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If you’re running a business – you most likely have been faced with the holiday season stress. This is because it can be hard to juggle running a business around this time of year with holiday events and activities. Inside this article, I share 3 Tips For Better Holiday Business Time Management.
How to Manage Holiday Schedule for Small Business
The holiday season is a time of joy, laughter, and celebration. On the other hand, it can be incredibly stressful and hard to juggle for people who are running their own businesses.
It’s important to know what can be automated and how to set up a plan around Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s essential to set a holiday work schedule while setting realistic goals and blocking time for your family.
So in this article, I want to make sure you’re aware of how to create a holiday bucket list and use holiday planning tips and online business advice that will help you manage your holiday season stress!
Tip #1: Create a holiday bucket list
First thing first – Create a holiday bucket list! What is it?
It’s simply a list of holiday activities that you want to fit in with the holiday season. This will be different for everyone based on where they live or travel, whether or not you have kids, your interests (spending time with family, seeing the lights at Christmas, etc.). But it should include everything from spending time with your loved ones to holiday parties and anything else holiday-related that excites you while also looking forward to, like family gatherings or holiday decorating!
Outside of work, what do you want to accomplish in the next 30-45 days? You can even ask your kids what their bucket list is for the season to fill in some things as a family.
Take some time to write these down as your Holiday Bucket List and keep it with you. Then take your list and a calendar and block off WHEN you will do those things.
Tip #2: Determine your holiday business goals
Now that you have your holiday bucket list set up let’s look at holiday goals and planning tips. As I discussed in Episode #106, most small businesses have their sites set on more sales. But there are plenty of other ways to measure your success this season. These include building engagement, strengthening your community, growing your email list, improving your brand awareness, inspiring more people, generating more sales, or increasing funnel conversions.
Ep 106: How To Take Advantage Of Mobile Commerce Sales This Holiday
Sure, increased sales over the holiday months are great, but what I love more than anything is seeing an increase in my niche audience, consuming my content regularly.
Whether I add new followers on Instagram, or better yet, more readers to my weekly emails, I would consider that growth goal a big WIN that, unfortunately, many business owners overlook.
Here’s the way I put it…
Would you rather have several one-time purchasers over two months of the year or several hundred paying attention to your content and products all year long?? So even if you have a growth goal of sales this holiday season, don’t disregard the fact that an impactful holiday campaign can also grow your email list, strengthen your community, or even improve your brand awareness.
PIN THIS IMAGE!
GROWTH GOAL OPTIONS:
- Build engagement
- Strengthen your community
- Grow your email list
- Improve Brand Awareness
- Inspire People
- Generate Sales
- Up Funnel Conversions
Then be specific with the tasks that need to get done to reach this growth goal. Do you need to make seven posts in a week to run a campaign? Do you need to send a few more emails to promote an offer? Whatever it is… write down the exact tasks you need to do.
Tip #3 – Plan Your Holiday Schedule
With your Holiday Bucket List in hand and your Business Goals decided, now it’s time to sit and time block. Block out time on calendars and even put in alerts (yes, Siri can help!) for the items on your bucket list and the tasks you need to get done for your business goals.
I know it sounds silly to set a reminder for events, holiday shopping, and decorating, but they MUST get done, and doing so helps you NOT work during those times. In my opinion, time blocking when you are NOT working is more important than time blocking when you do.
How to Automate Business Tasks
What can be automated, knowing what tasks you need to get done to reach your business growth goals? By taking care of these tasks ahead of time, you will indeed be able to relax and enjoy the holiday season without worrying about forgetting something that needs to be done.
- Can you schedule your social media posts ahead of time?
- Can you write and schedule your emails?
More holiday planning tips for time management
Here are some holiday planning tips to better help you manage your holiday season stress:
- Do your shopping early so it doesn’t come down to the wire and you are trying to juggle Holiday parties and working your business. I have gifts starting to sprinkle in early November and store them in a closet. When I get a free evening I start wrapping.
- Be realistic with holiday goals! You can’t do it all, but you can make a holiday bucket list and holiday business planning strategy to help guide you through the holiday season!
- Ensure you manage expectations with clients and team members so they are aware of your holiday scheduling and availability.
This is something I’ve personally had to learn the hard way. It wasn’t until I recently started creating holiday business plans around my holiday bucket list that things truly became manageable for me!
Recap: Holiday Business Time Management
The holiday season can be challenging for business owners, but many tools can help you stay organized and on top of your holiday tasks. Whether you’re running an online business or working in person, these tips will give you the relief to enjoy holiday parties without worrying about forgetting something. You may even find it easier to take care of some holiday tasks ahead of time, so they don’t interrupt any personal holiday celebrations!
If you could use some help managing your holiday schedule and planning a campaign around the last few months of the year, DOWNLOAD my Holiday Starter Guide at kristinkorn.com/holidayguide. It’s your source for the exact steps, checklists, planners, and calendars to execute a successful e-commerce holiday campaign! ($500 value)
And if you join The Social Note Membership, you’ll also get access to holiday captions and campaign images that go along with this holiday Starter guide. Learn more about joining at jointhesocialnote.com
Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
- Build a Continuous Flow of New Clients Using This Simple Profit Pipeline™ – HERE!
- Turn Your Chaos Into Clarity in Just 90 Minutes with this One Call – HERE!
- Obtain the Support System You Need Inside Our Coaching Group – HERE!
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