Seasonal businesses offer unique opportunities for entrepreneurs to tap into varying market demands throughout the year. Whether it’s the snow-covered driveways of winter or the sun-drenched pools of summer, each season brings its own set of profitable ventures. This guide delves into 20 of the best seasonal business ideas, providing you with the inspiration and know-how to launch a successful seasonal enterprise.
Winter Business Ideas
Snow Removal
Snow removal services is a common winter seasonal business, especially for landscapers, lawn care professionals, and window cleaners, whose work tends to slow down in November or December. It’s a $20.5 billion industry that can earn $400 per residential client per season. Assuming a four-month season with 50 clients, that makes snow removal a very lucrative seasonal business to start.
It’s also fairly easy to start a snow removal business if you already have an existing business truck and driver’s license. Just expect to invest a little more for things like plowing equipment.
Holiday Light Installation
There is good money to be made installing lights on Christmas trees and houses. One successful business owner reported making a $16,000 profit in just two months. There’s also the rewarding feeling of bringing holiday joy to your local community.
When starting your holiday lighting business, it’s important to take into consideration the following:
- Buying the correct inventory, lights, decorations, and supplies
- Investing in proper training to install the lights
- Purchasing general liability insurance to protect you if something goes wrong
Chimney Sweeping
Many homeowners will have their chimneys swept at the end of fall or early winter in preparation for the winter season.
Besides high demand during these periods, starting a chimney sweep business is an excellent opportunity because of low competition and low startup costs ($7,500).
It’s also highly profitable. In fact, this chimney cleaning business generated over $212,000 in its first year using chimney sweep software, with a team of just five employees.
Essential Tools for Seasonal Businesses
Labor cost calculators and salary guides are invaluable for setting competitive prices and managing operations. Utilizing these tools ensures fair pricing for both the business and its clients.
Spring and Summer Ventures
Landscaping and Lawn Care
Low barriers to entry and high-profit potential make landscaping and lawn care a fantastic business opportunity in warm-weather months.
For instance, a lawn care professional can expect to make up to $100,000 annually depending on their size, efficiency, and lawn care or landscaping services offered.
The key is to be strategic in starting a lawn care business and growing it. Choose who to target (residential or commercial), use the right lawn care marketing strategies (door-to-door, referral program, etc.), and hire the right staff.
Pool Maintenance
Although pools do require year-round maintenance, heavy usage by pool owners during the summer season means pool cleaners are busier and more profitable during those months. In fact, swimming pool services is a $6 billion industry.
Pool maintenance typically starts at $150 per month per pool, but this amount can be much higher. Even with, say, 20 clients receiving monthly service, you can still expect good revenue.
When you’re starting a pool cleaning business, familiarize yourself with your state’s business licensing requirements. For instance, some states only require a business license, while others like California and Florida have extra requirements.
Tree Service
Arborists are in high demand in nearly every region in the world, especially during spring and summer, and earn $48,772/year on average. This makes a tree care business a profitable seasonal venture.
However, starting a tree service business can be dangerous, competitive, and relies on building trust with clients. Instead of viewing this all as a threat, see it as a chance to stand out from the competition.
Year-Round Business Strategies
Maintaining engagement with clients during off-seasons through newsletters and special offers ensures steady business throughout the year.
Fall Opportunities
Window Cleaning
Spring and summer are when many homeowners focus on general cleaning inside and outside the house, making window cleaning a lucrative seasonal business to start.
Starting a window cleaning business is also an attractive opportunity because of low overheads and startup costs (roughly $1,000), a fairly shallow learning curve, no expensive training, and a $36,970 salary on average.
House Cleaning
There’s always a huge demand for residential cleaning services, with spring being one of the busiest periods. On average, a one-person cleaning business can make nearly $56,000/year.
Low startup costs (roughly $700 upfront) and the ability to grow your business through fairly basic marketing strategies make this a superb seasonal business idea.
Diverse Seasonal Opportunities
Fencing
The current upswing in demand for fences and residential construction makes starting a fencing business a profitable opportunity.
When getting started, it’s important to consider the following:
- Understand your market
- Price your fencing services correctly
- Decide what fencing materials you want to specialize in and install
Pest control
The best time for a homeowner to have their home sprayed is spring, making pest control a highly lucrative business during this period. In fact, pest control business owners can earn $58,000/year.
Pest control can be much more complicated than other seasonal business ideas. There are front-end (operations, customer service, etc.) and back-end considerations with any business.
But the back-end considerations can be very complex in pest control. They include regulations, chemicals, biology, and so on.
Roof Repair and Junk Removal
During spring and summer, two high-demand services are roof repairs and roof replacement. They can be profitable, too, with roofers making $41,246/year on average.
When pursuing this seasonal business idea, make sure you don’t underbid on jobs—something that 90% of contractors in the industry do.
Specialized Seasonal Services
Boat Cleaning and Maintenance
This niche service can be particularly profitable in coastal areas, focusing on seasonal maintenance for both aesthetics and function.
Consider cleaning, detailing, and servicing boats at the end and the beginning of summer. To get started, plan your business, create a legal entity, and market your services.
Dog Walking and Pet Sitting
With many families traveling during holiday seasons, pet care services are in high demand. Building trust and offering flexible scheduling can grow your client base.
Utilizing Business Tools for Success
Implementing business tools for invoicing, work orders, and price calculation not only streamlines operations but also enhances the professionalism of your services, contributing to higher client satisfaction and loyalty.
Conclusion
Seasonal business ideas offer a gateway to entrepreneurial success, with opportunities to cater to specific market demands throughout the year. From the snow-laden services of winter to the vibrant ventures of summer, each idea presents unique challenges and rewards. Planning, marketing, and delivering quality services are key to capitalizing on these seasonal opportunities, ensuring your business thrives year-round.