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Leverage Past Experience to Supercharge Business Growth

Leverage Past Experience to Supercharge Business Growth

Think Outside the Box to Create New Opportunities

Anne McGinty
September 18, 2024

Welcome to Time to Live: Thriving in Business and Beyond. In each newsletter, we'll dive into episode insights, personal growth, skill enhancement, and positivity.

Seasonal business personified
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I have a deep appreciation for the seasonal business model, a strong understanding of its dynamics, and a personal connection to the concept of vertical integration—though my own attempts had their fair share of bumps along the way (a story for another time).

Seasonal businesses offer a unique lifestyle that I find incredibly appealing. It’s the epitome of “work hard, play hard,” amplified to the extreme. My last venture was a professional Christmas lighting company that transformed amusement parks, landmark locations, city centers, and countless residential homes into festive wonderlands each season. Our team would grow from two to twenty, but only for a few intense months each year.

Running a seasonal business brings its own set of challenges—particularly in staffing to manage a concentrated peak season, which can feel like absolute madness. But what sets seasonal businesses apart is the recurring support for annual revenue. Halloween and Christmas are constants; they come around every year.

And while the intensity of the peak season demands can be a whirlwind, there’s a built-in gift that comes with it: time. Time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t, to optimize savings and investments, and to truly appreciate the value of time itself. It’s in these quieter months that the seeds for next year’s success are planted, and that’s where the real magic of a seasonal business lies.

This week’s episode highlight:
A savvy perspective from
Kimi Chadwick of Craven Farm

Listen to Episode

Kimi talks about leveraging past experience, embracing challenges, and being strategic to propel business forward.

Here are three key takeaways:

Seek New Opportunities Regularly: Make it a habit to browse business sale platforms for opportunities with growth potential. Remember Jacques Spitzer's advice: those who are actively looking are more likely to find what they seek. If you haven’t listened to his episode yet, it’s been a crowd favorite and is about 12 episodes back.
Embrace Challenges and Learn as You Go: You don’t need to have all the answers from the start. Be open to learning and adapting, just as the Chadwicks did when they ventured into an entirely new industry.
Rethink Competition: Instead of viewing similar businesses as competitors, consider them potential collaborators. This shift in perspective can lead to valuable partnerships and shared success. So, I challenge you to reach out to one other local business you’ve never reached out to before, introduce yourself, and try to establish an authentic, collaborative connection.

Strategy Spotlight:
Vertical Integration: Think about ways you can add elements of this strategy to your business. What can you add to your business to enhance your offerings and boost profits? Host special events? Produce your own craft beer or functional beverages on tap? Sell attractive swag? Partner with another business?

Positivity Corner:
Small Changes, Big Impact: The Chadwicks went from selling a single donut for a dollar to selling six donuts for eight dollars. It might not sound like a big difference, but with thousands of customers daily, that small change adds up significantly. What small change could you make in your business that could have a big impact?

Thank you for being a part of Time To Live: Thriving in Business and Beyond! As always, we love hearing from you, so feel free to share your thoughts, questions, or feedback.

Stay inspired,

Anne McGinty
Host of 'How I Built My Small Business'

Whenever I see corn and pumpkins growing, I think of Christmas.

What is one hangover from owning and running a seasonal business for thirteen years?

Planning way farther in advance than most people. Honestly, I can’t help it—it’s programmed into me at this point. You know what seeing pumpkins and corn being planted does to me? It signals that Christmas is just around the corner. Don’t judge me—I’m a work in progress LOL.

Planning for Season 2 is now well underway, and I’m excited to continue producing content that entertains, inspires, and educates. There will likely be a pause between Seasons 1 and 2 over the holiday season, with the first episode of Season 2 planned for release the week of January 25th, 2025.

Have an idea? Let me know by sending me a message.

Last Week’s Episode Highlight:

Private Equity Secrets to Scale from Small to Mid-Sized with Collin Hathaway.

I record video for most of my interviews, and I know how much more engaging it is to see the guests’ faces. While I’m currently handling all aspects of the podcast on my own, including editing, this limits my ability to fully showcase the video content I’ve captured.

My cost per episode is less than $20 because I’m committed to making this show the best it can be with the resources I have. However, I have a backlog of video content that I’m eager to share, and with the right support, I can bring these videos to life and take the podcast to the next level.

I’m excited about the possibility of partnering with a sponsor

who shares my vision and can help expand the impact of this show.