Guest Post from Elanor Sung, WCE Member and owner of Pinpoint Massage

As we approach the holidays, I wanted to give some tips to have a profitable and happy holiday season.

1. DON’T DISCOUNT. It is the holidays. People are ready and willing to spend money on the products and services that their family/friends are wanting. Most people plan to shop for one person/item or with a specific amount of money to spend. If you discount your product/service, you are always giving more and receiving less. As an alternative, you can add value to what they are purchasing. For example, offer a gift with a $50 purchase, and make the gift simple, and little to no cost to you. If you sell services, it could be an upgrade, or if you sell product, you can add a free sample for you next seasons stuff.

2. KNOW YOUR WORTH. If you must discount, make sure that the discount does not exceed your profit margin. To know this, you must know how much your product/service costs per unit. This includes the cost of production, time and taxes (to name a few). If your profit margin is 20% and you are discounting 25% you are then paying for those customers. Above all, you need to know how much your profit margin is in order to create a profitable business.

3. HAVE A MARKETING STRATEGY. Invest your money wisely with your marketing dollars. First, who are you marketing to? Are you marketing to current customers, or new customers? Where would you find them? Then think about how to best reach them: Facebook, IG, Email. Then come up with a plan. When to post, what to post, how often to post.

4. SET GOALS. Set a goal for your holiday season. A goal should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based). For example, one of my goals this year is to sell 10% more services and gift certificates before the end of the year over last year. I know my holiday season starts on November 9 (with the Mistletoe Market) and will end on December 31. I know how many I sold last year, and I want 10% more than that. It could be that you want to sell at least $6000 of product or to get 15 more clients for your email list.

5. MAKE TIME FOR YOU. There are several major shopping days that are coming up: Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, etc. You do not have do participate in ANY of them, if you don’t want to, or you can participate in all three! Decide when you want to work, what days you have off and what days you will be open late. Make sure your customers know any special holiday hours, so they know when to come in, or when you will be closed. Do NOT feel bad for taking time out for your family and events that you want to participate in. If you take care of yourself, and your wants and needs, your holiday season happier.

I hope these tips help you this holiday season. Let’s make this holiday the best by supporting each other in love, joy and enthusiasm. When we support one another, we can build amazing things!