The run up to Christmas can be a hectic time for a lot of us. If you're a small business owner you might feel it even more so. Long days of going to work in the dark and coming home after the sun sets. Doing extra hours to get on top of Christmas orders or be able to take some time off over the festive period. It can sometimes get a little bit too much. Use these small business tips to help you through the holidays.
Keep An Eye On Your Cash Flow
The cash flow of your business is the life blood of your business. It can be so easy to drop the ball during the festive chaos but making sure you keep an eye on your cash flow is so important. You don't want to be paying out for more stock if you don't have the cash to do so. Nor do you want to miss invoices being paid into your account. Our business funds ebb and flow but we must keep track of our finances.
Plan For Festive Expenses
Next on our list of small business tips during Christmas is planning for those extra festive expenses. This could be gifts to your staff members or your charitable donations for the season. Maybe it's the Christmas party (not this year though!) or simply the fact no work will be done for a week or ten days whilst the office is closed, but you'll still be covering salaries. If we plan ahead and know that these monies will be going out, we know what's going in with our accounts. Preparation is key.
Spread Some Christmas Cheer
It's the most wonderful time of the year and we should all celebrate. Adding some decorations to your workplace and spreading some festive cheer is fantastic. If you have customers visiting, be sure to have some festive songs on the radio and maybe even some special holiday promotions. It's amazing how far a tub of Quality Street on the counter can go towards ensuring your customers return again and again. You can't beat the atmosphere and Christmas spirit in the office too. Implement a secret Santa gift giving exchange, so people get something to open but don't have to spend too much cash.
Plan Time To Relax
We can work and work, but we must take time for ourselves as well. Otherwise, what are we doing it all for? Plan in some time to relax and enjoy downtime away from the laptop. Leave the work phone in the drawer for a couple of days. Those emails will still be there when you log back on! If you need business cover over the holidays, delegate to and split between staff members who can be trusted.
Hopefully these small business tips will help keep you on track during the festive season and let you enjoy some of the Christmas holidays as well. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!