What do you do when your revenue disappears for half the year?

In this episode of Cash Flow Confessions, Stephanie talks with Steve Barton, a coach, author, and creator of the Game of 10, about the 30 years he spent running his family's flower shop in Portland, Maine.

Steve was three days away from leaving for Europe to study floral design when his father had a stroke. At 22, he was suddenly running the business. And like a lot of seasonal businesses, the flower shop had a problem: the big holidays brought in the cash, but there was a long, quiet stretch between Mother's Day and Christmas.

So Steve asked a simple question. What do people buy flowers for during that gap? Weddings. He built relationships with the biggest wedding venues in Maine, earned their referrals, and grew wedding work to about 20% of the shop's revenue.

Steve also talks about holding his prices when customers pushed back, why he drove to Boston at 3 a.m. every Wednesday for the best flowers, and how the shop cut waste on a product that has a shelf life of days. He also shares the mindset that carries business owners through the first hard years, and why learning from a mistake beats beating yourself up over it.

If your business has slow seasons, uneven cash flow, or customers who question your pricing, this episode will give you a practical way to look at where the money is and how to go get it.

Connect with Steve online: stevebartoncoaching.com

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My name is Stephanie Smith, owner of New Light Financial Solutions, and we help business owners walk the one clear path to generating more cash in their business. To learn more, visit us online at https://newlightfs.com/

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