For many business owners, the cold weather brings a lull in revenue that leaves them feeling less “holiday cheer” and more “how on earth am I going to keep my festive lights twinkling.” Whether you’re a photographer, or a bathing suit designer, or a florist, those few months when you’re a little too slow for your liking can feel like they last an eternity. The good news is, just because your service or product is seasonal, doesn’t mean you’re doomed to spend the winter hoping for a holiday miracle to swoop in and infuse your bank account!
First, a bit of mom-like advice. Planning financially for the winter is the most important part of owning a business that experiences lulls.
As a former outdoor photographer living in Chicago, I know all about how stressful a drop in business can be. My first year was ROUGH. I got busy right away, and was absolutely slammed in the spring, summer, and fall. It was glorious! To make it better, my guy got a new job at a construction company, and he was bringing in overtime checks like a boss. We lived large, and loved every minute of it. Only, when November rolled around, we both found our income coming to a screeching halt. We went from going out for fancy steak dinners every other night to wondering how we were going to buy groceries. That was a big wake up call, and luckily we learned quickly from our mistakes, and figured out how to budget once things picked up again in the spring, so that we would never have to spend another winter struggling, and since then, we haven’t. If you know you won’t make many sales November-April, adjust your pricing to reflect how much you need to make in 6 months, to cover yourself for a year, put a portion of everything you make in a separate account you only use in the winter to supplement your income, or both.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way let’s go over a few ways to make some extra income during your slow season!
- Reach out to your past clients, and give them a reason to order something new. Provide them with some ideas for gifts they could order through you, and make things as easy as possible. Include beautiful holiday packaging they can use, offer direct shipping, and remind them how touched the recipient will be to receive such a special gift (it’s all about the emotions, baby!)! If you don’t offer gift certificates, now might be the time to create them! As a photographer, I always got a high return from emailing all my clients and reminding them what great gifts prints made, or to use the images from their session on a super fab holiday card I would design (and even address) for them!
- Create something new, that your target audience will eat up, all year round. Think about something you can come up with that is not dependent on the weather, and offer it only for a limited time. If you’re a florist, and have an indoor space, maybe you offer flower arranging classes where you teach how to arrange beautiful bouquets. Or create something seasonal that would look lovely in someone’s home when they entertain. If you mostly work with brides, and are known for your green thumb, consider teaching homeowners how to grow beautiful gardens. Just be sure whatever you come up with is not going to compete with your main products or services.
- Host a par-tay! I absolutely LOVE throwing parties, and who doesn’t love attending them?! One of my absolute fondest memories of my photography business was a holiday party I threw for my existing clients. It was such a fun way to say “thank you”, and by encouraging them to bring guests along, I gained a ton of new clients! The key is to make it casual, and design the details around your clients. I shot mostly families, so my ideal clients were moms. I threw a moms night out themed party, complete with wine, manicures, a makeup artist, and a few fun giveaways! I paired up with a few local business owners and got killer discounts on their services, but made it really clear that the event was not to be used to plug anything. In the end, even though no one was doing any active selling, we all got new business from the event, plus we had a blast doing it! I got so much great feedback from the ladies who attended, and my bank account was solid proof that a little pampering + some appreciation goes a long way!
- Find ways to extend your services later into the season (or, even year round!). Recently, one of my clients started worrying about the winter, as she’s an outdoor photographer who practically shuts down in the winter, because who wants their pictures taken outside when it’s freezing? It seemed like fate when a new client asked her to do a lifestyle type session in her home. She decided to give it a try, and loved it! Now, she’s gearing up to offer these types of sessions, and market them like crazy, which opens her up to booking sessions regardless of what it looks like outside.
- Offer special promotions. Build buzz with a can’t miss offer on your products or services. Consider doing something for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or just for the heck of it in February! You don’t necessarily need to discount your product or service; you can add a bonus, or do a giveaway!
- Make new connections. Just as your seasonal business is slow during the winter months, there are other businesses that are booming, and are slow in the summer! Pairing up with another business owner, and working together to give each-other a boost when things are quiet, is a wonderful way to tap into another market that you wouldn’t normally have access to, or do something you might not have thought of on your own!
My favorite thing about being a seasonal business owner was the time I had to focus on my business and get back to basics.
As a photographer, I was so slammed spring-fall that I barely had time to come up for air. Sometimes, my business was neglected, and I didn’t have the time I wished I had to make changes. When winter rolled around, I embraced the time I had to focus on making changes for the new year and made the decision to completely close down from December-February. If I got an inquiry, I typically declined, and that felt good!
Use your downtime wisely, and get organized, so that when business picks up again, you’re ready to rock! Here are a few places to start:
- Pricing. Is it time for an increase? Are you SO over friends and family expecting things for free? Have you been considering changing up your packages?
- Contracts. Do you have them? What happened in the last year that you would like to prevent going forward? Is it time to automate things?
- Marketing. What did you do this year that worked? What didn’t? Are you marketing to the correct people? Who the heck ARE the right people?!
- Client Experience. Are you blowing your clients away at every turn with your astounding branding and customer service? What can you do to show even more appreciation?
- Social Media. How is your consistency? Are there any platforms that intrigue you that you haven’t tackled yet? Can you start posting new kinds of content to switch things up and keep people interested?
- Networking. What events would you love to attend in the new year? Are there any business owners you’d love to connect with?
- Referral Programs. Do you need one? Is yours working? What can you do to get people excited?
See? There’s no reason your slow time needs to be slow; you have plenty to do! What are your favorite things to when things slow down a little? If you’re feeling stuck, I’m here to help! Peek at my business coaching packages, or join my Hustle Meets Heart Community!
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