Hello everyone, I have some great news. New content is underway!

After the holiday season John and I felt pretty burned out. We weren’t sure if we should keep this up or go back to what we already knew and were comfortable with. I had a meeting with John over dinner and we both felt like it was time for us to pick this back up. We’ve brainstormed some great ideas, and will be bringing them up soon.

Stay tuned!

With the holidays upon us, we figured that we could help out by making a quick, 5 step checklist to make sure your holiday season as good as it can be.

1. Staffing

Make sure you’ve got enough people to cover the extra traffic you will be facing. A good rule of thumb is to schedule 1.5 times more people than a typical day. Of course you can adjust the hours based on how your specific store operates.

2. Organization and preparation

Have your store’s shelves 100% stocked and faced before you open, so that you won’t have to re-stock them as often during the day. We recommend that you take care of as much as you can the night before your busy days, so you can be prepared for anything that might come up. It could even be beneficial to designate a re-facer to tidy up after your customers pick up and look at your products, since there will be a very high volume.

3. Decorations

No holiday season is complete without decorations, but it is important not to alienate any customers by being ‘politically incorrect’ in your decorations. Unfortunately, many people can become upset if their beliefs aren’t included or accurately portrayed when other beliefs are. We tend to think that it’s best to stick to neutral decorations, like the generic ‘winter’ theme.

4. Post holiday sales/returns

Remember that your busy days aren’t only during the gift-buying times leading up to a holiday, but also the time right afterwards. This is because people come in looking to return a product they didn’t want, or they are hunting the post-holiday sales. Remember to keep staffed for this, so that your customers aren’t faced with long lines. Keep in mind that you will see a lot of new people in your store, since your long-time customers are buying gifts for non-customers. If the non-customer needs to return the item at your store, you then have the opportunity to make them a happy, and returning customer.

5. Bonuses, parties, and perks

Your customers are vital to your company’s success, but your employees are the essence of what your business is. On busy days like Christmas Eve, be sure to reward them for their hard work. Something as simple as free lunch or other perks make a busy day into an enjoyable one. Year end bonuses and holiday parties are also a great way to thank your employees. Save a little over the course of the year and then splurge on your employees.

Download this week's podcast

All Successful businesses have one thing in common: Leadership. This is not a secret, however from many of the unsuccessful businesses we have observed doesn’t seem to implement strong leadership very often. Leadership comes from the top down so as an owner of a small to medium sized business you have to realize you are the pillar that holds your business up. You need to be strong and lead your business to success. Without a strong leader your business will falter, that is a guarantee. Leadership is crucial to success and it starts with you, the owner.

1. Hire the right people
By hiring the right people for your business you put yourself in a perfect to position to be a successful leader. The people you hire should be a reflection of yourself and that reflection should be someone who desires success and is willing to work hard for it. By putting these people in positions that will better the business your leadership will show through and then trickle down to all the other employees.

2. Collaborate
Remember, you are one person that owns one business and you are not alone. There are thousands upon thousands of small business owners out their in the same position you are. They’re all working their tails off for the betterment of the business so reach out to them. They know what you go through everyday trying to run a business by yourself so talk to them and collaborate on different aspects of business. Then take what you’ve learned and implement in your own business. You will find there are a wealth of ideas that you haven’t even dreamed of that others use on a regular basis to make life easier on the small business owners.

3. Consistency
As an owner of a small business you have distinct beliefs on how your business should operate and you should instill those beliefs onto your employees, starting with your management team, therefore your management team will instill those same beliefs onto the lower ranked employees. By doing so your entire staff will be on the same page. If you are inconsistent with your beliefs or do not instill them to your employees then your employees will operate your business, which usually isn’t the best for your bottom line. A good leader is consistent so remain consistent with your core beliefs and your employees will know what to expect from you and their positions.

4. Freedom of choice
Being a good leader does not always mean you have to lay down ground rules for your employees and then make sure they follow them. A good leader means giving your employees freedom to make choices and decisions within the business. Now, don’t go and hand over the reigns of your business to your employees but inspire them to become better employees by giving them freedom of choice. Allow them to have major input on displays, sale ideas, etc. By doing this you give your employees freedom of choice and with that comes accountability and ownership.