Virginia Beach is a hotspot for tourists and vacationers, a vibrant city on the coast of Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. While nearly 500,000 people live in the area year-round, around 19 million people visit the city each year. With tourism such an essential part of the area’s economy, there’s certainly scope for seasonal businesses to do well. Still, you’ll want to do your research before your launch your brand.
To get started, take a look at these four things you’ll need to launch a seasonal business in Virginia Beach:
1. Market Insights
Before launching your business, it’s essential to determine when the tourist season starts and ends. This will give you an idea of how many months you’ll be trading for each year and when your business will be most active. Fortunately, you’ll find plenty of tourist information and data available online, so you can get a head-start on generating market insights that will help you to shape your new venture.
2. Business Plan
Running a seasonal business isn’t any easier than managing a company that operates year-round, so don’t make the mistake of assuming you won’t need a comprehensive business plan. On the contrary, in many ways, running a successful seasonal business can be trickier than generating a profit with a regular business, which makes your business plan even more critical.
By identifying your target audience, forecasting revenue, and conducting competitor analysis, you can hone your business strategy and optimize your future commercial performance.
3. Insurance
Taking out the correct type of insurance policies can protect your liability and ensure that your business doesn’t suffer if you face legal action. In addition, general liability insurance can be used if a member of the public is injured due to your business activities.
Virginia workers’ compensation will also enable employees to obtain financial compensation if they’re hurt in a workplace accident. Any business in Virginia that employs two or more employees must have workers’ comp insurance, so don’t overlook this critical requirement and get workers compensation in Virginia before you start trading.
4. Staff
Seasonal businesses can find it hard to attract and retain staff, usually because they only offer work for part of the year. Depending on your revenue, you may decide to pay staff during the off-season in order to retain them, but this isn’t a viable option for every seasonal company.
Treating your employees well, advertising job opportunities locally and online, providing a competitive wage, and being as flexible as possible. However, you should be able to build up a network of staff who can provide the reliable support you need.
Can You Make Money with a Seasonal Business?
You might not generate monthly revenue when you run a seasonal business, but this needn’t prevent you from making a profit. Providing you can reduce your expenditure and/or generate enough profit to cover your costs during the off-season, a seasonal business can be a great way to capitalize on the tourist trade and build a thriving company in the process.
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