Many small businesses look at winter as a “slowdown season.” Consumer spending usually drops following the mad rush of the holidays. What’s more, foot traffic and tourism in many parts of the country plummet due to colder weather.
Not all businesses, however, suffer from the cold season. Others survive – and even thrive – during the chilly months of the year.
If you’re thinking of profiting from the cold season, consider launching one of these businesses:
Snow Removal
You’re highly likely to profit from the cold season if you’re going to offer snow removal. If you have an existing business but aren’t offering this particular service, don’t worry. You have plenty of ways to strategically include snow removal into your overall business model.
Take note of these example scenarios:
- Towing and auto repair companies may offer special deals to help snowed-in motorists.
- Gutter companies and licensed roofing contractors may provide snow removal from roofs and gutters to help homeowners avoid property damage.
- Landscaping service providers may offer driveway, patio and sidewalk shoveling to improve curb appeal during winter.
Coffee Shop
You can end a cold day by sipping a nice, warm coffee or hot chocolate. These are beverages sold by Starbucks franchises and other coffee shops. If you’re thinking of opening this kind of business during the winter, go beyond providing a comforting cup of joe and a cozy space for hanging out.
A few other moneymaking ideas that you could implement during the cold season are the following:
- If you’re allowed to do so, host community events that allow customers to buy locally made products. A couple of examples include a maker market and a small art show.
- Provide loyalty punch cards and free, lightning-fast Wi-Fi to encourage remote workers and students to visit your coffee shop more frequently.
- Adjust your food offerings for the winter months to include comforting and warm food.
- Promote limited-time specialty beverages and fun, seasonal flavors. Proactively offer peppermint and pumpkin spice to make your coffee shop an interesting and inviting place for people to get away from winter blahs.
Food Delivery
The demand for food delivery has skyrocketed during the ongoing global pandemic. A report from MarketWatch revealed that the four top food delivery service providers enjoyed a collective revenue increase of three billion dollars in the second and third quarters of 2020.
Apart from the pandemic, the demand for food delivery goes up during the cold season. When cold and unpleasant weather strikes, expect delivery service providers to enjoy a spike in sales. After all, many people aren’t up to leaving their homes just to get some grub. If you want to make more money during winter, consider starting a food delivery service in your local community.
Sporting Goods Store
Launching a sporting goods store enables you to take advantage of huge seasonal opportunities to help more individuals safely and comfortably leave their homes and enjoy the winter weather. You could also sell a wide range of equipment that will attract a diverse crowd of outdoor and sports enthusiasts. A few example products include sleds, snowshoes, skiing equipment and snowboarding gear.
Plumbing
During winter, plumbers all over the country receive a lot of house calls for fixing frozen or burst pipes. These calls may come from homes that cannot properly cope with below zero or freezing temperatures. If you have the necessary plumbing experience and expertise, you could start a plumbing business and take care of those problematic pipes.
Salt Supply
Salt isn’t just for cooking. People use it to de-ice roads. This is why salt companies are one of the major winners during wintertime. The United States pours millions of tons of road salt to treat the freeways and other roads for ice and snow.
If you’re looking to cash in on this opportunity, consider supplying or distributing road salt to areas that need de-icing.
Car Repair
Winter conditions send autos to the car service center for general upkeep, inspection and repairs. After all, no motorist wants to have their car break down on the road with freezing temperatures.
Given the harsh road conditions during the cold season, car maintenance becomes highly necessary for two target markets: the everyday commuter who’s trying to get to work and back safely and travelers going on road trips to visit friends and family members.
This means that the auto shops will be particularly busy during the winter. You could open up an auto repair shop or franchise to earn a nice profit from the cold season.
Don’t see winter as a slowdown season. Instead, pursue launching one of these businesses, so you can bump up the money in your bank account and enjoy serving the needs of your valued customers.
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