How to Plan for 2025: A Month-by-Month Guide for Small Craft Businesses

Jan

Setting your small business goals

January is a fantastic time to set your goals and intentions for the new year. Looking back at what you achieved last year allows you to reflect, make tweaks and improve.

Ask yourself honest questions such as: what went well and what didn’t, what stock was a bestseller, and what could potentially be improved? The answers can help decide how you want to grow in 2025.

Feb

What’s in your stock?

Traditionally, February can be quite a quiet month for small businesses as everyone starts to reemerge officially from Christmas with the first payday of the year. Why not take the time to get ahead of peak trading times and set up a detailed inventory of what you have in your stock room?

This can help you prioritise what to push in your marketing and might even inspire a new collection or project. You can also utilise a clear-out to drive revenue to your business, perhaps with a sample or seconds sale to clear space.

Mar

Tax planning for your business

If you’re new to running a business, April tends to be the time when budgets reset and the new financial year starts according to HMRC. Being organised and setting up processes, as well as understanding what you need to do and when your business tax deadlines are will mean you can keep on top of taxes.

Apr

Getting ready for markets

We know it might sound a little keen, but a lot of markets open applications for big markets like autumn, winter and even Christmas at this point in the year.

If markets are part of your overall business strategy, then start plotting out what this looks like as a small business owner and get those applications completed and submitted early.

May

Mid-year marketing strategy

Hear us out: it’s time to start thinking about – thinking about – Christmas.

As one of the biggest sales opportunities, it’s no wonder both small and large businesses put so much time and effort into getting the festive season perfect.

May is the perfect time to look at your mid-year marketing strategies and consider what you’ll start to slowly implement in the coming weeks and months. Thinking of launching a small business branding refresh? Why not get the ball rolling now! Want to design a brand-new core range? Time to get creative!

Jun

Small business health check

Congratulations, we’ve now made it to the mid-point of the year! How are you doing?

As summer officially starts and the kids break up from school, you may start to experience a little shift in sales. They are likely to naturally slow down as consumers head off on holiday.

Now is the perfect time to check in: How is the year going so far? Are you meeting your goals or do you need to adjust them slightly? What will you do in the months ahead?

Jul

It’s Christmas!

Have you ever heard of ‘Christmas in July’? It’s a seasonal staple in the PR and marketing world, where brands and retailers are required to have their range ready (or as ready as possible) for press.

While we’re not encouraging you to panic over being festive so early in the summer, now can be a great time to start prepping products for the coming weeks and months to maximise your sales – especially if one of your goals is to get them featured in magazines, newspapers or blogs!

Aug

Strategic festive product planning

Sales will traditionally be slower during August so it’s a great time to start drilling down into the details of your small business marketing for Christmas to get ahead of the game.

Think about when you’re planning to launch and how you’ll be consistent with your messaging across the next few months, making sure to include specifics like prepping imagery, planning product launches, promoting markets you’ll be selling at, and anything else that will be key to supporting your sales.

Sep

Time to launch

With the kids back at school providing a great reset for many people, the tail end of September is a good time to ‘soft launch’ your seasonal collections.

From autumn and Halloween collections to planning impactful Black Friday discounts and, of course, Christmas, there’s a lot to pop in the calendar over the coming months. Get ready to make some serious sales.

Oct

Self-care for the festive period

With your strategy in place, fingers crossed you’ll be gearing up for an amazing sales period if it hasn’t already begun. This month, be sure to put plans in place for self-care.

For example, if you work a weekend market, try to make up for that with a day or two off in the week, or even plan in treats and celebrations for when you meet specific sales goals. Burning out during Christmas is very common with so much to do, so make a plan to take care of yourself and ultimately your business.

Nov

Final order dates

No matter how you choose to sell for your business, it’s time to begin the wind down process for the year. Check in with your postal carrier and start to clearly define your final shipping dates and when your business will close for the year.

Ideally, you’ll share these more than once and even share a countdown to drive any last-minute sales. Determining these nice and early will ensure you can do that.

Dec

Small business year-end review

Congratulations, you made it! How do you feel? Did you achieve what you set out to do in 2025? Now is a great time to reflect on how you smashed it over the past 12 months.

Of course, if you’re looking to improve or you didn’t quite get to where you were hoping, don’t beat yourself up about it! Take some time to relax and celebrate your success before it’s time for new goals and opportunities for the year ahead.