Welcome to the Dead Zone.  No I'm not talking about our oceans, I'm talking about the time of the year when almost all business shuts down.  It's the time of the year that frustrates entrepreneurs because no matter what, your colleagues, partners, and customers in large companies aren't listening.  They probably aren't even at work anymore.  The holidays are near and very few people are getting any work done.  A lot of folks are focused on family, shopping, vacations, gifts, etc. right now.  Few, if any, of the people you need to advance your startup are around and willing to help you move things forward.

Suffice it to say, the holidays are pretty much unacceptable for an entrepreneur.

So how do you stay productive from the middle of December through the first week of January.  Here are a few ideas… some things we're doing.

Network - you'll find calendars, especially of felllow entrepreneurs, are a little more flexible than normal.
Fix your Web Site - look at your site from your customers'/partners' perspectives.  Are you saying what you want to say about your company?  Do you have the right content available?  And does it have the look/feel that you need? (ours certainly doesn't right now)
Rethink your Customer Experience - walk through the entire experience your customer will have when working with your product?  Is it good/bad/ugly?
Find talent - this is a great time to talk with job seekers.  Find a few people who could help your business & see if they are a fit.
Pitch - if you can get in front of people to pitch your ideas/business, do it.  Practice helps.  You'll find that you can get a lot out of pitching even to a relative.  Explaining your business to even the most unsophisticated person will help you somewhere along the way.  This can be an investor pitch or just a sales pitch — either way works fine.

Whatever you do, don't get lazy this holiday season!