5 Top Holiday Practices for Your Business

This season, there’s a lot to be thankful for. For those of us who don’t have jobs, we have families to care for us and friends that support us. Those of us in business have clients that have stuck with us while some of them left for obvious reasons. Regardless of where you or your business are at, here’s a few great ideas that will help you and your business transition into the New Year with a sense of self, direction, and peace of mind using both traditional and non-traditional means.

1. Christmas Cards. Whether you believe in going green or not, you should seriously consider sending a card for the holidays to your clients- either in print or digitally. Now, more than ever, people need reminders of hope from those they know – and reminding them of who you are and how you know them is just as important too. A sample tweet would be: A Christmas Card from us to you ( include your link to your card there).
2. Gifts. For those clients that truly are the reason you’re still open, let them know. One designer last year sent a large envelope-looking box with 5 candybars, saying “Here’s 5-Hundred Grand. You’re Worth So Much More to Me.” Simple, creative, and touching.This year at my company, we’re sending out the ever-loved boxes of Clementines which signify our company mascot and logo, the orange. Making the connection personal, relevant, and creative helps.
3. Be Generous. There are so many worthy organizations out there. I hope you’ve found one that you can continually partner with and give to. My goal is to give 10% of our company profit to organizations locally, nationally, and internationally. It’s one of our values. It should also match yours too.Another great idea is plan to give away your goods / services, but with a generous twist. Have users submit videos of themselves–or another worthy organization they know of–that they’d like see be blessed by your generosity. Planning your Pro-bono accounts is one way to ensure that you’re keeping your focus and they don’t drain your creativity.Be giving and participating. You’re creating ample opportunity to Twitter about what you’re doing, create buzz and informational-tweets, creating notoriety to both of your organizations.
4. Re-Focus. This year, many of us have been forced to do spring cleaning – with our stuff, employees or offices, determining who and what are necessary for us to function. In doing so, I’ve realized I still have more stuff than I need. Today, I got rid of some things in my office I didn’t need, specifically, books. 50 books went to Goodwill and the local library; someone may discover something new that I already knew and took for granted. The holiday season is a great time to re-focus your efforts in the next year and consider where you’re going. Namely, what aren’t you doing that you want to do? Now is the time to take risks. If you can make it now, you make it anytime. QCMG is one of three new studios I know of that emerged from last year’s bust, turning a down economy into an up opportunity, solely through perspective and attitude. Start sharing those ideas and plant them.
5. Enlist. The holidays are a great time to put our your feelers for all the above – ways to be generous, re-focus, and visioneer. Ask your clients, friends, and professional contacts for ideas to all the above and enlist them to participate. You’ll be surprised how many people want to be part of something.

This season, I hope you spend the time to be generous, refocus, and enlist others in doing so. You’ll find you have more than you need, enough that you want, and everything for a warm and generous holiday.