Halloween is nearly here! You’re probably putting the finishing touches on your costume or your kids’ outfits, you’ve broken into the candy for the trick-or-treaters, and you’re just putting up the last of the spooky decorations. And yet, the winter holidays loom. Halloween used to be a bulwark against the holiday season, but if you’re anything like us, you’ve started to see Christmas candy and holiday decorations in the stores.
It doesn’t matter if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Yule, Kwanzaa or all of them.
The preparation is pretty much the same. There are parties and gatherings to plan, gifts to buy, friends to connect with, decorations to bring out of the attic, dinner menus to plan, cards to write. And all of that is on top of running your salons in Lawton. You’re probably already seeing a rush of appointments for people who want to look their best for the holidays. Your personal time is already getting tight, isn’t it?
The good news is you have time. Everything you need to prepare for the coming holiday season is already in the stores at Central Mall Lawton, Target, Costco, and pretty much everywhere else. Here are a few ways you can make use of your time and make the actual holiday season a lot more stress-free for yourself and your salon in Lawton!
- Establish a holiday budget for yourself and the salon. Sit down and make a budget for what you can afford to spend this holiday season on your salon, your clients, and your family. And don’t forget to budget a little bit of money to spend on yourself! Be careful: Don’t blow your holiday shopping and preparations budget this year before the holidays even arrive. Even though most folks don’t bother to create a holiday budget, it’s one of the smartest things you can do for yourself and for your salon. Get out a piece of paper or open your accounting software and calculate it. Simply setting the intention will help you stick to the budget much better.
- Get your mailing list in order. No one likes to frantically rummage through their devices, address books, and desk drawers for a missing contact list or the addresses of their friends, family members, and clients. Before the holiday madness really sets in, why not take a little time to sketch out your mailing list for personal holiday cards, thank you cards, and those cards you will be sending to your salon clients this holiday season? If you’re not in the habit of collecting mailing addresses along with phone numbers and email addresses from your clients, that’s something you want to start doing immediately. This kind of contact information not only helps you stay connected with the people who sit in your chair, it also allows you to market your salon business more effectively. If you want to go a step further, order some printed return address labels for yourself and your salon business, buy all your holiday stamps in advance, and address your envelopes before you start writing the cards. Writing holiday cards is fun and easy. Nobody enjoys addressing envelopes!
- Get your events calendar ready. This is also a great time to start getting your life in order. Whether you enter calendar events into your phone or jot them down on a wall calendar or a physical planner, now is the time to block off dates and times for out-of-town trips to visit friends and family, time off for yourself, various parties, and special events you might be having at the salon. You should also add your personal appointments into the calendar, such as trips to the dentist, when you’ll need to get your car serviced, or when you’re having your furnace tuned up. Time budgeting will save your brain when things get really involved.
- Perform your annual holiday supplies audit. With many of the retail stores already ramping up their holiday displays, you’ll be able to find a great number of sales and deals on everything you need going into the holiday season. Remember your budget, but also remember that this is an excellent time to perform your pre-holiday supplies audit. This means you can get your holiday decorations, wrapping paper, holiday cards, gift bags, ribbons, bows, cookie tins, holiday craft supplies, decor, and so on and so forth early in the season when it’s cheap and available and the stores aren’t all thick with shoppers.
- Visit your print shop. This is the time of year when salon business traffic is likely to increase, and you may be running specials, discounts, promotions, or special events. You’re also going to be sending cards and putting together little gift bags for your clients. All of this means it’s a good idea to visit a print shop, local or online. Do it early in the season to make sure you have everything printed and ready for the holiday season. You might need copies of flyers, coupons, labels, cards, and more. Get it done early, and they’ll all be right there when the time comes to send them out!
- Shop for your salon clients. Although shopping for friends and family members can be difficult, putting together a little gift assortment for your clients is relatively easy. Gifts for friends and family are highly personal and take a good deal of thought. When it comes to your clients, the expectation is never high, but your salon clients will be surprised and pleased that you thought enough of them. Let’s face it, there’s always a chance that your clients, especially your longtime clients, will be giving you a little something special this holiday season. While you might choose to give something a little bit more personal to a few special, longtime clients, most of your clients won’t expect this. Why not put together little gift bags of salon products with a festive tag on top? It’s always a good idea to include your business card and a discount card or coupon for their next salon visit. You can even give them a coupon for their favorite salon. That can benefit you through the holiday season and well into the new year!
Salons de Beauté is the right place for you and your small salon in Lawton. Contact us today!