How Your Small Business Can Better Prepare for the Holidays

The holidays are some of the toughest times for small businesses, and not necessarily for the reasons you would think. When I made the switch from being an employee to a small business owner, I suddenly came up against the challenges that November and December bring. Long gone were the days of feeling that these months were actually a bit lighter than the rest of the year. Instead, they were crunch time, and I was in charge.

Here are a few things I learned that can help any small business owner as they balance one of the busiest times of the year with all that holiday spirit (and fruitcake). ??

Prepare All Year for November and December

One of the biggest things I learned as a small business owner was that the holidays are tough for management, and tougher still if a small business hasn’t been planning for months about how to best accommodate the busy time. Whether it’s understanding the vacation or reduced schedules of your employees and being able to work around them or predicting the potential last minute needs of clients when you’re short staffed, getting ahead of the holidays is the best thing you can do to ensure that November and December can be a time of profit and success – despite an understandably reduced workforce. It’s easy to forget this step in the height of summer, but the reality is that the holidays don’t just sneak up on you – they happen every year, year in and year out. Setting time to prepare months in advance – and doing so year in and year out – can save your business (and your mind).

Get into the Holiday Spirit – Even at the Cost of Work Productivity

During my five and a half years working at Twitter, one of the most surprising discoveries I made was how fun November and December were. The holiday parties, the decorations, and the cupcakes (oh, the cupcakes!) made for an atmosphere of fun that started right before Thanksgiving and continued into the New Year. That said, I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say that work during that time suffered a bit from a lack of focus and concentration. (When everyone at the water cooler is talking about the big party last night, it’s hard to get too much done.) Some of that is natural and bound to happen, but as a small business owner you may struggle with feeling the need to fight against this and make sure your employees stay on track. My advice? Manage your expectations, and learn to keep folks in line while you still allow for some good old holiday fun. The holidays are for joy, camaraderie, and relaxation, and you want to make sure that your employees and contractors know that you value this in your own life as much as you value it in the lives of those who work for you. As a bonus, you’ll find that when employees know they will be able to celebrate as a team – and vacate the offices as well – they will come to work better prepared to bring their A-game, while still decking the halls with some holiday spirit.

Read the rest of the post here at the FedEx Out of the Office Blog.

Disclosure: This post was created in partnership with FedEx Office. All opinions expressed in the post are my own.

About Claire:

Claire Diaz-Ortiz (@claire) is an author, speaker innovator who was an early employee at Twitter. Named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, she holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford and has been featured widely in print and broadcast media. She writes a popular business blog at ClaireDiazOrtiz.com and is the author of seven books.