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A Festive Focus

Turn your passion for a specific holiday into a thriving seasonal business by getting your timing right.

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This story appears in the April 2006 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Perhaps you want to sell Christmas knickknacks or Hanukkahgifts, or you specialize in Valentine's Day chocolates orHalloween wigs. No matter what particular seasonal specialtybusiness you want to start, you'll need a bit of guidance toreally have a happy holiday.

You've heard the adage that real estate is all aboutlocation--well, as trite as it may sound, areall about timing. If you're planning to reap your windfallduring the Christmas season, like all other major retailers, youneed to get your proverbial sugarplums in a row at least six tonine months in advance, says Tom Dowdy, founder and CEO of National In-Store,a retailing consulting company and solutions provider in Sarasota,Florida. "Most major retailers have locked and loaded their[holiday season] buying programs before April or May of thatyear," he says. "So at that point, they've made theirselections, estimated their inventory needs and placed those orders[to be shipped] in August, maybe before then." Thinking aboutValentine's Day, Easter or any other major retailing holiday?The lead times are the same.

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