Surviving A Seasonal Business
Seasonal business owners are often envied as having the ultimate gig: They work hard for the few months that form their peak season, then sail through the rest of the year with their feet up and a wad of cash in hand. Sound like the ultimate dream? Then it’s time for a reality check:
Running a seasonal business requires year-round work and tough self-discipline. Behind every successful seasonal business is an entrepreneur who’s willing to work twice as hard and twice as smart as the conventional business owner.
It’s imperative for seasonal business owners to be strict with their expenses, even when they’re raking in the dough during their peak season.
Blake Smith, 39, started the outdoor decorating business to generate income and retain his employees during his landscaping business’ slow season of November through February.
“Here I’ve got this seasonal landscaping business and all the resources in place [for Christmas decorating]–customers to sell it to, crews to do the installation and trailers, vehicles and other assets that would normally be idle that time of year,” Smith says. So it was a no-brainer for him to give it a shot.
What started as a complementary “side job” soon became more profitable than his full-time job, so Smith sold his landscaping business and started franchising Christmas Dcor in 1996. Since then, Christmas Dcor has grown to more than 375 locations and generates system-wide gross sales of $60 million.
Photo by allthingschristmas.
Homejobsite.com on July 24th, 2008 12:45 pm
It sounds like working hard actually does pay off. 60 Mill is definitely worth the effort.
cassy on July 25th, 2008 5:55 am
$60 million? wow! i cant believe that his gross sales is that big!
Anyway, all of us celebrate christmas and we all decorating our home in this occasion.
FearlessBusiness on July 28th, 2008 10:41 am
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