Small Business: The silly season - Dana Johnston and JP Schmidt, 46 & York and Meadow

JP Schmidt (left) and Dana Johnston (right), owners of 46 & York and Meadow.

This week, Small Business editor Caitlin Sykes talks to business owners about dealing with the lead up to Christmas.

Dana Johnston and JP Schmidt are the owners of hospitality businesses 46 & York in Parnell and Meadow in Remuera.

What are some of the pressures you feel in your businesses at this time of year?

Dana: Christmas is the peak time of year in hospitality. There's an increased number of customers generally coming through our doors as well as for Christmas functions, so that's the time of year when we get to make the greatest number of impressions on people. Behind the scenes things can be super busy, so the pressure is to maintain your composure, keep smiles on the faces of your team and make sure the efficiencies are optimised to ensure customers are still getting the bubbly, friendly experience.

With a lot more people flowing through the door, staff and management are under the greatest workload just with the sheer number of hours they're putting in. So another pressure is maintaining a great working atmosphere and ensuring the teamwork and communication are flowing nicely.

JP: About 30-40 percent of our turnover generally comes in the last three months of the year. Another pressure with that is maintaining a work life balance and staying healthy. By this time Christmas parties are coming thick and fast, and our loyal customers often want to catch up and have a couple of drinks so staying healthy and getting plenty of exercise is important to keep on top of things. And you want to be able to spend time with family and friends, but when you're getting called out to work at all kinds of hours it can be a bit of a challenge.

How do you manage that pressure of maintaining a good customer experience?

Dana: We're firm believers that when the going gets tough the tough get going, so we make a point of getting in the trenches with the team, whether it's doing the dishes, or clearing tables. Setting that example from the top is important.

I also think it comes back to all the work you put in throughout the year in terms of setting and upholding expectations among the team, and providing the support networks for them that they can call on when it gets crazy between now and Christmas.

JP: Maintaining communication is important too. Often that can fall by the wayside when it gets really busy, but we maintain our scheduled meetings with management every week and make sure we're always checking in on how things are running.

What about the challenge of maintaining a positive team environment? How do you deal with that?

Dana: Again, getting in there and working alongside the team is probably number one. But I think loving what you do is an important factor as well. You need to be a people person in this business; we are, and the guys who work with us are. When they see we love it, that rubs off and vice versa. It's a lot easier to be there working your butt off when you enjoy being around the people you're with.

And what have you learnt about keeping your work life balance in check at this time of year?

Dana: You've got to trust in your team and don't forget to delegate. As business owners it's tempting to want to do everything for everyone, out of pure love for the business and a desire to make sure everything is going well. But a key thing is to buy yourself some time - to go the gym or catch up with family or friends for a coffee or some lunch - just to give your brain a rest before you get back into it. Between JP and I we'll often share the workload of checking in over a weekend as well so we can have a day off during the weekend.

JP: The lines can be a bit blurred in our industry because your customers are there enjoying themselves but you're working. Even if I don't think I need to have a break, I just do it; a couple of hours away gives you a chance to get your hands out of the sink and look out over the horizon.