What? Christmas in July?

Tuesday Thoughts, Business Advice for Women Entrepreneurs, Female Business Owners

Shopping in a retail store in mid-July, when the weather in Central New York is as nice as you’ll get all year, is one of the reasons I avoid air-conditioned shops. But the other reason is because I’m afraid (a word I don’t use that often) there will be ski jackets, wool hats, and long-sleeve sweaters on sale. You’ve seen it and gasped yourself when your favorite retail stores get a hop on future consumer desires.

Don’t get me wrong as a woman entrepreneur, I certainly appreciate their gusto at jumping on early sales, but as a consumer it drives me crazy. Unless I was packing to visit the Northern Lights or Siberia, winter clothing are off limits in my closet. Hanging onto biking shorts, sundresses, and sandals until the moment the snow flies is more my comfort zone.

But these early seasonal sales get me thinking about what the average solo female business owner should be doing to grab early sales for themselves? It is possible to sell Christmas items in July or land reservations for an end-of-year holiday party mid-summer? I’d love to hear from anyone who is successful at this because all I am doing in the summer is starting to jot down marketing ideas to hit fall season sales as soon as Labor Day rolls away.

Perhaps women in business can gain some inspiration from woolen mittens and Christmas decorations as the temperatures hit 90, if it prompts them to take their laptop outside under a beautiful maple tree and start planning for their own fourth quarter sales program. I still believe launching holiday sales in July when everyone is in vacation mode doesn’t make logical business sense unless they offer a two-for-one sale that includes a free slushy after shopping.