Black Friday, Holiday Sales, and the Pressure to Make a Profit

It's November, and somewhere there's a woman sitting at her computer, staring at her holiday sales numbers and wondering if she's doing enough. She's been watching other businesses announce their Black Friday deals, holiday bundles, and early shopping promotions. Her inbox is filled with marketing advice telling her what she should be doing to maximize holiday revenue, and every time she opens Instagram, someone seems to have another strategy for making this the biggest sales season yet.

Meanwhile, she's trying to figure out her own holiday promotion, whether she can afford to offer a discount, how much inventory to purchase, and whether all the work she's putting into this season will actually turn a profit. And on top of that, she still has a business to run, customers to take care of, and a personal life that's probably getting busier by the day.

If any of this sounds familiar, I want you to know that you're not the only one feeling the pressure. The holidays can be an incredible opportunity for small businesses, but they can also create a sense of urgency that makes us question whether we're doing enough.

I've experienced how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of planning an event, launching something new, or creating an offer you hope people will love. There's a lot of energy that goes into making those things happen, and sometimes we're so focused on getting people through the door that we forget to ask what success actually needs to look like financially.

A successful holiday sales season isn't necessarily the one that generates the most revenue. It's the one that makes financial sense for your business.

So before you create another holiday promotion or start comparing your sales to everyone else's, let's talk about a few ways to approach the season with more clarity and a little less pressure.

Your Black Friday Holiday Sale Doesn't Have to Look Like Everyone Else's

One of the biggest challenges of running a small business during the holidays is feeling like you have to compete with every promotion happening around you. Large retailers can offer significant discounts, spend thousands of dollars on advertising, and use Black Friday to move enormous amounts of inventory. As a small business owner, you may not have those same resources, and that's okay. Your business doesn't need to compete on price alone, and offering a discount simply because everyone else is doing it can create more problems than opportunities.

Imagine you sell a product for $50 that costs you $25 to produce, package, and deliver. Before considering other overhead expenses, you're making $25 per sale. Now imagine you offer a 30% Black Friday discount. Your customer pays $35, but your direct costs are still $25, leaving you with just $10 per sale before overhead. You'd need to sell two and a half times as many products to generate the same total contribution toward overhead and profit. That's a significant difference, especially when you consider the additional time and resources required to fulfill those extra orders.

Before deciding on a holiday discount, take a look at your actual numbers. What does each product or service cost you to deliver? How much do you need to make on each sale? And how many additional customers would you realistically need to attract for the promotion to be worthwhile? Sometimes a smaller discount, a thoughtfully curated bundle, or a complimentary gift with purchase can create excitement without sacrificing as much of your margin. Just make sure you account for the cost of those extras too.

The goal isn't to offer the biggest deal. It's to create an offer your customers value and your business can afford.

Decide What a Successful Holiday Season Looks Like Before It Starts

I think this is where a lot of business owners get into trouble. We head into the holiday season hoping to sell as much as possible without establishing what we actually need to accomplish. Then we measure our success by how busy we were, how many orders came in, or how much revenue we generated. But being busy and being profitable aren't the same thing.

Before launching your holiday promotions, spend a little time looking at your financial goals. How much revenue would you like to generate? What will it cost to fulfill those sales? How much are you planning to spend on marketing, packaging, seasonal help, or additional inventory? And after those expenses, how much profit do you want your business to keep?

Let's say your goal is to generate $10,000 in holiday sales. That sounds exciting, but if your products, advertising, packaging, and other business expenses total $9,000, you're left with just $1,000 in profit. Now consider a different strategy that generates $8,000 in sales with $5,000 in expenses. You made less revenue but kept $3,000. Which one would you rather have?

Of course, there are other factors to consider, including acquiring new customers and building long-term relationships. But understanding your financial goals gives you a much clearer way to evaluate your decisions. It also helps you recognize when a promotion is working and when it's time to make an adjustment.

Don't Let Holiday Marketing Become Another Full-Time Job

One of the things I notice during busy seasons is how quickly marketing can become overwhelming. We're told to send more emails, post more frequently, create countdowns, run advertisements, offer exclusive deals, and show up on every platform where our customers might be spending time. And while those strategies can be effective, trying to do all of them can leave you exhausted before the holiday shopping season even begins.

Instead of asking how many different promotions you can create, consider focusing on one or two strong offers and communicating them consistently. Start with the customers who already know your business. Your email subscribers, past customers, and social media followers have already shown an interest in what you offer, making them a natural place to begin.

