Happy Thanksgiving! Your Sports Academy’s Holiday Week Checklist

We sports facility owners don’t get much time “off work” – and the time off that we do get doesn’t often line up with our friends and family.

For example, many of you will be busy this week running clinics on Thanksgiving Eve and/or “Black Friday.”

Maybe it’s not fair to suggest a to-do list at a time when it seems like everyone else will be enjoying the long weekend in front of the TV. But if you’re like me, sometimes a few hours on a holiday weekend can be a great time to focus and re-prioritize for your business.

Here’s my checklist for Thanksgiving week, both for my own software business and for DNA Sports Center (I sold DNA a few months ago but am still working closely with the new owner – see the post Big News: I Sold My Sports Facility for details.):

Make Black Friday / Cyber Monday Packages Available for Sale Online

We’ve already gone over how to position your sports academy’s promotions for the holidays:

• add a retail element to make the gift more appealing under the tree
• tie in your clients’ holiday weight loss goals (for adults)
• focus on selling packages that will benefit your business and your clients for the long-term
• make sure your clients know about the special deals and make it easy for them to buy online

At this point in November, your Black Friday/Cyber Monday special packages should be ready to go, but you need to have a plan to actually make them available for sale on Thanksgiving or the day after.

For us at DNA, that’s as easy as logging on to eSoft Planner on Thanksgiving and making the special packages public for sale online.

If you’re not selling online yet, you need to consider it. I just saw this Reuters poll that says that 51% of consumers plan to do most of their holiday shopping on Amazon.com. It doesn’t surprise me, because I’ve seen how our own clients at DNA have increasingly used online payment to book their services over the years. People love the convenience, and that isn’t going to change.

Related Post: It’s Time to Plan Your Black Friday Specials

Send a Holiday Hours Reminder

This is an easy one: Just make sure your clients know when you’ll be open this week. The last thing you want is clients showing up at your business and finding the doors locked.

Just like you promote your other events, post the changed hours on your voicemail, scheduling software login screen, web site news section, social media, and email marketing.

Related Post: 7 Easy Ways to Remind Your Prospects About Upcoming Events

Start Preparing Your 2016 Budget

We’re quickly moving toward a new year. It’s time to keep your eye on the ball – focus on the numbers, do some financial planning and refuse to let yourself get sucked into day to day time-drains of business management that prevent long-term thinking.

I’m going to set some time aside this weekend to establish my financial goals for 2016. In particular, I’m going to reflect on which activities and products have the best profit margins and plans to focus on those, as well as plans to phase out the less profitable products and services.

This is also the time to get a general plan for your events for the year based on insights from last year’s programs.

Related: Create a 12 Month Marketing Plan for Your Sports Facility

Be Grateful

Not to sound trite, but it’s time to give thanks. Gratitude can only improve your life, which will in turn improve your business. Check out this list of benefits or gratitude from a summary in the New York Times:

Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.’

And since I’m talking about gratitude, I just wanted to say thanks for reading this blog and sticking with me on this journey. I’m excited to be moving toward a brand new year, and I hope you are, too.