September Slump - Small Business reality of the slow months

Oy. We’ve officially entered our least favorite month as small business owners. Every year, September is consistently SLOW and empty at the shop. It’s an awkward limbo between seasons and we’re stuck in a weird holding pattern, the pause; “prepping to prep” for the seasonal swap. People have already geared up for summer, but we're not quite ready to start outfitting you for winter yet, because we need to give our consignors the opportunity to collect their unsold gear.

Sept is great for hiking, terrible for business

To thin the racks for winter intake, we’re not taking in a ton of consignment… But that means a whole less of our favorite faces popping by, aka less overall traffic, aka means less spending, aka racks that aren’t thinning and when they do, its one or two $10 tank top sales at a time (vs the winter version of this season where at least it’s $80 jackets). Phew. The hard reality is that our most dedicated shoppers are our consignors, and by holding consignment pauses we inadvertently dissuade our regulars from stopping by and poking through the racks.

So anyway... here’s to brick and morter shop struggle transparency and 3 zero/low cost things that you can do to help out your fave gear shop if you aren't swinging by this September.

1) Tell your adventure buddies we exist. If I had a dang nickel for how many times I hear, “I’ve lived here my whole life and somehow never knew you were here.” Check our followers list! Make sure your friends know about us. Also. A huge thank you to whoever posted about us on TikTok! We saw a lot of new faces last month! Word of mouth is our BEST advertising method, and it's FREE for small businesses (perfect for our budget).

2) Don’t just scroll past my stinkin hard internet work! Give it a 2 sec pause and a tap on that heart. If FB or instagram keeps feeding YOU, a lover of the shop, our content and you're not smacking that “like” button, then the algorithm stops showing our content to others, potential new customers and community. I put in a butt ton of work here, let’s get some dang eyes on it so they can come support the shop. If you want good stuff in your feed, LIKE and interact with the places you love.

3) IF, IF, IF do need something, shop us first. I’m NEVER, ever going to push consumerism for stuff you don’t need just for our survival as a business. BUT if you’ve got gear that needs repairing or tech washing (we’ve got Gear Aid), or you’re running low on basics like propane or climbing chalk, swing by, say hi and grabbing it here. Those little sales add up and help keep our heads in the green during rough months.

In this hot mess economy, surviving as a shop with a physical location is a daily battle. Between ever increasing overhead: commercial rent, insurance, payroll, utilities, software, theft... A slow traffic and slow sale month like September really drives home the feeling that small business ownership is 100% a labor of love, not a labor of income.

So. Shop local. Shop used. Shop sustainable. Share posts. Like posts. There are a billion ways to support your small biz pals even when you're not spending money. Yadayada. Rambles done?  K bye!

#biggestlittlegearshop #recycledadventures