It’s easy to feel the pressure of diving straight back into your business after taking a break. But it’s important to remember that this is a marathon not a sprint. We need to be giving ourselves a chance to think clearly so we don’t make knee jerk business decisions.
Don’t leave things to the last minute, and try not to think of everything all at once. It’s great to approach things bit at a time at a steady pace. Here’s some of the things we would recommend for you to do!
1. Getting back to your business after a break: Start with a brain dump
Erin Thomas Wong (Business Mentor & Coach and Host of The Life-Friendly Business Podcast) offered us her tips in a Happity newsletter (exclusively for providers registered with Happity) when trying to jump back into your business.
- Get a big piece of paper and write down everything on your to do list. Also write down any events or promotions between now and the end of term.
- Decide what your priorities are – what’s most urgent right now and what can wait a few weeks? Colour code away!
- What’s on the list that you feel you ‘should’ do, but actually it doesn’t feel urgent right now? Or perhaps it never felt aligned anyway? Feel free to cross things off or add to a ‘Future’ list.
- Look at your diary and block out regular office/admin time to work through these tasks. If you use an online calendar like Google, literally add a recurring event every week with ‘CEO Time’ or similar and mark it as busy. If you do this you’re much more likely to keep it ring fenced and not allow other commitments to impinge on that time.
- Don’t let your work run away from you after a break – if it’s all feeling too much, reach out and ask for help.
Erin also offers to Happity users an exclusive offer:
Make sure your business is viable for the hours you want to work. And then build a strategy that will work, take a look at the self-led Life-Friendly Business Blueprint course. And use code HAPPITY40 to get £40 off!
2. Start sharing details about your classes a couple of weeks (at least) before term starts
You want to start getting your brand awareness going again as soon as you possibly can. Depending on the type of break you took (if it was the 6-week summer hols) then you may have decided to do a Social-Media detox. And we can’t blame you one bit! But you still want to start picking it up again before the first day of your class.
If you’re not sure what to be sharing, there’s plenty of options out there! Most experts agree that posting once a day is the best way to be seen on social media.
Maybe one day you can post a picture or video of your class; another you can talk about the benefits of them. Perhaps share a nice review that someone has left for you, or even talk about an issue/cause that you’re passionate about. The world (or the platform) is your oyster. Do what you want with it!
🌟 Happity’s top tip for creating Social Media content: Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine!
A lot of people assume that if you are running a business account on social media, then you need to be serious and overly professional. The reality of it is this: people like to buy from people.
If you approach your social media like a human being (instead of a business bot), you’re more likely to receive engagement. If you are okay with doing so, maybe open up about some of your own personal life. Or, in general, simply talk about yourself, and throw in a little bit of humour. Try to have fun with it!
3. Getting back to business after a break: Get your business details out there in advance
Avoid leaving your admin until the last minute. If you leave it until a few days before your classes start, then you’ve barely given parents any time to find your classes and book them. Best practice is to check that your business (and your activity) details ahead of time, so that you can focus on spreading the word and sharing your timetable to anyone and everyone who would be interested.
If you’re not already registered on Happity, then you can do so here! It’s free to list, and you can get your business in front of the eyes of the hundreds of thousands of parents who use our site to escape the four walls.
4. Nurture your regular customers and get in touch with them
When trying to fill up your classes, especially after bouncing back into your business after a break, you might focus on new customers and that makes sense: the more new people you can reach, the more bookings you can get. However, it’s very important that you keep your current customers in mind too.
With time, you’ll get to know your class regulars and you know that they really like you! This can be really great for marketing. If they like you, it’s very likely that they would be happy to spread the word and get your name out there. Or, if not, then at the very least you can near-enough know that they’re likely to book your classes again once they start up again.
Start by contacting your mailing list, letting everyone know that you’re excited to welcome them back to classes on your start date. Or, if you only really do your marketing through social media, then tag a few of your regulars on your posts.
(Find out how you can build a mailing list through Happity here)
5. Build a buzz around your classes by offering deals and discounts
Offers and deals are a great way to attract new customers and get parents to make that all-important first booking. And there’s no better place to offer a deal/discount than when you are bouncing back into your business after a break! Here’s a few of the types of offers and deals you could offer:
- Recommend a friend – “Sign up a friend today, and get a free session!”
- Block Bookings – “50p off per class if you book a term!”
- Offer trial sessions – “First time? Trial our classes for 50% off!”
- Limited offer Coupons – “Hurry! This lightning coupon for 50% off of your classes will only last for 48 hours!”
Collaborate with other Class providers – “Double deal! Sign up for one class, and get the other half-price!”
Want to find class providers to collaborate with? People registered with Happity are always invited to join our Facebook Children’s Activity Provider community!
Happity: Created with baby class providers in mind!
If you are looking for ease and a listing/booking service that’s catered specifically to you (busy parents and small business owners) then you’ve found the right blog page.
It’s free to list with Happity, and you can offer all sorts of ticket options through our site. Though we also offer cost-effective membership for when your baby class needs an extra boost in its marketing or if you would like access to our provider-catered booking system.
Get your classes seen by thousands of parents today
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