Picking bad gifts is a fault of many men, but I seem to be worse at it than most.
I like to use the excuse that I am busy at Christmas, but even my wife doesn't believe that anymore. Range hoods, vacuum cleaners, silver garbage cans and even a toilet plunger are gifts that I have managed to buy and slip under the tree for my adoring wife. I tend to be one of those guys who are shopping on Men's Day At The Mall, which is more generally referred to as Christmas Eve.
I find after weeks of business helping others prepare for a special Christmas, my mind is often blank when it comes to thinking about gifts for my wife. I usually resort to the last thing that she mentioned that was an issue in the house and just go get it. Thank God, our family tradition has more focus on a baby sleeping in a manger than gifts themselves or I would probably spend most Christmas nights sleeping in the barn myself!
Christmas for many small business owners in retail can be a time when they have more sales than any other time of the year. Season businesses can be frustrating to manage.
As an owner, you might focus your efforts on preparing for sales that can be derailed by weather, economy, technology, social changes or just down right bad luck. Imagine if all of your income was based on how you performed in just a few weeks of the year? You might feel the stress that some owners of seasonal businesses feel.
When everything goes just right, you get a bonus - a hiccup and you are scratching to pay the bills for the year. Owning a business based on seasons can be challenging but by thinking outside of the box, some people in business have developed a whole new industry. Here are some examples:
Ski hills: Even the local ski hills have discovered that they don't need to be idle when there is no snow. Downhill mountain biking is all the rage and by opening in the summer, ski hills around the world have created a new source of income that has allowed some of them to increase their revenue streams and offset years when the snow didn't show.
Landscapers - many landscape companies turn to snowscapes when the white stuff falls. Snow removal uses much of the same equipment that is used in the summer, just in a different manner.
Some landscape companies focus on putting up Christmas lights and Christmas dcor. By thinking of using your investments differently in different seasons can turn expenses into profits.
Flower Shops: H.Bloom reinvented the flower business in 2010. This company was no longer satisfied with selling flowers just at Valentines, Christmas and Mothers day when the majority of flowers are sold.
They opted for trying to figure out how they could have a year around business in flowers and created a model where they service hotels, offices and people who want weekly or daily arrangements to impress. This helped them serve more people and create a model where they no longer need to rely on the sales from just three days a year.
Heaters by Winter, Solar Panels by Summer: Stoven is a UK-based company that was not satisfied with its business of just selling water heaters in the winter and being slow all summer. The company diversified to selling solar panels in the summer and now has a booming business year around.
There are plenty more examples of how you can diversify your business so that you can not be hamstrung by seasonality. The soup shop that sells ice cream, the vacation company that does corporate retreats, bike shops that sell skates or skis.
The Tipsy Elves Christmas Sweater company now sells clothing to college students year around.
Thinking outside of the box sometimes takes an outsider to help you see your opportunities, but the benefit of creating a business that is busy year around can mean that when you need that time off you can afford it, whether or not you have a few bad weeks.
Dave Fuller, MBA, is a certified professional business coach and small business owner. His wife will be receiving grout cleaner as a gift this year for Christmas and he will be sleeping in the doghouse, unless you send him a better gift idea. Dave can be reached at [email protected].
