The Holiday Advantage

/in /by

Getting Ahead When the Rest are Resting

Assumption – December is a black hole for growing our businesses. We might as well just relax & make peace with it. Not really.

Reality: People are busy at night and weekends but their workday has slowed way down. They are waiting for you to call! It is head trash and/or anecdotal business lore to think that we can’t get great results in December. Last year I had three appointments a day between Christmas and New Year’s (this year I’m taking it off!).

Speed of Execution is the #1 indicator of success in small business. While the other rabbits are taking a December snooze, keep the tortoise moving – make money in December and set up your January to revenue-generating, not planning.

Here’s ways to build your business in December:

  1. Do a seminar on managing credit – one of our clients did it last year on Dec. 22 in the afternoon and had 100 people come – three days before Christmas!
  2. The forgiveness factor – Holiday hellos to stale contacts – great excuse to reconnect.
  3. Forgiveness factor newsletter – Teach your power partners/gate openers to reconnect using Holiday Hellos. Box of chocolates with their Name/logo to give to someone they need to reconnect with. Over-sized chocolate bar; funky desk calendar; holiday wrapping paper. Opens the door for them to call me, get coffee, re-establish the business relationship.
  4. Client appreciation events DURING THE DAY – Holiday goodies, gift-wrapping – ongoing if you have a retail location. A little live music is always a great addition. You can send out an e-mail invitation with all the details.
  5. Host a planning event Host a planning seminar for next year (get a futurist, CPA, etc.)
  6. Take on a charity as a company and get everyone involved. Donate a day as a company. PR consultant-newspapers. Write article, frame it, hang it on your wall, email to your list.
  7. Press Release – Holidays offer a great excuse. Newsworthy idea – great PR exposure. Called piggybacking (on the holiday theme) Here’s some ways:
    1. Make donations in honor of your customers. 10% of profits for one week to the American Cancer Society. Or donate employee time.
    2. Give something back Offer an award (for someone you admire, courageous kids, notable givers, create a scholarship) – dinner and a ceremony.
    3. TurkeyPardon.com – Pardon a turkey, put a camera on it and YouTube, then give it to a petting zoo after the holidays. You can borrow TurkeyPardon.com from me at no charge (1st one to ask).
    4. Holiday poll – Poll/survey and announce results. What business owners really want for the holidays, biggest complaint about holiday shopping? Or something from perspective of your business – get a PR person to shop it to the right audience. Email/send results.
  8. Hand delivered gift cards from a local coffee shop or restaurant. Get an appointment to go with them!
  9. Send a watch – “Happy New Year! It’s about TIME we did some business together.”
  10. Send a New Year’s card – don’t get lost in the Christmas card shuffle – and everyone celebrates New Years.
  11. Crystal office candy bowl Send refresher candy 3-4 times a year at other holidays. Their name engraved.
  12. Offer gift certificates ($25 billion last year – 15% of Holiday revenue!) Carpet cleaning – a great gift certificate! Make the offer for your slow time of year.
  13. Tie your product/service to the holidays – What do people need from me during the holidays? Do they need more balance, a time to relax, a plan for how they’re going to do something better in the coming year? Insert yourself!
  14. Organize a shopping trip for elderly clients PLUS THEIR FRIEND (CPAs, Fin. Planners; anyone with elderly customers).
  15. Bonus ☺ – February 18 – Chinese New Year celebration event Cultural experience– a slower time for activities. How many people would go with to an event where a Chinese person could teach us those traditions?
  16. For Yourself – focus on your Loyal Customers and Raving Fans – do something for them. Do some simple strategic planning for next year. Find out what your Big Why is. Establish a Business Maturity Date. Develop a simple system to streamline your operations. SET APPOINTMENTS FOR JANUARY 3rd RIGHT NOW (don’t’ wait until January – hit the ground running!). Or just relax and enjoy family.

Happy Holidays!

A Business Maturity Date Really Works

/in /by

We bought our tickets to NZ today.

Two years ago, in March of 2009, I wrote this blog http://chuckb.me/xF about how I started my business 3 1/2 years ago in March of 2007. Four years after we started we’ll have a Mature Business, which is what we intended to do.

In March of 2009, I wrote about March of 2007:

“2 years ago this week, March 6, 2007, I started my business…

But something is different. I have a Business Maturity Date…

In 3 years, 11 months, 2 weeks, and 22 ½ hrs. from when I started, I expect to be done building a business that makes money when I’m not around. I’ve got a lot of work to do and the clock is ticking relentlessly, the train is screeching, belching, and going in circles, and at the same time I’ve got little time left already to build this business to maturity.

My Business Maturity Date? Friday, February 18, 2011, at 10am – 1 year 11 months and two weeks from now. At 8:30am on that morning I will have a staff meeting and turn over the business to them to run, leaving the office in good hands, and be out of the office by 10am to pack my bags. At 6:10pm that evening my wife and I will be on a plane to Auckland, New Zealand, her dream vacation, for three weeks of celebration. We land in Auckland at 7:25am Sunday morning. The trip will cost $12,380.”

There were three problems with that blog post nearly two years ago. 1) The plane now leaves at 5:30pm, not 6:10, 2) it lands at 7:05am, not 7:25am, and 3) the trip will cost $12,840, not $12,380.

But other than that we’re on schedule. Our business will be making money while we’re on vacation for three and half weeks in New Zealand and it will be in great hands while we’re gone. In most ways we’re farther ahead than we thought we would be in 2009 when I wrote that blog post.

It shouldn’t be surprising because I’ve said for four years “You get what you intend, not what you hope for.” And for a number of years we’ve been intending to build a business that would make money while we’re on vacation.

We stopped intending to work hard and make money a long time ago because that always gave us exactly what we intended – hard work and SOME money.

Does it change you a little bit even reading this? Imagine what it’s done to me, and what it will do to you when you make the same commitment. It will change you forever.

What are you intending to do?