I own a hair salon. Typically, November is my busiest season. It has been SO quiet. A lot of my colleagues are also saying the same thing and have had to close up shop because of it - or get a second job.
People keep saying it will get better and the economy will bounce back but I don’t know. I am so close from just throwing in the towel, closing up shop and getting a corporate gig.
I’m in educational enrichment. Every time the public schools conduct standardized testing, parents go into crisis mode. Public schools love standardized testing and seem to do it more and more. It gets me through the slow times.
We hit a dip going into summer break and then again coming out of summer break. This year my September was exceptionally slow, but the post-COVID approach of our local schools has been nonsensical, so it picked back up very quickly. I hit a high point this month of over 250 enrollments.
While the state of our schools dismays me, it is very satisfying work to take what the schools declare a low performing child and propel them above grade level, sometimes by 2-3 years.
Sorry for the tangent. Just love my business.