The holidays are just around the corner and I don’t want the busyness of the spirited season to distract me from business or pleasure this year. So what’s the best way to keep myself focused? Why – making a list of course!

Sitting down and ‘planning’ your holiday approach for your indie biz is intimidating, daunting, and for some, down-right unpleasant. But without a plan you can only go so far. To trick yourself into concocting a strategy, sit down and first answer these questions. 

• What do you look for in a business or product when shopping for the holidays?
• Which of your own products were your best sellers last year?
• What are some ways you can make your products more appealing to holiday shoppers?

Take a moment to review your responses. What is the general theme you are finding? Have you noticed that your holiday sales were in a certain price range? Did your transactions spike because of a shipping discount? Did you yourself frequent businesses that offered deals or sales? By having this context in place you can prioritize which actions will be most important to getting your crafty biz ready for the rush.

And to get there, all you have to do is translate these observations into a simple to-do list. Whether it’s updating your site to have a festive feel, re-tagging items to include gift recipient suggestions or simply stocking up on wrapping supplies – by breaking things down into easy one-point actions you’ll focus your efforts on what’s important. You’ll also be able to pace your prep, banishing procrastination while improving the quality of your efforts.

So take my advice, make your list and check it twice! You’ll be glad to have things off your mind, on paper and in focus.