Why for business owning mums, this time of year can be Jingle Hell!
7th December 2015
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Why for business owning mums, this time of year can be jingle hell!


Before you all start shouting ‘bah humbug’ at me, don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas! But when you are managing your own business and have to manage the Christmas business it’s like having two full time jobs.

First, there’s school. Christmas fairs, getting small children to decorate crackers, make Christmas cards for their friends, buying gifts for teachers, making nativity costumes and attending plays and parties.

Then, there’s home life. Buying the presents, wrapping the presents; writing the cards, sending the cards; planning Christmas dinner, preparing Christmas dinner. And a new personal challenge for me; working out how to explain to the four year old that Father Christmas does not bring everything on your Christmas list, he just chooses a selection (for example ‘butterfly stickers’, not ‘my own Ipad’).

Then finally, oh yes, there’s work. If you are working in the gift, food, hospitality industry then frankly you’re in serious trouble. Of course, a seasonal uptake in demand is only good news for businesses. But to deliver all this, plus the school and home Christmas tasks? Well, you need to be as magical as Father Christmas himself and after all, he only has to go shopping and HE HAS ELVES.

When it comes to business it’s not only seasonal businesses that will face a challenge. Let’s be honest, everyone demands everything done/delivered/completed ‘by Christmas’, plus business owners need to constantly be focused on the pipeline. At the same time as our hearts are in festive mode, our heads need to be in business development mode, as whilst a month off with our feet up in January sounds divine, it’s not exactly the best business strategy.

So, here’s a few tips for getting through the jingle hell. If you have any more, I’d love to hear them!

  1. Do Christmas shopping all year. When you see something someone may like, grab it, meaning you’ve a nice stash built up well before December.
  2. Employ elves. Children, time to start practicing your writing, and to learn the new skill of gift wrapping. Grandma, wouldn’t you love to make little Jessie’s nativity costume? Daddy, time to start learning the new skill of gift wrapping....
  3. Stay up later or get up earlier. Unfortunately it’s the only way to squeeze it all in. Get through one Christmassy task a day/wrap a few presents every evening rather than tackling this in bulk.
  4. Attend new business and networking events in December. With a jovial mood and a festive spirit, there’ll be a good atmosphere and an appetite for making new contacts and reviewing businesses practices in the new year.
  5. Take a few well earned days off once December is through, enabling you to feel rested, recharged and refreshed ready for the new year.

Elizabeth Hibbert

Word Salon

Professional Copywriting and Marketing Services

 

For more information about Elizabeth, visit:

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