But, before we ring in the holiday season, there are three events we must partake in:

• Annual Performance Appraisal
• Salary Increase/Bonus Process
• Holiday Party

Annual Performance Appraisal

The annual performance appraisal process should be a discussion between the employee and his/her manager about the employee’s past performance, future self-development and the employee’s alignment with the company’s vision, goals and objectives. There should not be any surprises or retaliatory actions. The job description should be used as the basis for the evaluation. Here are a few tips:

Employee’s goal

• Review job performance based on duties and responsibilities.
• Assess personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Set performance goals.
• Provide feedback to manager on company culture, individual and team projects.
• Identify training and development needed.
• Review steps for career development.

Manager’s goal

• Provide feedback to employee on his/her job performance.
• Coordinate and prioritize work to be completed.
• Receive feedback on organizational culture and new strategies that can be implemented.
• Assess and plan employee’s training and development needs.
• Identify employees to be promoted or give more responsibility.
• Formally recognize employees for their hard work (certificate, company pen, salary increase).

Salary Increase/Bonus Process

Employees who receive a positive performance appraisal are normally rewarded with a salary increase/bonus. However, not everyone may think you deserve it. Here are a few tips:

• Read your employee manual carefully. A positive performance appraisal does not guarantee that you will receive a salary increase/bonus, unless otherwise stated in your employment contract.
• Don’t compare your salary increase/bonus with other employees.
• Continue to improve your job performance and those of your co-workers whenever possible.
• Thank your manager for your promotion, salary increase/bonus.

Holiday Party

Although this is a festive time, employees must remember that this is a company event and should always act professionally. Here are a few tips:

• Find out in advance if you can bring a spouse or friend to the party or if the party is only for employees.
• Dress appropriately. (This is a company event and you should maintain your professional image).
• Enjoy the party: eat, drink and dance in moderation. (After the party you would not like to be the focus of gossip).
• Network with employees in other departments and with senior management.
• Try to arrive on time for the party and spend a reasonable amount of time at the party. (Your manager may be monitoring your arrival and departure times.)
• Party organizers should select a time and location convenient to all and should control the flow of alcoholic beverages.
• Party organizers should name the party “Holiday Party” rather than “Christmas Party” so that no employee feels offended or excluded from joining in the celebration.

Business Goals:

• This past year I developed a profile of my ideal client and the type of work I personally do best with them. For 2004, I intend to do additional marketing around reaching that person. I also intend to create more of the services that they are looking for.
• I intend to accept credit cards in my business next year. It has been on my “to do” list for a couple of years now. I will call fellow coaches and see how they created this capability in their practice. This probably won’t take long but is just one of those things I have not gotten to. Do you have anything that has been on your “to do” list for way too long?

Personal Goals:

• Perhaps because I shared in my last column that I didn’t exercise, I have somehow found the time to take power walks recently and I feel much better for it. For 2004, I intend to add a few more types of exercise into my schedule like bike riding and yoga so that I don’t get too bored and also to build different strengths.
• As I mentioned, I am the mother of two toddlers and this year I built in special “mommy time” for them – lunch together on Wednesdays after school, art projects, making pancakes on Saturday morning, etc. Next year, I intend to engage them in how we can all eat more fruits and vegetables. My son told me just this week that he would actually eat “antelope” (I’m pretty sure he meant canteloupe). Now, I just have to start buying it and promoting how delicious it is.

I’m sure I’ll have many more intentions by December 31st and I will continue this process over the next two months. I recommend that you do too. Build some special planning time in for November and December and try answering the following questions in a few different areas of your life.

• What results am I looking for in 2004?
• What have I tried this year?
• What haven’t I tried this year?
• Who can help me get there?
• How will I know if I have succeeded?

The power of intention is very strong and it has a funny way of coming true!

I propose the same philosophy with writing a business plan. The first draft you write certainly won’t be perfect or your final. The business plan is a work in progress, an organized way to research and organize your ideas. Writing the business plan is as much about the process as the product. So get yourself comfortable to ease into it!

Do It!
Choose an environment that will help you to concentrate. It can be a home office or a Starbucks. Start off with blocking off some time to begin. If all you have is 15 minutes, then block off 15 minutes. Sometimes by waiting for an hour of free time we are really spending several months procrastinating…. During that time you might have had four 15 minutes sessions!