Think about what those customers actually need during the holidays. Are they looking for thoughtful gifts, convenient shopping, unique experiences, or something that makes their lives easier? Then build your message around that need. For example, instead of posting another graphic announcing "20% OFF EVERYTHING," you might share the story behind one of your products, explain why it makes a meaningful gift, or highlight how your service can help someone during a busy season.

People don't always connect with a discount. Sometimes they connect with the story, the experience, or the person behind the business. And as small business owners, that's one of our greatest advantages.

Make It Easy for Customers to Buy From You

Here's something I think we sometimes overlook when planning a holiday sales strategy. We spend so much time trying to attract customers that we forget to consider how easy we're making it for them to actually purchase something.

Think about your own holiday shopping habits. When you're busy, you're probably looking for businesses that make the process simple. You want to understand what you're buying, how much it costs, when it will arrive, and what to do next. Your customers want the same thing.

Before your holiday promotions begin, take a few minutes to look at your business from their perspective. Is your pricing clear? Are your products or services easy to find? Do customers understand what's included in a holiday bundle? Are your shipping deadlines, pickup options, and return policies easy to locate? If you sell services, have you explained how someone can purchase a gift certificate or book an appointment?

Sometimes improving those small details can have a greater impact than creating another marketing campaign. And if you're receiving the same questions repeatedly, pay attention. Those questions might be telling you where your messaging needs to be clearer. The easier you make the buying experience, the less work your customers have to do to support your business.

Remember That Your Time Has Value Too

During the holidays, it's tempting to say yes to every opportunity that could generate revenue. Another market, another custom order, another client project, another event. And sometimes those opportunities are absolutely worth pursuing. But before adding something new to your calendar, consider what it will actually require from you.

If you're spending an entire weekend at a holiday market, calculate more than the vendor fee. Think about the time spent preparing inventory, setting up, staffing your booth, traveling, and packing everything away afterward. If you're offering custom holiday orders, consider the additional communication, revisions, packaging, and fulfillment involved. And if you're creating a special promotion, account for the time you'll spend marketing and managing it.

You may discover that an opportunity generating a few hundred dollars in revenue isn't as profitable as it initially appeared. That doesn't automatically mean you shouldn't do it. Some opportunities are valuable because they introduce your business to new customers or create relationships that lead to future sales. But you should understand what you're investing and what you hope to gain.

Your time is a business resource, and it deserves to be part of your financial decisions.

Don't Forget About the Customers Who Already Love Your Business

Black Friday can make us so focused on attracting new customers that we overlook the people who have already supported us. But your existing customers may be one of your most valuable resources during the holiday season. They already know what you offer, they've experienced your products or services, and if you've created a positive relationship, they may be happy to purchase again or recommend you to someone else.

Consider reaching out with a thoughtful holiday message, giving loyal customers early access to an offer, or sharing gift ideas based on products they've enjoyed in the past. And don't underestimate the power of simply thanking people for supporting your business.

I think this is one of the things that makes small businesses special. We have opportunities to build genuine relationships with our customers in ways that larger companies often struggle to replicate. Those relationships matter long after the holiday promotions end, and a customer who feels appreciated in December may become someone who continues supporting your business throughout the next year.

One Last Thing

If you're feeling stressed about Black Friday, holiday sales, or whether your business is going to finish the year profitably, I want to encourage you to look beyond what everyone else is doing. You don't need to offer the biggest discount, launch the most elaborate marketing campaign, or say yes to every holiday opportunity. You need a strategy that makes sense for your business.

Start by understanding your numbers. Choose promotions that protect your profitability, communicate clearly with your customers, and focus your energy on the opportunities most likely to make a meaningful difference. And remember that one holiday season doesn't define the success of your business.

Maybe you exceed every sales goal you set. Maybe you discover that a promotion you were excited about doesn't perform as well as you hoped. Or maybe you finish the season realizing there are things you want to approach differently next year. All of those experiences give you information you can use to make better decisions moving forward.

As women in business, we're often balancing the desire to grow with the pressure to make everything work. But growth doesn't have to mean doing more, selling more, or working harder at every opportunity. Sometimes it means stepping away from the noise, looking at what's actually working, and making decisions that support the business and life you're trying to build.

Because the best holiday sales strategy isn't necessarily the one that brings in the most money. It's the one that helps you keep more of what you earn while building a business you can sustain long after the holidays are over.

Always Remember,

You're not in this alone.

Katie