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130. Our Christmas Week Survival Guide for Service Business Owners 🎄

Surviving Christmas Week in the Service Industry

Christmas week in a service-based business is chaotic no matter what stage you’re in. Whether you’re a solo operator, managing a small team, or running a multi-crew operation like we are, the holidays bring scheduling headaches, staff availability issues, and a whole lot of pressure to keep everyone happy.


In this episode of Hustled Up, we’re breaking down exactly how we survive Christmas week — what’s worked, what absolutely hasn’t, and the systems we’ve put in place to protect our business, our team, and our sanity during the busiest (and messiest) time of the year.


Before diving in, we also want to say thank you. Spotify Wrapped showed us just how much this podcast has grown this year, and we couldn’t have done that without you. Truly — thank you for listening, sharing, reviewing, and supporting us. 💛

Now, let’s get into it.



Why Christmas Week Is So Hard for Service Businesses

The holidays are chaotic for everyone, but service businesses feel it differently. Clients want to host, staff want time off, illness is everywhere, and schedules are tighter than ever. On top of that, closures for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day mean you’re automatically moving a large chunk of your schedule.


We’ve learned the hard way that if you don’t plan ahead, Christmas week can spiral fast.


Lesson One: Stop Booking Initial Cleanings

One of the biggest mistakes we used to make was loading Christmas week with initial or deep cleanings. Yes, the revenue looks tempting — but it comes at a cost.


When you book initial cleanings during holiday weeks:

  • You lose flexibility to move existing clients

  • You create unnecessary stress

  • You risk disappointing your most loyal, recurring clients


Now, we block off Christmas week (and even a few days before) from initial cleanings entirely. This gives us the wiggle room we need to reschedule recurring clients who fall on closure days.


Your recurring clients — not new leads — should be your priority during the holidays.


Prioritizing Clients the Right Way

For years, we did this backward. We used to prioritize monthly clients first, assuming weekly clients “wouldn’t mind” skipping since they’d be back the following week.

That mindset was wrong.


Here’s how we prioritize now:

  1. Weekly clients first – they are your VIPs and your highest lifetime value clients

  2. Bi-weekly clients second

  3. Monthly clients last


We move schedules in phases, not all at once, because many clients will opt to skip. That skip opens up space for others — but you won’t know that unless you work methodically.


And when communicating? We don’t offer five date options. We offer one date — and if it doesn’t work, skipping is the alternative.


Offering Skip Options (Strategically)

During especially tight weeks, we sometimes give clients the option to skip upfront. That might feel scary, but in reality it can save your schedule. Some clients aren’t hosting. Some are traveling and some are totally fine waiting!


In extreme cases, you can even offer a small incentive — what one client called a “deferral bonus.” This could be:

  • A small credit

  • A percentage off their next visit

  • A flat dollar amount

It doesn’t need to be big to be effective.


Staffing: Overhire or Else

If there’s one thing we can’t stress enough, it’s this: you must be overstaffed during the holidays.


People will get sick. People will get injured. People will quit with no notice. Life will happen.


We’ve experienced all of it — sometimes all in the same week.


Holiday staffing isn’t about optimism. It’s about planning for the worst-case scenario so your business doesn’t grind to a halt.


Availability Expectations Matter

Our technicians are expected to be available for full shifts during Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks. We’re lenient all year long, but these weeks are blackout dates.


That means:

  • No PTO usage during blackout weeks

  • Requests off count as absences

  • Expectations are communicated clearly during onboarding


This isn’t about being harsh — it’s about running a sustainable business during peak demand.


Protecting Your Team from Burnout

Overworking your staff during the holidays is a fast track to call-outs, injuries, and resentment.

We:

  • Avoid overloading schedules unless techs specifically request more hours

  • Check in regularly with our team

  • Prioritize route optimization so no one is driving all over the place

  • Respect that it’s their holiday season too


Burned-out employees won’t save your schedule — rested ones will.


Document Everything

Holiday performance matters. Who shows up, who doesn’t, who’s flexible, and who consistently causes issues should all be documented.


Why? Because January slowdowns are real — and the employees who show up during crunch time should be the ones prioritized when hours get tight.


Be Proactive, Not Reactive

The biggest takeaway from this episode is simple: anticipate the chaos before it happens.


If you:

  • Block off initial cleanings

  • Prioritize recurring clients correctly

  • Overstaff intentionally

  • Communicate early and clearly

You can protect your business and actually enjoy the holidays.


Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t just surviving Christmas week — it’s making it through without burning everything to the ground. 🫠


🎧 Listen here: 🎧



Thank You & Holiday Break

We’re taking a short holiday break and will be back in 2026! Catch us live on your favorite platform on January 1 at 7PM for Hustled Up After Hours, where we'll be setting our goals for 2026! Come with your planner and your favorite drink, and let's set ourselves up for success together, bestie. 🥂


In the meantime, we’ll be sharing clips from past episodes and celebrating all the growth we’ve had this year! So be sure to follow us on socials!


Thank you for being here, for listening, and for letting us be part of your business journey. We hope you have a peaceful, joyful holiday season — and we’ll see you in the new year. 🎄✨

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