Summer starts next month, and along with sunny skies, it also offers the perfect opportunity to create a seasonal business and earn some extra cash.
Here are some business ideas to get your summer hustle started.
- Lawn care: Offer mowing, trimming, edging, and weeding services to residential neighborhoods. Target older residents who may not be able to maintain their property themselves.
- Home improvement services: Are you handy? You can offer minor repair services like painting, furniture assembly, or hanging blinds. To broaden your reach, consider joining an online marketplace like Thumbtack.
- Pet sitting: Boarding pets can cost a small fortune, so many pet owners hire pet sitters while they go on vacation to feed and/or walk their animals.
- House sitting: Similarly, when people go on vacation, they often need people to water their plants, bring in unexpected packages, or just check on their homes.
- Car detailing: Consumers are keeping their cars longer and taking better care of them, making a mobile car detailing service an ideal part-time idea. Create a menu of options with varying price points.
- Event/party planning: If you’re organized, detail-oriented, and like to plan parties, starting a party planning business can be the ideal summer undertaking. Work your network to find clients who are interested in hosting parties. In addition to birthday parties, there’s the opportunity to plan graduations, wedding and baby showers, and even summer block parties. Since you can pick and choose what parties/events you want to stage, this summer hustle may be a way to earn extra money year-round.
- Tutoring: Summer is an ideal time to tutor students, giving them a head start on the new school year.
- Crafts: In many cities and towns, summer is filled with arts and crafts fairs, town celebrations, farmer’s markets, and other events where you can sell your wares. Depending on your skill, items in demand include jewelry, paintings and other artwork, home décor items, and food items. If you’re selling prepared foods like baked goods or specialty sauces, be sure to comply with local zoning and health department regulations.
- Freelancing: Many businesses need freelancers specializing in writing, editing, graphic design, and social media management. You can also be a virtual assistant helping businesses with numerous administrative tasks.
- Online retail: You can set up shop as an e-commerce retailer in several marketplaces. You can sell your own handmade goods on places like Etsy and Amazon Handmade. Or source and resell products on eBay, Amazon, and Walmart. Or you can set up your own selling platform on sites like Shopify, Wix, and Squarespace.
- Online courses: Are you an expert in an area many people want to learn more about? There’s been significant growth in the field of creating and selling online courses. There are numerous platforms to choose from, such as Coursera, Skillshare, and Udemy.
- Delivery service drivers: Drivers are always needed to deliver food for Uber Eats, Grubhub, Postmates, ChowNow, DoorDash, Toast, and others. You can also shop and deliver for grocery delivery services like Shipt.
It’s already May, so you must act quickly to prepare for the summer tourist season. Here are some quick tips:
- Do your homework. Before deciding on a summer hustle, research the market. What services are lacking in your city or town? What products are most likely to sell to summer shoppers?
- Make it legal. Check local regulations for any permits or licenses you may need. If you intend to operate out of your home, check local zoning laws. Do you need extra insurance coverage?
- Marketing. Create a marketing plan as soon as possible. What is the best way to reach customers?
- Money. Even though this business is a summer hustle, you still need to keep track of your income and expenses. Talk to your accountant about any tax consequences.
Turning Tourists into Customers
If you’re already a business owner and live in an area that attracts summer tourists, you can take advantage of the summer season as well. The key to success is being prepared for the influx of potential new customers who aren’t familiar with your company or what you do.
As noted above, check the event calendar in your area. Will there be fairs or local celebrations where your business can set up a booth? Or perhaps you can sponsor the event.
Marketing is critical to ensuring tourists are aware of your business. You need to plan your marketing tactics as soon as possible. Research what activities are planned and how you can attract people to your businesses. Is your city issuing special marketing materials like maps for summer visitors? Check with your local chamber of commerce. Some towns host special shopping events. Are there opportunities to participate in these activities?
Other ways to raise awareness of your business include:
- Actively posting on social media will help summer tourists discover you. Identify social media influencers who specialize in touting tourism. Perhaps they’ll share your social posts with their audience.
- Are there travel and tourism bloggers who are looking for guest contributions? Typically, you can’t be too promotional, but you can share what makes your city or region special.
- Check out the ratings and review sites that cater to travelers, like Tripadvisor, and the typical sites consumers turn to, like Yelp. Are there local review sites in your city? Does local media like newspapers or radio stations feature reviews of local businesses? If you own a restaurant, has your company been reviewed lately?
- Make sure your website is up-to-date since many visitors check their phones to find local places to shop, eat, and drink. Is your company listed on local search directories like Google Business Profile (including Google Maps), Apple Maps, Foursquare, and the Yellow Pages? Make sure you have company pages on Facebook and Instagram.
- Get the timing right. Your local city government or chamber can likely tell you when the influx of summer visitors starts and ends.
If you attract more customers, you might need additional staff to handle them. Start now looking for temp workers. Ask your current employees if they have friends looking for summer jobs.
For a more flexible hiring solution, consider working with a temp agency so you don’t have to hire people you don’t need.
Summer is a great time for small business owners to attract new customers and for aspiring entrepreneurs to start a side business. At the end of the season, assess your success. Is it possible your summer business can turn into a year-round money-maker?
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