Christmas is a time of relaxation, of spending some well-earned time off with family and friends, but what about when you run a business?

How can you make sure your coaching business is prepared for Christmas, or any holiday for that matter? My 3 quick tips below might help…

1. Set up systems

One of the obvious things to set up is your out of office autoresponder – try to give as much information as you can (without waffling on!) and make sure to include when they can expect a reply from you.  If you want to make it a fun, light-hearted responder, read through these for some inspiration!

After setting up your out of office responder for emails, remember to do the same with your voicemail too! Change your phone voicemail greeting to let people know when they can expect a reply… if it’s an urgent call, maybe advise them in your message to send a text but only if it can’t wait!

Decide how you want to proceed with your social media posts over the holidays – do you want to continue posting on a daily basis? Or do you want to post just the one update when you’ve finished to let people know not to expect any more posts until after the holidays?

There’s no right or wrong answer, it’s whatever works for you. You can schedule the posts in advance so you don’t have to remember to do it during your time off (although you probably need to check your social media accounts in case you get any interaction on there)

2. Give notice

It goes without saying that you must let clients know in advance when you’re going to be finishing for the Christmas period. If you need to let them know alternative arrangements then make sure you give them all the information needed at the same time.

Customer service is paramount in business, especially in coaching, and it doesn’t do well to leave clients guessing when they can get hold of you.

As mentioned in the previous tip, post social media updates to let your followers know your opening times etc., and keep these posts pinned to the top of your page so it’s the first thing people see when they land on your social media pages.

3. Switch off notifications

In this day & age it’s so easy to become a slave to technology – we spend the majority of the time on our laptops or phones, whether it’s talking to clients, catching up with admin, or mindlessly scrolling through our social media feeds… it’s never-ending and, although we know it’s bad for us, we seem to love it!

Try to take a break from it over Christmas. I know it’s easier said than done, but if you put a few “rules” in place, it becomes a lot simpler.

The thought of returning in the new year to hundreds of emails is overwhelming… so know that it’s okay to check your emails whilst you’re off, but allocate yourself a certain amount of time (e.g. 1 hour every day) and set a timer to ensure you stick to it!

As business owners, it can be hard to switch off completely during this time of year, and that’s okay! You don’t have to be switched off 100% of the time but if you put systems in place in your business before you break up for the holidays, you’ll be able to enjoy the festive season a little more!