Christmas Lights & Feliz Show Me All Your Money!
As jolly as the holidays are, there’s no doubt it can be financially taxing. And this year…there’s something else at play! Inflation.
Jerome Powell took the stand today and to no one’s surprise, he confirmed inflation is not ‘transitory’. Oh, ya plus a predicted 3 rate hikes in 2022. So…
Today in <10 Mins We’re Diving Into:
- How inflation will affect your holiday meal + really, Nancy Pelosi?
- A seasonal business making 6 figures hanging Christmas lights
- 9 other ways to make extra K’s this season
Contrarian Rant
I went to the store yesterday and bought the same food we do each week. We usually pay about $278 for a week and a half or so of home-cooked meals etc. This week we spent $531… with no booze.
I was floored. The main cost increase? Meat. One pound of rib-eye is usually about $8-$16, it was $30 a pound. Unfortunately, as opposed to Bill Gates, I am not rich enough not to know a banana doesn’t cost $10. This change was noticed and material.
It got me wondering, what has happened with the cost of meat and food overall? Well:
- Meat prices are up 20% YOY
- Seafood prices are up 18.8% as of July, I bet the most recent numbers are closer to 30%
- Cost of produce is up 30%, even at WHOLESALE
In fact, seafood has risen so much that many restaurants have pulled it off the menu. One restauranteur told me an unexpected benefit to those covid-safe QR code menus. They just keep upping the prices without having to reprint. None the wiser.
This is a travesty for the average American and business owner. My friends, I am so sorry to tell you I do not believe it is getting better soon. I HOPE I AM DEAD WRONG and all the rose-colored glasses, the government has our backs trolls, can yell and berate me online. But unfortunately, I don’t think that will be the case.
What does this mean? It means we’re doing a segment on how to get y’all some side income this holiday season…. because you may need it.
Food banks across the US are stretched to the limit due to supply chain issues, inflation, and fewer donations amid the pandemic. A food bank director who usually has around 5,000 turkeys in their freezer this time of the year, only has 5, and the amount of food they anticipate needing has tripled this holiday season.
It got me thinking about when the UN tweeted at Elon Musk saying if he sold off 2% of his net worth they could solve world hunger. Elon, true to form said, give us a plan in public, but no plan was produced or calculations to determine why 2% was the magic number.
So it’s not the UN this time instead, what about our politicians? If Nancy Pelosi can make over $50 million worth of stock trades in 2021 and David Perdue can make 2,596 stock trades while serving as Senator, then perhaps they can also donate some of that money to the food banks that are increasingly going to need their help?
How about it crew? You increase inflation to 6.8% (way too low IMHO the real number is higher), why don’t you contribute some of your earnings made in the public markets which all explode during inflationary periods to the Americans you’re supposed to serve?
IDK – My guess, is you won’t. Maybe we will on your behalf.
Because we as Contrarians take action when everyone else just gives lip service. Here are ideas for you to line your pockets a bit this holiday season. Unfortunately, we’re all going to need it… Christmas Lights and Cashflowing.
Want to Make 6 Figures This Holiday Season? This Guy Did With Christmas Lights
For a lot of biz owners, seasonality is a huge issue. On one side, you see businesses like retail, movies, and e-commerce with a huge spike during the winter. While your run-of-the-mill outdoor service-based businesses can see sales decline of 20, 30, or even 40%…think pool cleaners, power washers, and landscapers. Those ‘boring biz types’ we love here at CT are busy all year trying to plan out enough cash flow to hold them over during the slow months.
Well, the answer may be ‘brighter’ than you think.
Americans spend $6 billion on Christmas lights… this gentleman capitalized on it.
Meet Daniel Cronauer of Apex Softwash
A member of the Contrarian crew, Daniel’s normal business is Power Washing. (Remember this post?)
On average, Daniel’s company grosses $60k/month.
However, turn to colder weather, and their service demand essentially evaporates.
Daniel recognized a couple of things.
1 – Americans decorate for Christmas, in an almost competitive manner.
2 – Many probably don’t put in as much effort as they want because it takes time and is even a bit dangerous.
Opportunity time?
It wasn’t an immediate choice for Daniel but he was convinced by a friend to offer Christmas light hanging in his hometown of Mountain Top Pennsylvania. I mean, they already had the labor and materials, so why not?
