Seasonal commercial decisions in a beauty or wellness business are best made before the stock, cash or appointment time they need is committed, sometimes a full season before the trading they serve. Six review points cover the year: January, spring, the summer slowdown, September, Q4 and gifting, and December planning. Settle January's clinic or studio offer before the Christmas break and review November's offer by the end of August, bringing either decision forward if its preparation needs longer. Count back from each delivery or completion date using confirmed lead times. Give each stock order, treatment-course schedule and seasonal offer a decision date and an owner.
January. The decision that cannot wait: What a new client's first month includes at full price. Planning point or deadline: Before the Christmas break, or earlier if preparation needs it
Spring. The decision that cannot wait: Which of the second half's long-lead commitments to make, on the first quarter's actual figures. Planning point or deadline: The date each supplier's or rota's lead time sets
The summer slowdown. The decision that cannot wait: Whether the autumn price or offer needs to change, and on what evidence. Planning point or deadline: Review by the end of August, earlier if preparation needs it
September. The decision that cannot wait: What must start in time to finish, arrive or sell before the December break. Planning point or deadline: Counted back from confirmed lead times
Q4 and gifting. The decision that cannot wait: How many gift sets to commit to, at what price, and what happens to the ones that do not sell. Planning point or deadline: Before committing cash to stock or packaging
December planning. The decision that cannot wait: Next year's target, built from what the business can deliver. Planning point or deadline: Before the year closes
January: the month is planned in December
For a clinic or studio, January's decision is what a new client's first month includes at full price. Settle it before the Christmas break, so the desk has agreed words when January enquiries arrive. What January in a clinic or studio is for covers how to run the month.
For a product brand, the follow-up to Christmas gifting belongs in September's Q4 plan, with its stock, cash and preparation time allowed for.
Spring: committing the second half on real numbers
Spring's decision is which commitments for the second half of the year to make now, judged on the first quarter's actual figures rather than December's forecast.
List everything autumn and gifting depend on, with the date each is needed and its confirmed lead time, and count back. Anything whose count lands before the summer is a spring decision.
For a product brand, those are the cash commitments: production slots, packaging minimums, components for any gift set. As an illustration, allow fourteen weeks from artwork approval to packaging delivery and a further two weeks for packing. If the sets must be packed by 15 October, approve the artwork by 25 June. Ask the supplier how far before artwork approval the quantity must be fixed, then count back again to set that decision date. Use the times your supplier and packing team confirm. Forecasting stock for a seasonal beauty brand sets out how to size those orders.
For a clinic or studio, check people commitments alongside equipment and room availability. Agree summer leave, cover for each treatment or class, and practitioners' September availability before opening the affected slots for bookings.
If the spring plan contains commitments the available cash cannot fund together, Commercial Strategy can help decide their order; discuss that choice before confirming them.
The summer slowdown: no price decision made by a quiet week
The summer's decision is whether the autumn price or offer needs to change, judged on bookings, costs and preparation time.
In a clinic or studio, a quiet August diary can mean clients away, practitioners on leave or fewer enquiries, and each of those calls for a different response. The summer slowdown in clinics and studios separates the three before anyone touches September's prices.
For a product brand, review November's offer by the end of August, and set the final decision date from confirmed stock, packaging and preparation times. Whether November should carry a discount, and what to run instead, is the subject of Black Friday without the discount. If it is still open in October, check which full-price options the stock and team can still deliver.
September: what has to start now to finish before the break
September's decision is what must start in time to finish, arrive or sell before the December break.
In a clinic, the clearest case is treatment courses. Count back from the last appointment before the break, using the number of sessions and the interval between them. As an illustration, a course of four sessions four weeks apart, finishing on 19 December, needs its first session by 26 September. For an October enquiry, rerun the count on the practitioner's agreed schedule before confirming that the course can finish before the break.
For a product brand, settle November, festive trading and January as one plan in September, each part placed by its lead time. Why Q4 planning is non-negotiable sets out that sequence. If the November offer was not chosen in August, it is the first line of the plan.
Q4 and gifting: the set is decided before the season
The gifting commitment is the set quantity and price, with a costed route for unsold sets, agreed before cash is committed to stock or packaging. Gift sets and the gifting season without losing margin works through that decision.
For a clinic or studio, a December gift voucher is cash taken before the diary time or product it pays for. Decide whether it covers treatments, classes, products or a mix, then estimate when the diary time will be needed from past redemption dates; with no history, treat the timing as an assumption and revise it as bookings arrive.
December planning: a target the business can deliver
December's decision is next year's target, set from the people, rooms and stock the business will have rather than from a number that capacity then has to chase. Year-ahead planning in December builds that plan line by line, from appointment hours or production slots through to cash. Its first review date, set from the start, gives the following spring its decision.
Questions owners ask about the commercial calendar
Does a business that trades evenly through the year need a commercial calendar?
Yes, built around commitments rather than a sales peak. Put two years of monthly bookings or sales beside available hours or stock, then add team leave, equipment work and retailer or supplier deadlines. If trading is even, keep only the decision dates those commitments require, alongside the annual plan and its reviews, and drop a seasonal reminder only once no booking, stock or cash decision depends on it.
How should a business with a clinic and a product range use the calendar?
Use one column for clinic appointments and one for product orders, with dates, cash commitments and staff time in each. Where the two share a person or a room, check whether their peak weeks overlap and decide which commitment takes priority before accepting both. Read each activity's sales and cash separately, then together, to check that the whole business can fund and staff the plan.
Who should own the calendar in a small team?
Give one person the job of keeping the calendar and flagging clashes between stock orders, team leave and treatment schedules. That person need not approve every purchase or rota change, so record who approves each commitment and who covers their absence. When a supplier date or booking pattern changes, the keeper finds the other decisions it affects and brings them back for review.
How does the calendar work for a business in its first year?
Without last year's figures, use the first months' own records and the dates suppliers, landlords and retailers confirm in writing. Mark each decision with the evidence it will need, plan the first gifting season and the first summer on cautious figures, and keep notes on every season as it happens. The second year's calendar is built from those notes.
Kirsty Newman is Founder of The Boutique Consultancy. She spent almost two decades at some of the largest corporate powerhouses in beauty and luxury, including YSL Beauty, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Lancôme and Rimmel (L'Oréal Group and Coty). She went on to work with a number of startups as they scaled, before striking out on her own. Across this time, she has run seven-figure P&Ls and teams of 16, with direct engagement in venture capital funding and expansion.
Gaia Gabiati, Consulting Lead at The Boutique Consultancy. A decade across health clubs, private members' clubs, hospitality, wellness and multi-site aesthetics clinics, from Milan through Harvey Nichols, Virgin Active, Third Space and Soho House, to running the operational side of multi-site luxury aesthetics clinics.