Do seasons impact your business? If so, how? 🍂🌷❄️☀️

[isabelle]

Hiiiiiiiii Seller Community! Hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday wherever you are.

Today I'm wondering...

Do seasons impact your business? If so, how? Are some seasons more profitable than others? Is your business strictly seasonal?

Can't wait to read your responses! 🤓

[BBQJunkie]

Yes seasons effect my business. I manufacture and sell BBQ Rubs, people don't tend to BBQ or Smoke in the cold or rainy weather.

[MelissaCG]

I mostly sell at farmers markets and the like. I rarely ever sell anything online. It's getting hot hot hot here. I'm not sure I'll be able to handle August at the markets. So yes, it impacts my sales in a huge way. The humidity along with the intense heat can kill.

[GourmetOnWheels]

I also sell at farmers' markets and here in Socal if it's gloomy in the morning people come later, if it rains they do not come, if it is blazing hot only a few will come. That's why I dropped a lot of markets and only do 2 and the rest of the week I deliver.

René

Gourmet On Wheels Inc.

www.gourmetsonwheels.com

[pooches01247]

I have a pet grooming business in Massachusetts. The winter months slow down and we have cancellations due to driving conditions. During the summer it gets busier because customers want their pet's hair cut short. Holidays are busy because they want their pets to look great for company. Spring is super busy because it's so muddy after the snow melts and everyone wants a bath for their pets.

[isabelle]

Totally makes sense @pooches01247 ! Never thought of how spring and summer may cause a grooming uptick! Thanks for sharing 🐶 🐕 🐩 

[PitMasterSean]

BBQ+RAIN=NO SALES!

You be the judge!  Smoke Berkeley BBQ has been in business for almost 10 years.  I don't know what it is about BBQ and rain. But, the two don't play nicely together.  It could be a banner sunny day with 130% increase in sales.  However, a slight change in weather forecast on the same day will immediately impact our sales dramatically by more than >65% decrease hour by hour.

We have learned through 10 years of history to always be mindful of precipitation when scheduling employees and future smoke times.

I would love to speak to other BBQ Restaurants during these trying times.  The BBQ restaurant industry has taken several substantial hits  during the pandemic.  In April-October 2020, Smoke Berkeley BBQ paid as much as $9.80 lb. for raw Beef Brisket.  Currently we are paying $5.69 a lb.  Six months ago we were paying $2.39.

I have many more ways BBQ restaurants are impacted in different ways by Food delivery Apps, menu selection, community and dietary trends.

Let's talk!  If you would like to know more about my findings please contact me at sean@smokeberkelely.com.  I am happy to help anyone.  I also hope to learn more about your findings during these difficult times.

Cheers

Michael (Sean) Hagler

[isabelle]

Hey @PitMasterSean ! I know one of our Super Sellers @Devin3627 owns Fat Backs BBQ.  Perhaps he can provide some insight into how weather impacts business. 

Really interesting to see those trends and how dramatically weather can impact your biz hour by hour. Thanks so much for sharing. I hope to see you around the Community more. We'll be posting another question of the week tomorrow - feel free to check it out. It'll be pinned to the homepage 😊 

[alisonmoon]

in my business the only thing is seasonal products and specials, I just made my website a couple weeks ago but this is how its gonna be so I'm making summer trouble special for Finmixos boutique. my Mitinia the adventurer isn't made quite yet but I have it out cause its selling soon! 

[AdamB]

Summer is the best time to get up to some trouble!

[BofBArtStudio]

Yes.  We are slammed through the entire Summer.  Sort of seasonal, but mostly based on when kids are out of school for breaks.  Spring Break, Summer, Fall Break and Winter Break. 

Also, we are very busy for all Holidays, especially Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Halloween and Christmas.

Our slowest months are January 1 thru Valentine's weekend and August 1 thru mid September.

We are a Create and Paint Studio featuring Pottery Painting, Canvas Painting, Glass Art and Clay Art, plus Art Parties and Art Camps.

