Planning Ahead in 2014

January tends to be a time when the salon life slows down just a smidge, at least when compared to the insanity of December. This makes it the perfect time for you to put together a marketing plan for the year. What changes do you plan to make this year, and how will you integrate them into your business?

Valentine retail and marketing should already be in place with Easter, Mother's Day, and Father's Day spinning in your mind. Putting together a loose game plan now can really make your life easier as the year goes by. Make sure to integrate your specials and changes into your social media. Fun pictures of retail items or gift certificates with gift options are great on social media to give spouses or family of your clients gifting ideas.

Orders for winter holiday retail should generally be placed in September or October, so having plans for what you want to do now can make those decisions easier when they come around. How about client gifts for year end? Looking at some of the options for that now gives you plenty of lead time to not need things like rush processing or express shipping.

As artists and creative minded people, it's really easy to forget that you are also a business professional, so here is a reminder not to let that boring business side of things get away from you!

— Holly