Often we look forward to January because it allows us to slow down, think, and rest after the crazy holiday rush.
With Black Friday sales starting earlier and earlier every year, the holiday shopping season seems to be getting longer and longer each year.
So how can you avoid getting caught up in all that craziness and find financial freedom and peace?
I'm giving you two valuable tips that have truly saved my quilt business.
Side note: While we look forward to the holiday rush with all of the pretty fall colors and the paying customers, we also look forward to things slowing down just a little bit.
The holiday shopping season is often hectic, and as business owners, we find ourselves putting out all kinds of fires, fire after fire after fire, constantly putting in long hours just to stay on top of it all. And sometimes, even a few of the little things get ignored while we deal with those more important things.
So how can we avoid getting caught up in all the craziness and find financial freedom and peace in our businesses?
Reduce Stress as a Quilt Shop Owner During the Holiday Season
1 - Eat Your Money Veggies
Now yeah, you need to eat your veggies, actual veggies, but also you need to eat your money vegetables (aka your profits).
You also need to save those.
The Profit First cash management system only works when we take our veggies first. We take our profits first because we usually put more emphasis and focus on what comes first over what comes last.
It's like eating your vegetables before you have dessert. Now, the traditional accounting equation is sales minus expenses equals profit. Profits are usually what's left over for us.
Business owners spend a lot of time and focus on sales and expenses. And by the time we get around to profit, there's usually nothing left because there's always that one little cute fabric we've got to have. Or maybe we promise to make a customer this or particular order.
Sounds about right?
But with Profit First, we have to eat our veggies first (take our profit first).
We want to prioritize profit, so we kind of rewrite the formula: sales minus profit equals expenses. This ensures that we are always habitually profitable and can reward ourselves for the crazy long hours we put in during the holiday season.
2 - Get Into a Rhythm
We make better money decisions if they are planned and scheduled.
Hopefully, none of you run to the grocery store every time you think of something you need. If I did that, my entire day would be spent running back and forth between home and the store.
Instead, I write what we need on the shopping list, and then we go to the store once a week and get it.
Running your business should be very similar.
We must stop being reactive to all the daily panics and stresses of running a quilt store, even during that holiday rush.
If a vendor calls asking for payment, you don't need to drop everything you're doing and try to come up with the money right away. You can simply say, yes, we're aware of that.
Depending on your business, all the bills might get paid on Fridays. Or if you pay them on Tuesdays, Tuesdays, or every two weeks. The important thing is that you establish a rhythm.
A rhythm for . . .
placing your orders
paying your bills
checking your sales
This will help you stay focused instead of running around putting out all those buyers all the time.
Final Thoughts
Taking your profits is essential. Getting into that rhythm really helps us control our money and gives us the financial freedom we all want.