[isabelle]

I see how your business would be popular/busy during the holidays! Thanks so much for sharing @BofBArtStudio ! 🖼 

[pizzakaterina]

I just recently, February, opened a pizza shop. We are new but already seeing swings in business due to seasons and the weather within those seasons. Hot HOT..good for business as people don't want to sit out side and eat nor do they want to cook. 75-85 BAD for business. Rainy...AWESOME for business but too rainy and people don't want to venture out. I feel like I need to make an employee work schedule based on the weather of the upcoming week. 

[TWill]

@pizzakaterina ... I own a Ice Cream / Grill & Fryer / Pizza & Sub shop. We are a "walk up" business in a very small rural town. I see the same trends you have mentioned. If it gets HOT, you only want it to stay that way for 2 or 3 days or people won't venture out and leave their AC. On the flip side, in the winter, if it's going to get very cold then we want it to get cold and stay cold. If the temp goes up and down then people seem to play the waiting game on a break in the cold. 

[isabelle]

☔+ 🍕makes sense! Thanks for sharing @pizzakaterina !

[safsac]

Hi, I grow plants and sell seeds for customers gardens. So, YES!! Seasons (and weather in general) most definitely have an effect on my business. Spring is my sales season for plants and some seeds, and fall and winter are big in seed sales and are also my growing season (in greenhouses). Everything in this industry is driven by what season it is.

[AdamB]

That's really cool that you're able to pivot to seeds in the cooler months. Do you tend to sell more indoor plants in the winter?

[thecraftshack]

We are a new business, we opened Nov. 2, 2020.  This was a trying time for myself. I had broken my leg the last day in August and had surgery Sept. 1st, a week later we had very bad fires in our area which destroyed one town, half destroyed the town just above us and really hit the outskirts of our town.  So many lost their homes and several their lives.  Hanging on to hope, we opened a month later than we planned.  November & December were awesome for us.  We are a craft store with all handmade, handcrafted, upcycled and repurposed items.  We did great.  Our community is small, just over 2,000, so this was amazing for us.  We knew January & February would be slow, but then they started working on the road in front of our store and wow, sales really dropped even though we let people know we were still open.  We are a co-op and that is the reason we are still open.  God has been so good.  Our front door was broken, not sure if it was the road crew or someone driving down the road that wasn't supposed to be.  We have been blessed by donations to help pay for the door which will run $910.00, that is a lot to us.  Just today I received a call from the lead guy on the road crew and they have decided to pay for the whole bill.  Like I said, God is good.  I'm so very happy with out little store and our wonderful community.

[isabelle]

Thank you for sharing this story! Powerful @thecraftshack. 

Sorry to hear about your leg 😔 

[TerrorTacos]

Very much so. As a restaurant owner, I know the summer months are going to bring in significantly higher sales than the late fall/winter months. This is why we plan most of our events in the late fall and winter to help bring in extra revenue. We also know we have to put away some of our extra capital and do an end-of-year bonus for our employees to help get them through fewer hours/tips for the first few months of the year. Late winter and into spring we continue with events and hold out for the more profitable months. 

If you own a restaurant, look into generating gift card sales for the holidays and a stable catering ability from fall through spring. This will help tremendously!

Hope this helps. 

[Chef_Giovanni]

Yes, my sales are VERY seasonal! 

I sell my products at outdoor Farmers' Markets in Eastern Long Island, online, and even through a few retailers.  The vast majority of sales are through the Farmers' Markets.  And there, the peak season is June, July, and especially August.  The "shoulder" seasons can be respectable, but winter sales are minimal.

[OldCoder]

Yes, we;re in a destination resort community where snow sports are the thing in winter and camping and playing about the lake is the main draw in summer. In late fall when it's too cold to camp and the leaves are off the trees but the ski areas aren't open it's hand to mouth and 2 for 1's at the restaurants that are open. Likewise in spring when the ski areas close but the ice is still on the lake the cycle of poverty returns anew. 

We stay here for the summers which are nothing short of paradise.