Being prepared for the holidays is essential for small business owners looking to profit and maintain a healthy work-life balance during this hectic time of year. If you’re planning on having holiday parties at your business these should be planned out well ahead of time. Requesting employees to submit any time off requests as early as possible will help with any scheduling or staffing issues that may come up. If you’re planning events or promotions, all of the orders and blueprints for these occasions should be done in advance. Using slow summer months to organize your holiday plan will save you time, money and frustration during what should be a joyous time.

Creative Marketing

The holidays give you a chance to do something different and creative with your marketing strategy. One great idea is hand written holiday cards thanking your current customers for their business. This shows you appreciate their business and also keeps your company on their mind. Now is also the time to determine what items or services you will offer at a discount on black Friday and cyber Monday. Regardless of what industry you’re in, this is a great time to piggy back on the popularity of these sale days.

Keep Things Simple

Simplifying your holidays is not always possible, but it can be done. Try not to go overboard when developing your personal and business schedule. Asking some trusted team members to help with promotions and brainstorming ideas will take some of the pressure off. The same goes with family activities. While family should be a priority, chances are they realize owning a business can take up a significant amount of time. Find ways to simplify your holiday plans as to not alienate your love ones while still keeping a firm handle on your business.

Manage Expectations

Be up front with family and team members about the amount of time you’ll have to spend with them. If you let them know when you’ll be around and for how long, it will help you to feel less guilty when you need to take time away for one or the other. Most people value their time with loved ones during the holidays. It’s important to recognize your staff members do too. Letting them know what is going to be expected of them during the holidays will help them be prepared and reduce any backlash.

Employee Input

One of the first things you should do when preparing for the holiday season is to get input from your staff. You’ll want to gather every level of worker and ask about their observations from the previous holiday season. Ask them what improvements they would recommend and even revenue opportunities that you may have missed. You’ll also want to take advantage of new employees on your team, ask them about experiences from previous jobs, what was successful? What wasn’t? These are all ways to improve your holiday business model and also get your staff on board.

Organization

Since the holidays are generally some of the busiest times of the year, it’s important that you stay organized. Some things you’ll want to take care of early are ordering decorations, greeting cards and other holiday specific items. Another crucial step is scheduling your staff for the holiday season well ahead of time. This will help you avoid gaps in coverage due to vacations or other obligations. It also allows your staff ample time to schedule their own celebrations around their work schedule. You may also want to look into hiring additional staff for the holidays. Another great idea is to look into new software that may help you organize your inventory and holiday payroll.

Policies

Prior to the holiday season, it is important that you review current policies and customer service procedures with your staff. This time of year it is essential to your business that your customer service is impeccable. For example, if you’re in the retail industry, you will want to make sure you staff is very familiar with your return policies and that they are communicated clearly to your customers.

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Prepare your small business for the holidays. Find out how in this FREE guide.