drain?

Mine was! So I committed to having an empty inbox before leaving for vacation this summer, and I can’t tell you what a sense of freedom and lightness comes with an empty inbox.

How did I do it? Delete, file, delegate, respond. DONE.

As I’ve been chipping away at this, I could feel the energy drain slipping away. Take some time each day to delete emails or unsubscribed from unwanted lists, delegate what you don’t need to answer personally (which is more than you think), reply to ones that only require a quick response, and set the ‘rules’ feature to automatically sort future incoming mail into appropriate folders.

5. Revamp your office

In preparation for a move to another state, this was another task I worked on recently. It felt great to purge so many old files and papers. And by doing so, I created space for more clients and more abundance to come into my business!

But revamping your office doesn’t just include cleaning out and reorganizing your stuff. If you also have tools that aren’t working the way they should, get them fixed so they do, or replace them. So, if you’re printer only works when it feels like it, get it fixed or get a new one.

6. Clean up your computer

Tired of wasting time searching for stuff on your computer? Take some time this summer to clean up your files, delete ones you don’t need anymore, reorganize what you do need into appropriate folders, and remove old software that you no longer use. Your hard drive will thank you!

7. Write down your accomplishments so far this year

It’s important to pause periodically and recognize your successes. And now that we’re halfway through the year, take some time to write down and savor your accomplishments so far. Then plan out what you’d like to achieve for the rest of the year. This will motivate and inspire you going forward.

8. Enjoy yourself!

Summer is a special time of year, where people are more laid back and life takes on a more leisurely pace. Make sure you take some time to enjoy it. After all, isn’t time freedom one of the reasons you went into business for yourself in the first place?

Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches entrepreneurs how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to breakthrough to 6 figures and beyond so you can live the life you ache for, visit http://aliciaforest.com