HOME The Ebbs & Flows of the Holiday Season

by Danielle French South Pond Home www.southpondfarms.ca @howyouplaythegame Podcast

Love that the holidays come earlier and earlier in stores, on front lawns, on the radio and social media. Actually I don’t love it. There are still leaves on the trees, the grass is still green in places, and my plants are still in planters. I am one of those people who wait until mid December to put the tree up and decorations, other than lights which can go up the first of December. I don’t mean to be a party pooper, and no shame to those that are on top of the holiday decor by October. For me - no go. Part of it was growing up with a German parent. We didn’t put the tree up until Christmas Eve and growing up in Vermont, we waited until after US Thanksgiving for everything else. No longer - when I drive home to Vermont late fall, the decorations are up, holiday sales are on! But I understand. I know how holiday shopping sales can help get through the slower times. My own business, while in reverse, brought the same pressures of sales.

This time of year often reminds me of some of the trials in operating a seasonal business. When I first started South Pond, it was a seasonal business. Summer was my high season - May - September. I held weddings, farm dinners, workshops that involved summer related produce, greens and flowers. The barn was not insulated and while it offered shelter from the elements, when the light shifted and the weather became cool sometimes as early as August, it was not warm inside.

Looking for opportunities. I was restless sitting idly in the winter months and wanted to search for ways to push extra income in the shoulder season. My first idea was to create products that I could offer yearround. I made jams and preserves and sold them to go along with pies and savoury dishes that we served in the summer months. I made spices from drying herbs, I made pickles and chutneys from the garden produce. To sell my products before e-commerce was really a thing, I had a christmas market in the barn and offered a wreath making workshop as a full day holiday experience. The products were gifts in the winter which then evolved into selling them in the barn, in the cold, at a holiday market.

Diversifying your products can be a good thing. Making jams and spices was complementary to my events and in the long run, I was able to scale them, months then opened up the opportunity for us to create cost savings in the kitchen. We spent the winter preserving, pickling and curing everything from the garden which we could then use for all of our events during the summer.

As I’ve now transitioned to a very different life, not running events in the barn or battling with the seasons, and instead reflecting and writing about them. I think about all the business owners navigating these high pressure months to take advantage of the Christmas season. To them I say take a moment to breathe. Sometimes it’s ok to not reach your goals. Every season is a learning one, every year is different, every year has new obstacles. It may feel like we are back to normal, but not to be too cliché, this is a new normal. We all do adapt. I adapted. And next year, you will be further ahead than you’ve been before. Everything happens incrementally and I believe it’s important to be patient and consistent. And if your business is like mine was, the quiet will come in January and the enforced slow time helps with planning for those peak times ahead.

Danielle French is the founder of South Pond Farms, Writer, small business consultant, potcaster and co-host of How You Play the Game.