Are you wanting to make the most out of your next 12 months as a boutique owner so you don’t miss out on any money? My client Rhonda has grown her boutique business by $52,000—all of which was profit.

She also managed to increase her average order value and her margin.

So she made a lot more money. In this video, I’m going to show you how to plan the next 12 months to increase your profit, even during slow months.

Let’s start off where we are right now. At the time of recording this, it’s September. September and October are awesome times to start a boutique.

This is when, even if you are an established retailer, you’ll see increased traffic, higher sales, and higher-priced items—which we love because we can sell fewer of them!

You also have the opportunity to move right into the holiday season. If you start in September or October, you’ll sell fall inventory, hit Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, and then transition smoothly into the holiday season.

Now, if you run an online store, sales may cut off in early December. Mark your calendar for around December 10th or whenever the USPS cutoff is, as that’s when holiday sales typically slow down for online stores.

And when I say “end of the year,” I mean that’s when you want to finish selling holiday season products. We typically think of the holiday season from about November 1st to December 10th or 15th.

At that point, you don’t want to order more holiday inventory.

This is why it’s really important to understand what the full year looks like. In September, we need to already be thinking about December because, right now, we have about two months to sell fall products.

Fall in retail is generally September and October. Those are the big months for selling items like sweaters, boots, and denim, right?

When we move into the holiday season, it gets a little fancier—think velvets, pearls, lace, and higher-end styles.

Again, that might not work for your customer, but you might want to think about what’s “fancy” for your customer. Do they need to dress up for holiday events? That’s what you’ll be selling from about mid-November through December.

Now, if you have a brick-and-mortar store, you have a bit more time to sell into the holiday season.

Usually, most stores are open until December 24th.

I think that’s a great idea, especially depending on how the calendar falls. If Christmas Eve is on a weekday, it’s probably a good idea to be open that last day. Sometimes you’ll get shoppers at noon on Christmas Eve coming to your store.

So, if you have a brick-and-mortar and think people will be out shopping, plan to be open. When I had my own store, we were in the center of town, and I decided to stay open until around 2 or 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

There is one slow time during the fall season, and that’s between Halloween and November 15th.

I know that sounds weird, but I always get messages around November 9th saying, “My November has been so slow.”

Not every day in retail will have a sales goal. That’s something you have to learn—sales fluctuate all year, and even within a month. One day you might make $2,000, and the next, only $20.

So, when we look at the seasons, we have to plan around these slower periods.

Obviously, you don’t want to overstock in November, only to have to mark everything down for Black Friday.

You should plan for Black Friday separately, with separate inventory. Those first two weeks of November are the perfect time to change your store displays or update your website header for the seasonal shift.

It might be a subtle change from fall to winter, and that’s okay.

As we move into January, February, and March, you’ll often hear about the dreaded “J months.”

Here’s something interesting: in retail, the traditional calendar year is February 1st to January 31st.

Why? Fun fact: it’s because so much of retail sales are concentrated in the last eight weeks of the year. What also happens is that you get a lot of returns and exchanges in January.

So, the idea is that retailers get a little extra time to manage all of that. This doesn’t apply when we talk about taxes or accounting—this is purely for inventory management.

January is a slower time, full of returns and exchanges. People have already done their shopping and are moving on to their New Year’s resolutions.

Now, if you sell athletic wear or anything related to fitness or resort wear, January is a great time to push that inventory.

But for traditional retail, January tends to be slower.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad—it just means it’s a smaller percentage of your total sales for the year.

So, when we look at the year, it’s important to realize that not every month will be the same.

If anyone ever tells you every month should hit the same sales target, don’t believe them. Setting a goal like “$300 a day” can be good, but it’s not realistic for how retail works.

Just a side note—June and July are often lumped in with the “J months.”

The “J months” aren’t bad; they’re transition months.

That means you’re moving from one season to a completely different season. These are the months where you might mark down more inventory or have clearance sales, and you might slim down your inventory because sales are slower.

It’s also okay to take a vacation or two during these months.

Every business has slow times. For us, it’s January and July.

That’s why semi-annual sales are held during these months—to clear out inventory and prepare for the next 10-12 weeks.

Of course, in February, we have Valentine’s Day. That’s a great time to promote your products, but we’ll still be in the depths of winter.

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Once we’re past February, we’re into spring.

If you’re in a warmer climate, spring may come earlier, and people might be ready to buy lighter clothes. But throughout most of the U.S., it’s still pretty cold in January and February.

So, don’t rush into buying spring items unless you’re offering a resort collection. March 1st is a good time to start shifting into spring.

Spring relies on holidays like Passover and Easter. That’s when customers want to buy new clothes for those events.

Look at your calendar between March, April, and May, and see where those holidays fall. Also, don’t forget about Mother’s Day and graduations during that time.

This March-to-May period is when retailers can make a lot of money if they hit the right timing.

Some of your success will depend on your local climate and where your customers live, but this is a lucrative time, similar to fall.

Once we’re in summer, there’s a quick transition from June, July, to August.

Even though the 4th of July feels like the start of summer for consumers, for boutique owners, it’s kind of the end.

We usually run sales and clearance events in July and start bringing in fall colors and styles in August, such as denim and pieces that fit the upcoming season.

Then we’re back to September.

We’ve gone through the full 12 months! That was a lot of information, but I hope you kept up!

This video gives you a huge recap of the year. Seven years ago, I started something called the boutique calendar.

The boutique calendar is a wall calendar with affirmations and monthly tips for maximizing your sales.

It includes when to hold sales, when to mark down inventory, themes for each season, and tips on what to focus on in terms of colors, styles, and textures.

It’s packed with valuable advice to help you plan your boutique year. Plus, it’s beautifully designed so you can hang it on your wall like artwork!

If you’d like to get your copy of the boutique calendar, comment “calendar” below, or visit the link in the notes.

I’m excited for you to see this year’s version! Each year has a new theme, and I’m curious if you can guess what this year’s theme is.

If you’ve bought one before and loved it, comment below—I’d love to hear about it!

Thanks so much for joining me! I hope this video has given you a nice outlook on what a boutique year looks like and how you can start planning it.

And if you’re excited about the boutique calendar, go ahead and grab your copy.

I’ll see you in the next video—bye!