holiday finances Archives - Solopreneur Profit Coach |

3 Holiday Marketing Ideas for Service-Based Businesses

If you’re new to running a service-based business or just haven’t quite hacked the holiday season yet, this one’s for you. When I ran a jewelry company, the holidays were an important part of my yearly revenue. But when I first opened up my bookkeeping practice, I was at a loss for how to market my service-based business and make the most of this season for my business. I looked at the small businesses I was working with and realized that a lot of similar businesses struggle to figure out how to get a cut of holiday profits.

So, I put together this handy guide for you. This is an important time for small businesses, and using just one of these tips could up your potential for profits this season.

Reward Your Most Loyal Customers

Look back through your customer data on your payment processor, or take a look at your reviews on Alignable or Google, and chances are you’ll find some happy customers! Take the time to reach out to these people with a special holiday offer made just for them.

For example, this could be a discount on future sessions or a special package of particular services they’ve purchased before. This is a great way to model holiday generosity and make those clients even happier (and more likely to come back to you in the New Year too).

Host a Holiday Event

This is a fun idea that can bring in new or returning customers and create some new buzz around your business. You could host this online or in-person.

Online events could be a simple holiday gathering or meet and greet, or perhaps related to the services you offer. Something like a short webinar related to your services and the season, followed by a Q&A, could be a great option. In-person events can also be a simple holiday gathering, or there could be a focus on your workspace as an open studio.

Attract guests by offering prizes or holiday packages, and make sure to have special offers for attendees that can help turn them into customers.

Offer a Flash Sale on Your Most Popular Service

A quick glance at your bookkeeping should tell you what your most popular service was this year. If not, or if you aren’t clear on how to look for this information, read my article “Maximize Your Profits With Bookkeeping: How To Get the Valuable Info Your Financial Records Are Hiding.”

Once you figure out your most popular service, offer a flash sale on it on Cyber Monday or Small Business Saturday! This is also a great way to get your business booked up through the end of the year, which will help you get more clear on your own holiday schedule.

Want more tips? Check out my article “How to Prep for the Holidays as a Service-Based Business” and “Holiday Marketing Ideas for Service-Based Businesses” by Adams Media Group for some inspiration. You can also subscribe to my free newsletter for monthly financial tips and insights into successful small business life:

3 Ways to Prep Your Finances for the Holidays

The holiday season is a time of meaning, gathering, and giving. There are a couple key money moves you can make early on to make sure that’s the focus, instead of financial stress. Let’s talk about a couple different financial situations many of us face at this time of year, and how to navigate them peacefully!

What Do You Love Most About the Holidays?

When getting ready to make any financial decision, it’s important to check in with your values. Setting up your holiday spending plan is no exception. Take a moment and ask yourself these questions:

What do I love most about the holidays?
What are my needs and wants for this holiday season?
What do I want to make sure I do to enjoy this time of year?

These questions will help you get clear on your financial priorities for holiday spending. Pick a few special things, like donating to a cause you care about, taking your family for a sleigh ride, or getting a perfect gift for someone you love.

Then orient your spending plan so that those things happen, and don’t worry about missing out on the rest. As long as you get to do what’s meaningful to you, you’ve spent your money wisely, right? Going through this process will lead to more life satisfaction and less financial stress when you find it easy to pay your credit card bill come January.

Intentional Giving

Speaking of donating, at this time of year all of us are getting requests to donate to various causes. Keep in mind that you get to be intentional about how you donate. You don’t have to respond to every single request.

Again, this is a great moment to check in with your values and ask, what causes matter most to me? Where would I like to focus my donations to make an impact?

Then, identify how much money you have available to donate, and divvy it up according to your priorities. You might choose to make one large gift to a single organization, or spread your money around between several.

Use Money Tools

Both of the processes I have outlined above can be streamlined by using money tools and systems. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend going through a process of figuring out what you value most in life and discerning your needs from your wants. I also recommend checking out my series on creating a spending plan and my article, “How to Make Donating Money Way Easier On Your Finances.”All of these money tools can be a huge help to navigate any financial situation, any time of the year!

If you enjoyed this article and want to go through this process with a guide, I offer personal financial coaching sessions for just this purpose. Click here or below to book a free 15-minute Financial Self Care Consultation to see if we can work together to address your needs.