The Seasonal Dash

Of all five companies, though, the one that is probably the most seasonal, by choice, is John's Landscaping. "I do what I love but I want to live my life, not work my life," he says. "I work really hard eight or so months of the year and then not so hard the rest." While even during the season he never misses one of his four children's school or sports events, the rest of the year he says he plays "Mr. Mom"-and he hunts. He loves this life and while his business continues to grow, he has no plans to hire employees or expand in some huge way. The extent of his advertising has been a couple of designs given away at charity auctions-one of those led to eight redesigns on the same block. At 42, he's pretty sure he's doing exactly what's right for him-and his family. The other companies have all sought other ways to expand their business. Some of these came inevitably and naturally, others were the result of a bright idea. Missouri Gunite was bought by Bill Thomas in 1998 in part to naturally supplement his other business, C&M Restoration which he founded in 1994 and which "restores giant antiques"- by that, he means buildings. It was a strategy on his part to allay some of the seasonality of his other work, and he is able to take the skilled workers from one side of the business to the other during rush seasons. Another facet of Missouri Gunite's business that is very helpful is the refractory side, which occurs during fall and winter mostly. This is repair work in factories, mills, or utilities whose smokestacks, boilers, or kilns lining materials have broken down because of the heat. Cool Crest keeps one course open year round, and weekends especially remain busy in all but snow-covered, rainy, or frigid days. The video arcade, with games for all ages, is always popular and the birthday party business remains consistent as well. Plans include adding a state of the art go-kart track for the entire family and possibly even a driving range and small amusement park. All the activities are aimed at families, which Frank Licausi says is the source of his enjoyment of the business. "I love it," he says. "I just knowŠwhen you see a child coming in and having fun, there's so much satisfaction in that." Planters Seed has deliberately expanded their efforts into compatible areas to "fill in the low spots and keep a more stable cash flow and work force in place," according to Geoff Myer. The current owners have expanded the spice business from a few basics back when Henry Werthiem started the business in 1924 to nearly 30% of their overall business. Their gift basket business grew from a couple of wintertime-bored employees wrapping up some of the crockery with spices and coffees. This business "makes Christmas a whole lot nicer," says Myer. And finally, there's the bird seed lines in January and February, both wholesale and retail. With both hardware stores and bird lovers buying (some people using 300 pounds per week in their backyard feeders), this expansion item helps, too, even though this seed is a low profit item.

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