Summer is nearly here ☀️ and seasonal business owners are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. We asked sellers here in the Community for tips on starting a seasonal business and Christy, aka Covegirl, very kindly put together this awesome list!
Christy and her husband Steven are the owners of Wilderness Cove Tubing and Campground, Western North Carolina.
☀️ Christy — 'Be prepared financially! It took us three seasons to be able to live off of our seasonal business. With start up costs, establishing credit with companies, and no time to work anywhere else, it can be daunting. It is worth it, do not get discouraged!
We are Wilderness Cove Tubing and Campground, NCTubing.com. We run river tubing trips in western NC, have cabins/cottages, and primitive camping. Our main season is Memorial Day to Labor Day for tubing. The cabins/camping run March through mid-November. We are fully closed the remainder of the year.
In 2013 we had a very tough year due to too much rain. We netted $4,000 for the year as a couple! That off-season we followed other passions of making soap (me) and holsters (Steven, my husband). It was a scary time and it was hard to invest in different businesses, but we took a leap of faith and pulled through. We knew it would be hard to do a good job at another job while preparing our business for the next season and we live in a season based town, so jobs aren’t as available when we are out of work. It worked out and we still have the side businesses, but they are more hobbies now rather than work. 🙂
We started using Square last year when our area finally got good internet! The Square Register was very intriguing to me and it did not disappoint! We run that as our main station, but we also use tablets with the stands and the app on our phones. It makes taking payments from anywhere on the campground possible. The Register and Stands are so fast, they really sped up our process. I also love the real-time reports. I can be at my home office and know exactly what is happening in our offices. It has really done almost everything I have needed it to do.
Bottom Line, a seasonal business is hard and stressful. You must be flexible and you must be able to work hard and kick butt before and during season! Also, you have to be realistic - you might have to work another job or build your savings several years to be comfortable. But then, you have that time to recover, be a family, travel, and enjoy the things around you. It is so worth it!'
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Looking for tips to get Square back up and running for your business? You might find this post useful: Seasonal Businesses Series: Get ready to re-open for summer!
Are you considering starting a business for this summer? Or have you owned or managed a seasonal business in the past? We’d love to hear your experience if you’d like to share below!
️ Helen
Seller Community Manager
