It is sometimes said of business that the three most important things are location, location, location. But there are three more business realities that are equally important. They are timing, timing, and timing.
Getting the timing just right can make all the difference. You can have the right idea in the right location, with the right funding. But if the timing is bad in the market, your business will never get off the ground. Starting a party store in the wake of a terrible national tragedy is a mistake. It is also probably a bad idea to start an ice cream shop in the middle of winter.
Side hustles tend to be very time sensitive. Sometimes, your window of opportunity is very small. A few years ago, you could have probably made a few dollars selling ice buckets specifically designed for the famous ice bucket challenge. But that fad was never going to last very long. Other opportunities are seasonal. Here are a few examples of seasonal side hustles where timing is key:
Affiliate Marketing
One of the best and easiest legitimate business opportunities is affiliate marketing. It is even easy to learn the ins and outs as you can take a free affiliate marketing course. The main idea behind affiliate marketing is that you help market existing products that are produced by someone else.
Most often, what small manufacturers need is help with marketing and selling. You can sell anything from books to baseball bats, and everything in between. You provide the marketing muscle behind an ecommerce site that you most likely didn’t even have to build.
While people buy things at all times of the year, the best time to launch such a business is at the beginning of the holiday season when everyone is desperately looking to fill all those festive stockings with unique and inexpensive gifts. You can run the business year round. But you want to give it the best start possible by timing it with the beginning of the holiday season.
Health and Fitness
Immediately following Christmas is the season of regret and hollow promises. It is also the season of opportunity for the person with a side hustle related to health and fitness.
You are never going to sell more diet books than right after the tree comes down. That is also the time when gym memberships are on the rise, and personal trainers get really busy. Perhaps the best type of business during the New Year involves new and interesting exercise programs.
The thing to remember is that people care most about their health and body image when they feel the most guilty. Christmas is the season of excess. Immediately following is the season of making things right.
Vacation and Travel
A lot of things go on in the spring. There is clean up, and tax season, and financial planning. But spring and summer have something in common: They are times of the year when people want to get away.
Travel and security are big concerns. Everyone is looking for the best deals for spring break and summer vacation. And they have a heightened concern about home security since the house will be left empty more of the time.
Back to School
The US government would like to remind you that back to school season is an excellent time to start a BtS-based business. This is the time when a little knowledge about science and math can pay off in a big way.
This is also an excellent time for car services, dog walking, and computer maintenance. Just don’t forget the other fall obsession: football. This is a great time for sports-related business ventures including league uniforms and coaching services.
All those school clubs and functions are going to need design and printing services. And before you know it, holiday season is upon you.
Having one side hustle is good. But having at least one for every season is even better. Affiliate programs, Health and fitness, travel, and back to school are particularly seasonal, and particularly profitable.