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12 Tips of Christmas

Written by: Helen Dowling

Article Overview: Christmas is fast approaching so in preparation, Helen Dowling from Exceptional Thinking has put together her 12 tips of Christmas.

12 Tips of Christmas

On the 1st day of Christmas: don’t forget to take a bit of time off this year. I’m sure your family will appreciate it and anyway, you’ve worked very hard all year so it’s a good time to have a bit of a rest.

On the 2nd day of Christmas: with only 2 weeks to go, this is a great time to do some last minute marketing in your business. Send out your Christmas cards yes, but why not include a voucher in there too with a Christmas gift for all your customers?

On the 3rd day of Christmas: what plans have you got for a January sale? Everyone likes to feel that they’re getting a bargin when they buy something. Are you planning to have a sale for your customers? It could also be a big incentive for those who’ve been thinking about buying your products and services to do something about it.

On the 4th day of Christmas: plan, plan, plan for the New Year. Make sure you know what you want and put a plan in place to get there. If your goals include things that you’re really passionate about and would happily do for no money at all, so much the better – you’re much more likely to want to achieve them!

On the 5th day of Christmas: now and over Christmas when things are quieter, are a great time for some house-keeping and for getting round to the things you’ve been meaning to do all year. Get them all cleared up so that you start the New Year with a clean slate.

On the 6th day of Christmas: I know January seems like months away, even though it’s only just around the corner and I know you’ve probably been promising people that you’ll look at things in New Year. If you have, try if at all possible to keep your promises and if you know you won’t, be honest with the other person and let them know.

On the 7th day of Christmas: Keep an eye on your Christmas expenses. It’s really easy to go out and enjoy yourself a little bit too much by treating your customers and staff. But for most of us, we’ve still got another three months to go until the end of the financial year and believe me if you overspend in December, things will not look as rosy in the cold light of January.

On the 8th day of Christmas: On the other hand, don’t forget to give yourself a reward (doesn’t have to cost a lot). As small business owners, we’re great at beating ourselves up when things don’t go as well as we hope, but not so good at celebrating success. Look at what you’ve achieved this year and give yourself a pat on the back.

On the 9th day of Christmas: Remember to be realistic at Christmas. Everyone is going to be starting to wind down between now and the beginning of January, so if you run a service business and are expecting loads of customers, think again. Don’t be too discouraged about it though – use the time wisely to give yourself a kick-start for the New Year.

On the 10th day of Christmas: Notify your customers when you’ll be working and when you won’t be – letting them know your Christmas opening hours in advance will make sure everyone is clear about what’s happening when. Give them a last update too, so everyone knows what’s been done.

On the 11th day of Christmas: Be green this Christmas – recycle your Christmas Cards and reuse your Christmas Trees.

On the 12th day of Christmas: Finally, remember, that Christmas is about having some fun too, so make sure you have some. Have a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2008!

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Article Tags: 6th day of christmas, bargin, christmas, christmas cards, christmas gift, christmas plan, clean slate, good time, great time, little bit, minute marketing, money, new year, promises, three months, time off, voucher



Related Forum Posts
Business Tips - How about: Tips for managers to handle employees more effectively? Tips on how to deal with difficult customers? Tips on how to deal more effectively with suppliers? The only three I have in mind right now, but will try to come up with something else. Chris
Being generous has its rewards! - My friend wants to go around the streets on Christmas night giving homeless people $20 bills. Maybe I'll tell him to start a fundraiser, find a few sponsors and hold an event instead? It could be for everyone who don't have a families to be with during Christmas? They can all get together on Christmas day and have some fun and get to know each other. (sort of like a little family?) It probably sounds better in theory though, lol.
Re: Moderators on vacation - Off on my Christmas holidays with my family later today! Actually, we are flying to England and have been watching BBC World News reports about Heathrow struggling to cope with the snow... Hope the trains manage to run on Christmas Eve... I probably won't appear on the forum very often until around 5th January, DV... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody! David H
Re: What are reasons to stay in touch with your customers? - To remind them of a holiday for which they may want to buy a gift from your business and give to the person (such as Mother's day or Christmas). Although I've never done it, I've heard that off holidays (such as Memorial Day) for which we don't think of getting a card on, are the best ones to send them on so they don't get lost in all the other Christmas or Easter cards people are sending at the typical times. I don't know if that's what you're looking for or not. That's all I can think of right now.
Merry Christmas everyone! - I'm just waiting for my son to wake up to start our Christmas traditions and I wanted to drop a quick note here to thank everyone for your support of the forums. We've have an exciting year and hopefully we can reach and help even more entrepreneurs in 2011! I hope you enjoy your families and have a fantastic holiday break... and then get ready to kick some butt with your business in 2011! Merry Christmas everyone!


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