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Quarter 4 is the ultimate playground for the small business owner. It’s an iconic time when most businesses make the most sales.
source: pixabay.com
If you’re a business owner, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed by the thought of successfully getting through the holiday season.
Thankfully, there are many strategies you can utilize in order to stay sane and get the results you desire.
Here are a few tips to help you get through the holidays and keep your sanity.
1. Examine the Goals
Get clear on what your actual numbers are. If you know that you want to make ten sales a day, consider how much inventory you’ll need. Consider how many advertising dollars you’ll need to spend.
When you’re able to cultivate an understanding of the numerical goals, break it down into daily steps. Consider the tasks you’ll need to execute in order to make your daily goals happen.
Breaking down the goal into action items will give you perspective and a defined understanding of the different tasks you’ll need to do at any given moment during a typical workday.
Once you fully understand what needs to happen every day, create a routine. Sit down at the end of each day to look over what you did, what needs to happen the next day and how you can improve.
As you get more clear about how to improve productivity on a micro level, you’ll improve your chances of success on a larger scale.
2. Focus on One Thing at a Time
This step might seem like the most elementary step of all.
However, it is definitely worth mentioning.
Oftentimes, people get really overwhelmed because they’re trying to do lots of things at the same time and instead of finishing up faster, you don’t finish anything at all!
When you multitask, you’re not giving yourself to do your absolute best at each task on your plate. Whatever you do, you want to make sure you’re doing it with excellence.
If you’re taking a call, don’t try to fill an order while you’re on that call. If you fulfill the wrong order while you’re on the phone, this will lead to a disgruntled customer who didn’t receive what they wanted.
Your customers deserve your best. You’ve built up the company to be a success so you deserve your best as well.
The best way to make sure you’re offering high-quality service is by zoning in and focusing on the task in front of you.
Don’t overcrowd your schedule with too many tasks. If you do have a long list of things to do, pace yourself. Don’t try to think about all of the tasks at once.
Instead, be efficient with the time you have by focusing on what’s in front of you.
Eliminate anything that will distract you.
If you can’t listen to music while you’re sending emails, it’s okay to turn off the music.
Cultivate an environment and schedule that are conducive to your success.
3. Streamline Your Processes
Take a look at your average day during a regular season. Know that with more marketing and the holiday season, you’ll get more sales.
Because your schedule will become more hectic, it’s necessary to look for ways to streamline your process.
Take a look at the way you store your inventory.
Is it easy to find certain items?
Choose a good system so that you know where all the items are when it’s time to ship them.
Examine your shipping process.
If you’re using a standard printer and attaching your labels to your packages with tape, it’s time to invest in a label maker with built-in adhesive. You’ll cut down the time on your packaging process exponentially.
If you’re currently driving to the post office to ship packages, consider scheduling pick-up.
A postal worker will come to your office (during their rounds) to pick up your packaging for you. This will save you on time, gas and money. It’s always wise to take a closer look at the way you spend your time within each process.
As you become more aware of ways to streamline your routine, you’ll be more efficient, productive and relaxed.
4. Take Breaks
It can be really difficult to work for hours without a break. After all, you’re not a robot.
If you struggle to maintain focus, it’s okay to take a five to ten-minute break.
You can do this every one to two hours to give yourself some mental margin.
Take a ten-minute walk in the neighborhood to get some fresh air.
Go for a coffee run.
Enjoy a quick five-minute scroll session on social media.
As you take breaks, you’ll feel recharged to get back to work and focus for another hour.
The Pomodoro Technique encourages breaks so that you can maximize the time you have to focus on a specific task in front of you.
Plus, burnout is such a real issue that many people don’t think about.
In addition to maintaining a strong self-care routine outside of the office, you can practice self-care within the office by taking scheduled breaks.
Be gentle with yourself through this process. It can be understandably stressful.
Final Thoughts
It’s always wise to take things one step at a time. If you’re stressed out about the idea of facing this holiday season, it doesn’t hurt to see if there’s room in your budget for an intern or an extra pair of hands.
Plenty of major retailers hire holiday help. Get creative about the way you bring in new people to help your job feel easier.
Before long, you’ll have the success and numbers you wanted to achieve from the holiday season.
About the Author
Ashley Wilson is working remotely as a content creator, writing mostly about business and tech. She has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.
