What a crazy busy time of year this is.
There is the “race to the finish” to meet or beat our goals, “planning the new year” so we can make it our best year ever, and oh yeah, the Holidays season with all the festivities and work, and possibly travel. Add in that for many of us the weather also starts to turn, which often results in more things to do.
I find the biggest challenge that many of my clients have mentioned to me is staying on track when there is so much going on.
Can you relate?
The thing is it doesn’t really matter what time of year it is, the Holiday season definitely has some built in extra activities, and I like to think of it as a great way to prepare yourself for the other times of year when life gets busy unexpectedly. As let’s be real, getting sidetracked and unexpected events and surprises can happen any time of year. At least with the Holidays you know its coming.
No slow season, only a slow mindset
To keep focused, it’s really important to not lose sight of the fact that just because there is a lot going on, doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone out there somewhere needing your exact service. When I hear entrepreneurs resign themselves to having a less than stellar sales month, it has nothing to do with the season, but rather their mindset and decisions.
Whether you are a coach like me, a designer, a photographer, an architect, or even a trade like a plumber or carpenter. Someone, somewhere needs what you have to offer. In fact some of my best months, in both of our businesses have been in December and some of the best sales my husbands’ business has written has been in between Christmas and New Year – by the pool in Mexico!
Keeping focused
So knowing that you can still have a great month, what are some strategies you can use to keep you on track, accomplish all the extra activity as well as take some much-needed R&R and downtime!
I have to be honest, writing business by the pool in Mexico was pretty nice. However, that kind of keeping on track with business while enjoying our holiday didn’t just happen by accident.
It requires strategy, systems and momentum.
This isn’t just for the Holidays. To keep sales and cash flowing at all times of the year, you need strategy, systems and momentum all year round. If you have a good honest look at the income coming in right now, most likely it is a result from work you did 6 or even 12 months ago.
Often we don’t realize it because a client seems to come out of the blue, or a referral shows up, or you meet someone who is a perfect fit. However those opportunities and serendipity are usually the result of earlier work and momentum that catches up later. It’s not always the case, but generally in my own businesses, and that of my clients, I find this to be true most of the time.
That’s why it’s important NOT to let momentum slide just because it’s the busy Holiday season, as that could impact you not just now, but next year as well.
Here are my favorite tips
These tips that I’m sharing with you, are what I implement in my business all year round. As I mentioned earlier, at any time of year we can be thrown off track by a life event. At least with the Holidays we know they are coming, and it’s a great practice time to get it handled for when things come up unexpectedly.
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Be fierce about your schedule and boundaries
Trust me, as a recovering schedule resister I totally understand how constraining a schedule can feel when you first implement one. But I promise you, a schedule is the most freeing thing you can do.
Set clear boundaries on your work time and your personal time, and have a buffer built in that I call “fudge time”. Yes I actually build a couple of hours a day of “fudge time” into my calendar. This allows me to still have plenty of time to get my intended goals accomplished in the day even if “life happens”. And if life doesn’t happen, well I now have an extra couple of hours to myself .
A couple of habits that have helped me to stick to this, is to throw out the “to do list and instead break big projects into manageable tasks, and then calendar those individual items, and keep my appointment with myself to do them.
And for the other items that pop up each day, but are not a project or something I calendar, yet still need to get done, I simply write a list out every night of the 6 things I want to get done the next day no matter what – it could be personal or business – but they are what I want to do before I go to bed. And I stick to it.
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Stick to your networking
Holiday parties at this time of year at networking events may not seem as important as regular meetings, but they are. They are an opportunity for you to be out, to make connections and nurture relationships in a relaxed festive atmosphere. What better way to build the “know like and trust” factor!
You may not be able to get to as many as you normally would, just due to all the social commitments etc, but get to as many as you can, and just relax, and go with the intention of building mutually beneficial relationships. And let’s be real, networking any time of year should be about the relationship first, so this is no different.
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Market your business 30 minutes a day
I encourage my clients to spend time every day marketing their business. I recommend 30 minutes as a guideline, what’s more important, though, is the consistent and persistent action. So whether that’s reaching out to get booked speaking, following up on contacts, writing a promotional email, making connections with referral partners keep this time in your schedule daily. And this consistency is what will result in those seemingly unexpected clients that seem to come out of nowhere – when you need them the most – during busy times.
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Have solid systems and empower your team.
Systems and team are what allow your business to function and make money even when you can’t be available. Just recently I had a crazy week with a few unexpected things happen, that weren’t related at all to the holidays. Because my team knew exactly what needed to be done and when, knew where they could make decisions, clients were still cared for, marketing emails still went out, and money made it in the bank.
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Be flexible
There are going to be some days that just get ahead of you and don’t go as planned. Unexpected events can only take you out if you let them. So make a decision to just roll with it, let yourself off the hook for what you had planned to do that day, and just get back on track the next day. (hmmm, sounds very similar to healthy eating at this time of year doesn’t it?)
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Take some time off!
And last but not least, take some time off! Real-time off, without electronics, without checking in, without thinking of work. That’s what the holidays are about. Let your clients know your blackout periods long in advance, so there are no surprises for them or you. And then enjoy yourself!
In conclusion
If you have been consistent with your strategy, systems and momentum all year including the month of December, you will find that the money still flows in, that you have laid a foundation for the next year and that you still have plenty of time for the festivities, the additional work, and perhaps even a few surprises that show up. And if you can master this over the holidays, you will set yourself up to be successful all year, no matter what surprises life throws at you.
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