Is It That Time of Year Again For You ???

[Mojo]

As we head into the holidays this is the one time of the year I can always count on things getting slow.
Peoples minds turn to shopping and traveling and most coach owners forget about their canvas till two weeks after New Years.

I am actually looking forward to the down time. I am still slowly working through a back log from several weeks ago and as I get two or three orders nailed down, more trickle in. I bragged to my wife on how I knocked out several orders that day only to have 3 more hit my e-mail that night.
It has been slow but steady so I cannot complain.

Speaking of being slow, my work pace has gone from 75 mph to 25 mph. This chemo is kicking the hell out of me and it seems to get worse as I get older. I am on some pretty high doses of the drug and the higher it goes, the sicker I get and the less energy I have to sew. Thankfully though I am still alive and able to sew. I know better then to complain. About the time I get ready for a pity party I head off to the cancer center for lab work and see people in there who probably wont make it through the holidays. It puts everything into perspective and to be honest, I have NOTHING to bitch about. It could be a helluva lot worse for me. I still feel blessed.

back to the business end of things. Do the rest of you expect for things to get slow over the holidays ? Do any of you experience this slow time during Turkey / Xmas holidays or am I a lone ranger ?

Chris

[byhammerandhand]

Mid October through mid-December is generally my busiest time of the year.   People want stuff fixed up for holiday guests.  Started this morning at 8, got back at 6, have a piece I brought home that needs to be fixed by 8am tomorrow and a couple of hours of accounting work.    I'll probably finish up in time for bed at 11.

Slacks off a few days before Xmas and is slow between then and New Year's Day.

[gene]

I told a few customers that I would not get their jobs completed before Thanksgiving. I then found out that Thanksgiving is not tomorrow, 11-21-13, but next Thursday.

It's not every day that you find out that you have an extra week in your life.

Dec, Jan, and Feb. used to be slow, but I have been staying busy all year for the last 4 or 5 years.

gene

[Mike]

I had a big boon on contracts and ive got 7 8 I don't remember and ive got some quotes still out there ,.ive got 2 calling me,  no 3 ive got to get to asap that  id like to have done next week. but thwn I do see a slow down on the phone over the holidays  (good)

[baileyuph]

Busy busy all the time.  Diversification plus a commercial location and to add, fewer people doing what I do keeps the business there like a running faucet.

Often, there are statements like; "teach me this", you are never without work.

They just don't understand!

Doyle

[sofadoc]

Looks like the furniture guys reporting in here are pretty consistent year-round. Same with me too.

Probably for the reason that Doyle mentioned. There are just fewer of us. I always have more than enough for me, but not enough to add a full-time employee.

I probably could scare up a lot more work if I really shook the bushes. But I'm quite satisfied with a moderate backlog.

People are always surprised when they ask "How's business?", and I reply "More than I can do". Normally, when you ask anyone that question, they complain (unless they're completely covered up). For some people, it's NEVER enough.

It seems to be more "Feast or famine" in the auto/marine sector. The boat biz is seasonal, and both car and boat guys have a lot more competition to deal with.

[JuneC]

Slow.  I love it!

I made the mistake of taking on a VW bus seat project for one of my marina owners and I have to hand it to you guys who do cars.  He bought the seat covers from some on-line vendor and my job was to install them - I figured a day or two.  Took me a week (30 years of prior covers/mods, rusted frames, sharp edges that left me bleeding profusely every day, etc.)  NO MORE CARS!!

June

[bobbin]

Pluggin' along but I see some "slack" coming up.  I sent out a couple of e-mail tickles to some tire kickers and bagged a nice job.   I've also sent out some quotes on a couple of jobs that could be very nice... we'll see.  But I figure the more I look at jobs and quantify them the sooner I'll know if this boat is not just gonna float but actually prove "sea kindly"!

I'm working on pictures and some projects of my own that were shelved but should offer good "photo ops", too.