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"Mind Your Business", by Sheila McCumby. November, 2023
Iremember waking up on an air mattress on my office floor a few years ago about 5am. I felt like the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, everything part of my body was stiff and sore... ”Oil can... owww...” I tossed down a few Advil with a Red Bull chaser. It was December 23rd and I’d taken a quick two-hour nap before working bleary-eyed on completing the last few pieces that were due.
In my exhausted state, in retrospect I really shouldn’t have been using power tools. Bad idea. I was beyond exhausted and my team was worn out. I felt an overwhelming sense of mom-guilt because I hadn’t been able to do all of the traditional things that make the holidays magical for the kiddos. I was killing myself to make my customers’ Christmases merry and bright, but I was neglecting my family, my health and mental welfare. As I attached the last hanger on the last frame, I vowed that next year would be different... I was going to find a better way. I asked other framers for some tips on how they handled the busy times and got some great advice. I hope the following suggestions help alleviate some of the holiday stress and help your shop be more profitable.
Your health and the well-being of your family is paramount. Yes, my store is important and I have employees counting on me for their livelihood, but my family is the most important thing in my life. I don’t want my kids’ Christmas memories to be: “Remember when mom spent 10 days before Christmas in her store 24/7 and we ate fast food for a week? Good times... ” You have about 18 magical holidays with your kids before they leave home; time doesn’t wait, put them, and yourself first.
Get a checkup and a flu shot, especially if you are over 50. You can’t afford to get sick or make other people sick during this busy time.
Do some meal prep so you can avoid junk food pitfalls. It’s easy to throw something in the crock pot in the morning and come home to a dinner that’s ready to eat.
Hire a maid service for a month to keep your home tidy and peaceful.
Take care of your mental health and make “me” time a priority. Take a relaxing bath, go to the gym, take a walk in the snow, meditate. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health.
Get your shop cleaned, organized and ready for the onslaught of customers who are coming in soon.
Use the find feature to review last year’s sales; what days were your busiest? Adjust your staff schedule accordingly.
Run FrameReady’s Moulding and Matboard Usage Report and Glazing Usage Report to see your top selling items. You may save money by purchasing by case lots. Watch for vendor’s sales and specials and stock up.
Vendors can run low on basic supplies this time of year. It doesn’t hurt to have an extra box or two of mat cutter blades, glue, glass cutting wheels, glass cleaner, microfiber cloths, foam core, mounting board, linen tape, ATG, points, and hanging hardware.
You may want to go through your moulding and find those “one half stick” pieces and build some smaller readymade frames. You can also order a few standard sizes of readymade frames from a vendor for those last-minute rush orders. If you have a computer mat cutter, it’s easy to precut some standard 5x7, 8x10 and 11 x 14 mats for quick photo mounting.
Santa has elves. He delegates all the toy making and delivery logistics to his competent, magical team. Good bosses are good teachers and communicators. To keep the lines of communication open, schedule a 10 minute “huddle” every morning where you can go over what needs to be completed that day. Go through your incomplete order list and make sure it is updated daily.
Consider hiring one or two “framing assistants.” Many people are looking to make some extra cash during the holidays. Framing assistants can do some of the more unskilled, time-consuming jobs, such as: wrapping and distributing completed art for pickup, making reminder calls to customers, restocking retail items, putting away frame samples, etc. When your design counter is four people deep, a framing assistant can help ease the tension by acknowledging waiting customers and taking their information. Interruptions waste time, having an assistant will free up extra time so your framers can focus on completing work rather than being interrupted throughout the day.
Make use of the customer notes section in the Work Order. We had some secret codes we used for our more difficult clients. During busier holidays grumpy trolls crawl out from their musty caves to torture retail employees. Having clear, written policies on invoices and other customer-facing documents can empower your team to deal with difficult people more effectively. You can use the message center in the main menu to document policies and to message your employees.
Use your contacts file to send bulk emails to your customers with holiday promotions, and let them know the cutoff deadline for Christmas orders. Track customer responses to promotions, targeted social media campaigns or any other advertising using the products file, notes, and “designed by” tab in the Work Order.
My compressor died one year on December 15th and I almost had a nervous breakdown. Lesson learned. Before the holidays, make sure everything is tuned up and running perfectly. It is worth it to spend a few extra dollars on drills, extra batteries, ATG guns, hand tools, getting blades sharpened, etc. rather than limping through your busiest time with defective equipment. Follow your owner’s manuals for regularly scheduling cleaning, lubrication and maintenance of your equipment.
Use FrameReady’s Incomplete Work Order Schedule to prioritize the work load. Train your team on how to upsell; adding an extra mat or fillet is an easy way to increase your average sale. To motivate my team, I’d tack a $50 or $100 bill to the bulletin board in the workshop and award it to the person who sold the most fillets in a day. Make sure your team members don’t get burnt out and be sure to be supportive when they have to deal with difficult customers. Plan some events to help them blow off steam and make work fun. An impromptu karaoke party, a catered lunch, Christmas cookies, trivia contest or coupons for a spa day can boost morale. You can track employee sales performance; and pair your top performer to train your lower performers how to upsell. Pay them a commission and/or give them a bonus for a job well done. Your team works hard for you, show them your appreciation with a nice Christmas bonus.
Raise your prices overall 20%. When a customer comes in during the holidays, ask them, “Do you need this to be done before Christmas?” If the answer is yes, then they pay the extra charge. This isn’t price gouging your clients, it is only fair. You will likely have extra costs in freight and labor during holidays, and if customers need something during this premium time, they should pay a premium price. If your customer doesn’t need their piece until after the holiday, offer them a 15% discount and schedule the work to be completed in January. This will help you prioritize your workload, and have a carryover of jobs and money in a typically slower winter month. After the end of the holidays, you can decrease the costs by 15% or so to account for inflation, increases in rent, utilities, and labor; overall you are making a higher margin than you were before.
Make sure you are taking a deposit of at least 50% on all orders. It is a foolhardy financial risk not to require deposits on all custom orders. The deposit covers the cost of materials and labor building the frame.
Offer gift certificates as a gift option to those last-minute shoppers who frantically come into your shop at 4pm on Christmas Eve. Don’t be shy about charging a Rush Fee for procrastinators; their lack of foresight is taking time away from your family and other clients who didn’t put things off.
After closing our shop on the eve of December 24, I was always a bit emotional driving home. Another year done, happy customers, and a happy team. After applying these tips, instead of curling up in a ball and crashing on the couch in a coma, I was able to bake cookies and play games with my family, go to church and reflect upon the important reason for season. I hope these tips help make your holiday easier, less stressful and more profitable.
"Mind Your Business", by Sheila McCumby, November, 2023
