It is possible to take a rest and still grow your business over the holidays, and with a bit of planning and preparation you can let your downtime set you up for success and get ready for an amazing 2025.
Here’s 6 ideas for you to try:
1. Reflect on Success and Lessons from the Year
Animal therapists rarely stop and celebrate success because they are always onto the next thing. Sounds familiar?!. This year why not schedule in time to look back at 2024, either before or during the holidays.
What were your biggest wins? Did you land that dream client or host a successful event? Did you increase sales? Launch something new? Show up more on social media? Crack a marketing strategy? What were your dominant thoughts and feelings? What challenges did you face? What lessons did you take from the last 12 months?
2. Let your content do the heavy lifting - Batch and Schedule Your Content:
Just because you are having a rest doesn’t mean your business needs to disappear, you can be visible without actually working, with some preparation ahead.
Whilst your audience might be busy ahead of the holidays many people are off work, and once presents are opened and the food is finished they are generally on their phones, meaning that they can be seeing your content and buying from you.
Plan ahead by batching and scheduling your content.
3. The Season Of Goodwill - Thank Your Clients
It’s the perfect time to let your clients know how much you value them, and get them engaged for the next 12 months in business. A personalised thank-you note, a small gift, or voice note goes a long way.
4. Embrace and Welcome the ‘Triggers’
The holiday season can actually be very stressful, from seeing family members, to financial pressures and an extra long to do list. It’s quite normal for this season to trigger a range of emotions that might not all be very positive.
How about using these ‘triggers’ as a time for growth, and to help you to show up for your business more in 2025? Instead of resisting, embrace these moments as opportunities for growth.
Perhaps it's a visiting family member who asks you “When are you going to get a proper job and stop messing about with horses?” Ouch that one can hit hard! We’ve all got that outspoken member of the family.
Or maybe it’s feeling overwhelmed or struggling to manage both business and family life.
Ask yourself: What’s the underlying message in this stress? What is the positive lesson I need to learn from this? What thought patterns or beliefs do I hold that are making this feel uncomfortable? By leaning into these triggers, you can turn them into actionable insights for your business which will help your growth so much.
5. Watch the Money Stories
I hear a real mix of ‘money stories’ around the holiday period, which can have a very negative impact on the first quarter of the New Year. For instance therapists often tell me that “People don’t buy in December”, or that “Business will be quiet in January”.
If this is what you believe then yes this is what will happen, but this isn’t true or real for all businesses. Many equestrian and canine businesses have strong sales in December and January, and your business can as well.
If these have been quieter periods for your business historically, ask what you can do differently this year? How can you double down on your marketing?
6. Set Your Intentions for 2025
Finally, use the holidays to dream about the future. What do you want your equestrian business to look like a year from now?
If you missed my podcast last week on planning your best year ever then have a listen here
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5snvnAsUgdvb2EIbvtNIFb?si=r-kF-MJGRSmrjg8wZD8rag
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/planning-your-best-year-ever/id1720713223?i=1000678643591