Bring writing materials. If you prefer computers, use one. However, if you are someone who likes to handwrite ideas, then get your favorite pad and pen. Without editing and judging yourself, start write about your business. If you know the name of your business, jot it down. Describe the type of business you are exploring. Are you a design consultant or a Portuguese restaurant? Start to flush out your idea…. Is it a home-based business or at a particular location?

Other business basics that you should address at some point are legal status (are you a corporation or sole proprietor), hours of operation, and the names of owners.

Then move on to talk about the services and/or products your business will offer. Feel free to embellish and dream!

I have a client who said that she was interested in making chocolates. In New York City we have many chocolatiers, and I was unsure if she saw her chocolates as the kind that would be sold alongside a Hershey’s or in an exclusive store on Madison Avenue. Either vision would lead to her researching different types of markets and require a distinct set of business activities.

After speaking with her for some time, I learned that she is actually interested in adding exotic spices to the candies and envisions them being sold at stores like Bloomingdales. These are incredibly important details, so include them.

Flush your description out so that the reader can get a mental picture of your concept. No detail is too small. Write as though you are describing your idea to an intelligent 6 year old. The child won’t have too many preconceptions about the business, and needs to understand simply what you plan to do.

Don’t Get Stuck
If you don’t know the answer to something, that is fine. You don’t need to drop everything to find out the answer immediately. Work on questions that come easily to you. Stop writing when you’ve exhausted answering the easy questions. If you realize you need to obtain an answer to some question or conduct some research, simply acknowledge it and move on.

Expect the draft to be messily organized. Eventually you will organize it to follow the format of a traditional business, but at this point, it’s more important to put down the thoughts that are in your head on the paper.

Be Kind To Yourself
When you’ve finished writing a section, no matter how little or undeveloped, congratulate yourself for actually sitting down to write it! You’ve started the first important step- making it happen. Put it to the aside, and then re-read it. Add additional thoughts or questions you might have. You might want to start researching to find information for any of the questions that you had a hard time answering…. The main idea is to keep visiting it. Soon it will be time for you to turn you attention to the next section of the business plan, which we will cover in later issues.

Evaluate consumption of raw material
FBC usually takes in consideration the previous year sales, and checks out how much chocolate was melted during that period.

Just in time production
One advantage of chocolate stores that have their own production is that they can produce per order. FBC is always ready to accept last minute orders. Yet, even in the chocolate business, there is a need to buy certain packaging such as baskets, ribbons, and boxes that are sometimes not refundable, so it is important to consider very seriously if it is worth it to buy seasonal items.

Vendors’ refund policy
Before considering the size of the orders, talk to vendors about their return policy and if they deliver just in time.

Other option is to reward clients who preorder by, for example, giving discounts. FBC offers discounts if cakes and holiday merchandises’ orders are placed and paid for by December 10th, even if the customers are ordering for delivery on December 25th.

In case even by revising last year’s sales and considering the retail predictions from the trade associations related to your business, you still end up with a lot of stock, consider offering after holiday discounts and creating bundles.

Your company’s mission statement should:

• Register the company’s vision.

• Express why the organization exists.

• Give employees, vendors and clients, a clear idea of what the organization stands for.

After putting together the first draft, ask for input from your workforce and revise the mission statement accordingly. It should be clear enough to help you and your team make business decisions and set goals.

However, since most of the retail businesses need to hire temporary employees for the holidays, it is important to pass them what your company stands for, even if they will work for you for a couple of months or even less.

Salespeople are your company’s face to clients, and you don’t want them to have a wrong impression, since if they get a good customer service, they might come back, but if they are treated badly, they WON’T come back, plus, they almost certainly will tell friends and family about their terrible experience.

I know, you are probably asking, who has time during holiday season to train the new team? Well, probably no one, right? A good idea is to have a manual with relevant information especially for the holidays. Here are a few points that you should include:

• Company’s mission statement
• Corporate culture and a short history of the company: how long has it been in business, is it franchise or own company, does it franchise, how many stores are there?, and all information you know customers may ask.
• List of tasks and duties.
• How would you like your team to approach the clients?: saying hello, and following the customer all over the place?; giving the customer some space?; only wait for the customer to come to them? (Bad idea!) or asking them the question: How may I help you today? Even though they may not want any help at that moment, at least they will know to whom they should come to if they need assistance.
• If your products need complex explanation, write down everything and give it to them. At least if they can’t memorize it all, they will have it handy, rather than having to ask someone else that could be probably busy as well.

Ask your full time employees, what are the most important questions they receive, and what they think would be helpful for the new temporary team to know, so that they could offer a good service.

Happy Holidays and great sales!