Getting Christmas Ready!

By Kerrie Di Mattia

The “silly season” is aptly named for both the fun and the chaos it brings! And yet while we are supposed to plan ahead and have all our elves in a row months ahead of time, it rarely happens that way, life gets in the way as normal, other STUFF takes priority, before we know it the decorations are in the shops, Michael Bublé is living uninvited in your head, and you haven’t planned a thing!

I should add that the pressure of knowing you need to do all this extra planning can make it incredibly overwhelming & the urge to just cross your fingers and hope for the best can be very real!

My advice to you is this....

Make a shortlist of what really matters right now and what works for you!

Once you’ve got your shortlist organised then you’ve got yourself the beginning of a system that you can action and add to each year, so the salon runs as smoothly as the Phat man’s workshop!

I’ve got a list of 6 things that I know I need to plan ahead of time - But remember, these are what I need to feel like my elves are lining up... yours might be different!

1: Get you stock sorted early

I Pre-order Christmas retail packs in September/ October and I order plenty of drops to see us through till January, if cash flow permits, stock up as much as you can now, then break up any leftovers in the new year to increase your margin.

I also make sure I have plenty of Pro stock on board to cope with demand, there is nothing that adds to your stress levels more in December than running out of colour with full books!

2: Client Thank you gifts

Not every salon does this, but if you do, plan, and order them early also, depending on what we are doing and where they come from these can often take time to arrive.

3: Vouchers and Packages

To be honest, before we started doing packages vouchers weren’t a big seller for us, we might sell 20-30 at Christmas at the most, now we have to be so organised with packages planned, imagery and vouchers printed and marketing ready by early November for those early shoppers.

4: Team goals and incentives for a kick arse December

You’ve got to make this exciting!!! Your team is going to work hard to help get the salon over the line and reach target, they need to feel like it’s fun at the same time, surprise your team with incentives and rewards, consider offering bonuses, gift cards, or extra time off in the new year for exceptional performance.

This not only motivates your team but also shows them you see and appreciate the effort they go to. And don’t forget their December survival kits, they are a favourite in our salon! have things like advent calendars, Berocca, panadol, snacks and inexpensive fun items like Xmas earrings etc.

5: Get your roster right

Communication is key at all times but none more so than the hecticness of December!!!

Make sure you communicate your plans, be clear about any extra opening hours, ask your team who is keen for extra hours if needed and what they are willing to do over and above the normal roster.

Make sure you have enough support team on to cope with the extra volume of clients, now is the time to ask around if any young friends or clients are interested in coming in as support just to keep behind the scenes clean and tidy, your stylists will really appreciate this especially your younger team members who usually get stuck with most of the end of day jobs after a long day.

6: Last but not least is plan a celebration for your team

We can often overlook this until the last minute and end up doing something rushed and uneventful or worse really bloody expensive because you had no choice!!!

These guys ( big or small) are your tribe, they help make it all happen from January to December and I believe it’s important to plan something to show your appreciation.

I hope this was somewhat helpful, owning a salon be a tough gig at times, especially at this end of the year, but remember to pace yourself, you’re in this for the long run, not a short sprint, there is so much more you can plan for but it doesn’t matter if you don’t get it all happening this year, you’ve made a start, you’ve now got that system in place which you can expand on next year and the years after that until one day you find yourself as experienced (old) as me and you can look back and smile at how organised you are!

Merry Christmas everyone, Big Love Kez x