6 Things to Do When Business is Slow

In most businesses, when something slows down production or delays a project, it’s easy to assume it must be a major issue.

Maybe it’s a key machine that’s failed or perhaps the team is understaffed, or it could be a problem with the supply chain, and so on.

But very often, the real cause isn’t something big and easy to notice like that. It’s something small and often overlooked. 

The fact is that certain pieces of equipment operate in the background, and they don’t usually get all that much attention until they stop doing what they’re meant to do.

By the time someone notices what’s wrong, it could have some big consequences for the business.

With that in mind, keep reading to learn more about what can slow your business down and what to do about it.

1. Don’t Ignore Small Problems That Affect Performance

It’s easy to notice a major issue like a system crash because it brings everything to a halt and demands immediate attention.

But smaller problems tend to creep in quietly, often going unnoticed until they start impacting performance more significantly.

These minor inefficiencies don’t usually trigger alarms, but they gradually slow down your processes and reduce overall productivity.

When business is slow, it’s the perfect opportunity to step back and take a closer look at what might be holding your operations back.

Often, outdated or poorly maintained equipment becomes a hidden culprit. It may still be functioning, but not at the level it should.

This drop in performance can cause ripple effects across your workflows, leading to unnecessary delays and frustration.

Rather than applying quick fixes or assuming that the problem lies with staff or larger machinery, carry out a thorough review of your equipment and systems.

You might discover that a simple update or replacement of a long-forgotten tool can restore efficiency and boost productivity just when you need it most.

Taking the time to resolve these hidden issues now can prevent much bigger problems later when business picks up again.

See 3 Key Ways to Improve Production Line Efficiency

2. Regular Maintenance

Regular maintenance is essential for keeping equipment and operations running smoothly, but there are times when it simply isn’t enough.

You might be following all the recommended service schedules and still notice declining performance or repeated breakdowns.

That’s often a sign that the equipment has reached the end of its useful life or that it’s no longer suited for the demands of your business.

Slow business periods give you the breathing space to assess whether your tools and systems are actually meeting current needs.

If you’re constantly maintaining the same piece of equipment without seeing real improvement, it may be time to consider a replacement instead of another patch-up.

This is especially true if the technology is outdated or incompatible with newer systems and workflows.

Investing in better solutions during quiet periods can help you hit the ground running when demand returns.

Rather than waiting for complete failure, which can cause more disruption during peak times, use this time to evaluate the true condition of your assets and upgrade strategically.

In many cases, maintenance keeps things going temporarily, but growth comes from recognising when you’ve outgrown your tools.

Read 7 Maintenance Tips for Heavy Equipment

3. Spot the Hidden Costs of Slow or Outdated Equipment 

When equipment slows things down, it doesn’t just cost time – it can affect the whole business.

Output targets get missed, staff spend more time fixing things than doing their job, and your reputation is going to suffer massively as a result. 

What’s worse is that these issues often build up slowly because nothing has technically broken, and that’s a red flag in itself – even if it’s not obvious.

So the impact creeps in gradually, making it harder to trace back to the real cause. 

A great example of this is when coatings or spray-based processes have to happen – you might have a team using spray equipment and they keep getting behind on their work.

So you get new staff and train them, you get new sprayers, and even after all that, nothing changes.

Then someone takes a look at the flow system and finds that the material pressure tank has a pressure issue and all it takes is a quick replacement and the problem is solved. In the meantime, you’ve lost time, money, and potentially morale. 

It’s easy to blame inefficiencies on staff, systems, or supply issues, when in fact the root cause might be a simple piece of equipment no longer performing to standard.

Replacing or upgrading this gear can seem costly at first, but compared to the silent drain it causes over time, it’s often the most cost-effective decision.

4. Use Downtime to Uncover What’s Been Overlooked

When business slows down, it’s easy to focus on external causes like market changes or customer habits.

But sometimes, the real issues lie within the business itself, in places that are rarely examined during busy periods.

Downtime offers a rare and valuable opportunity to take a step back and assess the small inefficiencies and bottlenecks that may have gone unnoticed.

This is the time to look at tools, systems, and workflows that have been “just about working” for too long.

Things like old software, clunky machinery, or manual processes might not seem like priorities when orders are flooding in, but in a quiet spell, these overlooked factors stand out more clearly.

You can dig deeper into equipment performance, team feedback, or output trends to identify what’s holding the business back.

It’s also a good moment to gather input from customers who may be dealing with these challenges every day. See these 16 best customer service feedback software.

5. Stop Repairing And Start Replacing 

There’s always going to come a point where repeat repairs aren’t going to make any sense anymore.

If something has to the adjusted or serviced every few weeks (or maybe even every time you use it), or if it keeps causing delays, then it’s probably time to invest in a replacement. 

Signs to watch for include unusual noise, inconsistent performance, long start up times, increased energy use, and, of course, the human cost. See 5 ways businesses can save energy using technology.

If your team is frustrated about the tools they have to use, they’re not going to have good job satisfaction and they’re not going to put all their effort in. 

It’s also always worth thinking about your future needs because if your business is growing or maybe even changing direction, then your equipment needs to be able to grow with it and help you out. 

If you’re holding onto older tools just because they still work, but the work they do isn’t what’s needed anymore, then they’re really just taking up space, and they might even be limiting how you can grow and move forward. 

6. Ask Your Team What’s Slowing Them Down

One way to work out what’s going wrong when your business is slow is ask. Just to ask the people who use it every day.

They’ll instantly know which tasks take longer than they should, and which pieces of equipment are the troublemakers. 

In many cases, it’s going to be something simple that will become very obvious once you know about it.

These are the things that probably seem minor. Your team might not even have thought about reporting because they just live with it.

However, they can add hours to the working week and make every department a lot less efficient. So, they’re the last thing you’ll want to deal with. 

When you can get feedback directly from your staff, you’re more likely to catch these issues nice and early. This is because they cause too much of an issue.

Then you can fix them, saving you time and money.  See these examples of bad feedback you should never ignore.

They often know exactly which tools slow them down or which tasks are more tedious than they need to be.

By addressing these neglected areas now, you’ll be in a much stronger position when business picks up again.

True, you’re not going to like the idea of shutting things down to make the changes. However, if you think about how much better things will be once you do, you’ll know it makes sense.

You will also become more efficient, more prepared, and less likely to suffer setbacks caused by long-ignored problems.