The summer holidays are fast approaching, and many reflexologists will be heading off on holiday adventures, or reducing their working hours to spend time with family.
Whilst everyone is looking forward to lots of summer fun and time to relax, how can you prepare your reflexology business to make sure your clients are happy, and you can still earn the income you need?
Enjoy my top tips on how to prepare your business for the summer, so you can head for the beach knowing everything is in order.
(1) Communicate – It is really important you communicate clearly with your clients. Let them know in advance when you will be on leave, or if you are reducing/changing your working hours for the summer. Clients will understand, and will happily adapt their usual treatment day/time as long as you communicate your working days clearly.
Remember most of your clients will also be changing their normal routine due to their own childcare arrangements or holidays – so they will understand.
(2) Out of Office – If you are going away and want to take some time offline to switch off fully, you can put an out of office message on your email and Facebook page. If new or existing clients contact you, they will be informed of your break, and will not expect a reply until you return.
You could also update your voicemail message on your phone. Doing this also takes away the need to check your messages frequently, and allows you the time to switch off properly.
Don’t forget about your online shop too, if you have to dispatch and process physical products or gift vouchers you can close your online shop for the duration. If you’re worried that customers will forget about placing an order with you whilst you are on holiday, invite them to subscribe to your newsletter and they can be notified when you’re back and open for business.
(3) You Don’t Need to be a Superhero – The summer holidays are a great time for fun and time with the family. For some reflexologists one of the reasons they decided to run their own business was to have more time to spend with their children, and have a better work-life balance. If this is you, don’t be afraid to ask for help and support from family and friends, and be realistic about the hours you can work. Think about ways you could work differently; for example you may offer treatments on just one or two days a week, with slightly longer hours whilst your children spend time with loved ones. This could allow you to earn the income you need, but also free up more days for time with the children.
(4) Outsource – If you want to free up more time in the summer for fun activities, you could outsource some of your work – for example, your accounts or social media posts. Don’t feel you have to do everything.
(5) Schedule – Use social media scheduling tools to write some posts to go out in the summer. You don’t need to post all of the time, but it is important to stay in your clients’ minds, ready for when the summer holidays are over.
September always becomes busier on social media as people return to their normal routines and it can often be a very busy month for reflexologists too, so keep posting in the summer months even if it is once a week to remain visible to your audience and to keep the algorithm happy.
With a little bit of planning, clear communication and organisation you can enjoy a well-deserved break during the summer, still achieve the income you need, whilst delivering a great service to your clients.
I would love to hear the tips you have for preparing your business for the summer, please post your comments and tips below.
Happy holidays,
Kelly x
Photograph credit: Jonathan FarberHire on Unsplash.
Kelly Hainsworth is the founder of Love Reflexology, a mentor – and a successful reflexologist – with a passion not only to support her clients, but all reflexologists within their businesses. She provides business mentoring and social media workshops to help therapists and tutors create the business they desire. To work with Kelly head to her website.
