Holiday Business Stress – 6 Ways to Avoid Stress in Your Online Business
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Here are 6 ways to avoid holiday business stress:
1. Have a set schedule of when you will be working the business
During the holidays you have a lot on your plate. There is shopping to do, family budgeting to keep in check, decorating the home, family gatherings and social events, and you have to participate in all of those details. That leaves less time for the actual running of your business unless you set up a definite work schedule. A good idea would be to get with the family members and find out exactly what is in the works, then set up your work schedule so that it never interferes with those special holiday events. Set your work schedule, then stick to it. Make every work minute count for something. Again, do not allow your business to interfere in the family holiday functions.
2. Have a definite plan of action
Your having a defined plan of action of what you will do during those scheduled work hours will eliminate most causes for business stress. Plan out what you will be writing as content, what products you might offer to your subscriber base, plan out any holiday product specials that would be a benefit to your lists. Having a well-thought out daily plan of action will keep your stress level low and should keep you from experiencing a slump in sales.
3. Watch your online business expenses
During the holidays there will be a portion of your discretionary income that will need to be diverted to holiday needs. This will mean that there will be less money in the family budget that can be used in the business. Take a very close look at what expenses you are incurring in the operation of your business. You can make logical decisions as to what, if any, services, unused membership fees, or other expenses can be eliminated at this time. When the January bills come due, you will be happy that some of the “business fat” was eliminated.
4. Cut out the clutter
What kind of information is being delivered to your inbox every day? Now is a great time to analyze the pertinence or dynamics of the information you receive daily as a subscriber to newsletters. A good rule of thumb is the “80/20″ rule: 80% of any newsletter you receive should be useful information and 20% of it can be promotional in nature. When you cut out the promotional clutter, you will find that your inbox will have more educational and informational content and you will avoid having so many promotional mails to open and read through. Additionally, the psychological aspects of eliminating the promotions of other workers will keep your mind clear for running your business.
5. Work it like you have no other options
The holiday season comes in and goes out faster than we realize. This means that every minute, every element of your content, and all your business intentions create profitable results. Place your focus on the definite actions within your business that will create those results. You will have competition but you can still create sales and profit as long as you focus on the tasks at hand utilize intelligent work ethics.
6. Go ahead and start planning for the first quarter of 2011
Today is the best time to begin your planning for next year and set yourself up for what you will intend to accomplish during the first 90 days of the new year. Your plan does not have to be intricate, just workable. When you set up a preliminary plan now you will have more confidence and less stress in the weeks following the holidays. Plan it out now and your business goals will be accomplished.
Take some time this week to consider these ideas and avoid all that holiday stress.