Happy October 28, Candle Friends!
As a small business owner, the holiday season is my time to shine! It's also my time to work 18 hour work days and use entirely too much dry shampoo. Yikes.
Over my 10 years in entrepreneurship, I have developed 3 systems I follow to help me navigate this beautiful but chaotic time. They are simple and straight forward, but keep this type A personality from derailing when the pressure is on.
1) Use a small portion of my Sunday to get organized. I use an hour and a half on Sundays to catch up on emails before the work week starts, order inventory, and plan out how my work week will go. This gives me a huge piece of mind knowing I never have a "Monday". You know, the first day of the week that is INSANE that makes you want to go jump into bed and hide under the sheets or shotgun 4 espresso shots (or both)? I said good-bye to those long ago by incorporating a little bit of work organization on Sunday. SO worth it.
2) Don't sweat the small stuff - because there is A LOT of small things that add up during the busy season that turn into an enormous rolling snowball. Give yourself grace, be honest with your customers & get ready to let some of those imperfections slide.
3) Plan ahead! Boy, when I say plan ahead I mean start in May. Have your designs decided, created & photographed by October at the latest. Start entering your Holiday pins into Tailwind in September. Have your weekly e-mail's ready to go for November & December by October 15th. I cannot stress enough how early prep for a one-woman-circus will save you stress, guilt & brain overload in the end.
Of course, there are more but this is a great start for fellow small business owners. Always remember WHY you started your business. That will keep you grounded through the roller coaster Holiday season.
Find the beauty & appreciation this time of year - It's the most wonderful time of the year!