So from October to January, Apex Softwash turns into Kringle Lights. This season they’re projected to rake in around $275k.
Want to replicate? Here’s a quick play-by-play:
1 – Get your materials:
A truck to transport materials (or rent or borrow one), a ladder (of course), and the lights with clips.
Daniel sees this business as a turn-key white-glove service, so they also provide the lights to their customers. He gets his guys (ahem, kids) to screw in the lights and hook the clips prior to showing up at the property.
2 – By the numbers:
How much will it cost you?
Plan on a 2-3 man team. One guy on the ground, a roofer, and a ladder guy. Done right (and speedy) this team can hang a 2k linear foot house in a couple of hours, at $15-$25 per hour per person.
Then, there are materials:
How much can you make?
Kringle Lights does both residential and commercial properties, charging per linear foot. They cost $6-$9 per linear foot (the length of the house sides in increase, divided by 12).
Here’s the breakdown per a 2000 linear foot house:
3 – Market:
While you can source your current clients, Daniel focuses on physical marketing within a 1-hour radius; ie. flyers and yard signs. In his neighborhood, he sees ample demand just from that. Old school. Love it.
Remember Johnny the window cleaner behind SqueegeeGod? He does it too to the tune of $30k/month:
Seems like a pretty bright idea to me.
Light hanging, not your forte? That’s okay!
How To Make Money On Christmas
1 – Tree-bitrage – No big surprise that the Christmas tree market is over $1 billion. Want a piece of the pie? Well first, source your trees. The biggest farms in the country are on the west coast, but you can find them locally. You buy them from the farm for $20-$75 and resell for $40-$400 for a nice 2x-5x profit. Rent out a small portion of an empty parking lot, grab a license to resell and you’re in business. Prices were even higher this year due to the droughts and fires that riddled the west coast. My 6 foot-er cost $129. Yowza.
2 – Be ‘Santa’ – See those mall Santa’s with a flock of screaming kids wanting ponies and ever wonder what they make? Well, the average hourly rate for mall Santa’s ranges from $25-$75 per hour, with the cream of the crop making anywhere from…$150-$500? So what’s the difference in performance? Location for starters, a highly trafficked mall in a big city would be a good first choice. Also… you have to look the part. The difference in salaries of Kris Kringle’s who put on a suit and say ‘ho ho ho’ is widely different from a professional jolly doppelgänger raking in the “big bucks.” Make some more $ and lend yourself to private parties or private photoshoots.
3 – Make Xmas wreaths – If you have the creative touch, design and sell Christmas wreaths. Every year millions of people are looking to decorate. You can end up charging up to $500 dollars for yours, like this one on Etsy. You can hit up your local Farmer’s Market as well.
4 – Personal luxury interior/exterior decorator – Professional Christmas decorators can make around $15k per season, with larger more experienced enterprises raking in 6 figures. We found that most charge between $44-$71 per hour, not including the cost of any decorations for their customers. Another pro here…you can also charge between a $100-$200 takedown fee at the end of the season to put it all back in the box.
5 – Turn your current shop into a Christmas SEO fest on Etsy – Already sell on Etsy? Last year Etsy broke e-comm records during the holidays. This year it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down. Depending on your offerings, you can always optimize and add SEO… Read how here.
6 – Make YouTube Xmas music videos – Per TikTok, download free stock Christmas videos online, add non-copyrighted Christmas sounds to them, upload them to YouTube, optimize for Youtube, and make $ from the advertising dollars based on your number of views. This takes some YouTube know-how. According to his video, he raked in just over $100k off ad revenue.
7 – Rent your shed to hide Xmas gifts – I mean, it makes sense to me? Those who live in condos, apartments, or small houses with little storage (and kids), need someplace to store or hide their goodies from Santa. Be that neighbor who rents out their empty backyard shed to these people for $50-$200/month.
8 – Shovel Snow – Do you live in a snowy climate? Want to lose a few pounds before the New Year? Shovel snow. Or put your kids to it! $25-$75/hr when snow is high. Here’s a list of 100 companies that make over $1Million each winter shoveling snow.
We know it’s scary out there in many respects, and yet there are a million reasons to be optimistic and grateful. Here’s to doubling down on them this holiday season.
Stack cash and be Merry,
Codie
