Seasonal or Economic factors affect the Business?

October 26, 2008

Many businesses experience seasonal variations. Regular retail sales peak in the pre-Christmas season. Gasoline sales peak in the summer. Sweltering summer days mean a booming business at the local ice cream stand -- and also at the local restaurants, since no-one wants to slave over a hot stove on a hot day. Some folks read their horoscopes before deciding if today is the day to close that big deal. Coyotes howl at a harvest moon.

But what about that industry which is particularly dear to our (*ahem*) hearts? Do you as a hobbiest find that your inclination to book appointments varies according to season? Weather? Or the alignment of the planets? When the financial markets undergo their usual weakening (or tanking!) in September/October ... do you prudently cut back on your hobbying budget, or do you find yourself compelled, even more often than ever, to seek-out the balm of your favourite source of solace?

Do you as a provider notice that business drops off, or picks up, during any particular time of year? It is claimed that when temperatures rise, and exposure to sunlight increases, libido peaks. On the other hand, summer vacations tend to interrupt all sorts of otherwise regular activities. Do the guys who re-start their exercise programs in January (to work off all that holiday turkey) knock on your door more often than usual then -- looking to vent the extra testosterone they've suddenly built up by the recommencement of pumping iron? Or are they instead less likely to come calling in January, distracted by the effort to pay down their holiday-engorged credit cards? Does the essentiality of your service provide a certain resilience during tough economic times, or will a recession strike your revenue-stream disproportionately hard? If the weatherperson is forecasting a drearly wet spell coming up, does this imply a dry spell for business -- or just more umbrellas propped by your door? Do the cowboys all need cowgirls during the full moon?

Vital statistics show that U.S. births peak in July, August, and September, which by my calculation means procreation peaks from October to December -- but obviously this overt, often deliberately timed and goal-oriented, activity has substantive dissimilarites in intent from what goes on between a hobbiest and a provider.

Personally, I find I do often hear the sirens singing most sweetly, and insistently, in the autumn. Evolutionary biology? Cultural cues? Recovery from summer doldrums? Crisply invigourating air and falling red leaves inciting the charge of the bull? I know not. The poets insist that spring is the time for love ... hmmm. Perhaps fall really is the new spring, as certain gardening aficianodos claim.

Hey waaaaiiitt a minute. It's October right now, isn't it? What's that sound I hear? Is it the rustling of dried leaves in the wind, or is it ... yes, yes ... it's the stirring of ... oops. Gotta go. My muse calls.

Nick