This season's trend, thus far.......... (Sanibel, Lee: sales, real estate, 2009)

[yachtcare]

As my typical "season" starts on Oct 1, and runs thru the end of April, my observations thus far.............

The majority of my regular seasonal customers begin returning anywhere from the first thru third week of October, creating a nice bump in income. A fair number of them return home(go back north) for the holidays(mid Dec thru mid Jan) and then the real bulk of the season ensues.

Thus far, approx 60% of my regulars have called, stating they do not plan to return until the middle part of November. 10% have, or will be returning as usual, the other 30% have not been heard from as of yet.

At first glance, this doesnt bode well for me(not that any of you should care)but was wondering what everyone else has been noticing as this all important "season" is getting underway. Feel free to quote statistics(for what they're worth) or anecdotal evidence.

Last night NBC-2 reported that there was a 2% uptick in traffic at the Sanibel tool booth. That can be interpreted in different ways, but I'm not seeing it........

[nhkev]

I don't know how much it has to do with your business but even up here I've decided this year to winterize my boat myself and store on my own property. It beats the $900 the marina was going to charge me to park it outside.

[twobums]

yachtcare ~ so sorry to hear this news. My biz is not based on local economy but is for discretionary spenders only. Am down dramatically also... I have booked 3 extra trade shows this year. Two were a waste of $$... third one is in December. We will see...

Best of luck ~ hope your season gets way better real fast.

[hiknapster]

Up in Knoxville, just as I was starting class, my husband's auto mechanic business ground to a halt. We were horrified. The bulk of his business is Buy-Here-Pay-Here dealers. They just weren't selling cars so they weren't going to the auctions.

Exactly on October 1 he started to get work. It has been slowly coming in and he even picked up a new account.

I have a feeling that when all the stats come in for September, across the country, it's going to be bad. Either that or he and I had an incredibly bad month.

I should have my real estate license by the end of next week. Will be interesting to see how that goes. I think we are going to have a very lean winter.

[yachtcare]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I don't know how much it has to do with your business

Not much, actually, but a little bit in the spring(we "summerize" here ) But definatly in the same "genre". Most of the folks with larger craft, will not be doing their own work.

To be clear, I'm not saying that the business wont be there. But it will be there later which means there wont be as much when considering the "season" as a whole.

[yachtcare]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Up in Knoxville, just as I was starting class, my husband's auto mechanic business ground to a halt. We were horrified. The bulk of his business is Buy-Here-Pay-Here dealers. They just weren't selling cars so they weren't going to the auctions.

Exactly on October 1 he started to get work. It has been slowly coming in and he even picked up a new account.

I should have my real estate license by the end of next week. Will be interesting to see how that goes. I think we are going to have a very lean winter.

I have noticed the same trend here with the used car lots. They have been keping very little inventory on hand since this past spring.

October 1 always sees an increase in activity, as it has this year, but far, far below the norm. There hasnt been much talk from my usual suspects about the Ft Myers boat show either. They are starting to make preparartions by this time each year. But very quiet on that front as well.

Best of luck with your new adventure in real estate. Most of what I know about contract law, sales techniques, and business in general was learned during the period I sold RE in Michigan before moving here. I wouldnt trade the experience for anything. I'm thinking I may go back to it at some point in the future, but it wont be in FL, and certainly not in MI either.

[hiknapster]

I considered going into real estate probably back in 2002 when I realized I loved sales but would rather sell homes than cars. I just didn't feel like selling in Florida, either, and then the boom was on and every fifth person had their license. I'm very excited. I think it's the perfect career for me.

[TannerBoyle]

Each and every one of us should go on down to True Value Hardware and pick up a brand-new shovel.

'cause this season we're all gonna be in deep **** in this part of the country.

[mrcoolmrcool28]

Originally Posted by TannerBoyle

Each and every one of us should go on down to True Value Hardware and pick up a brand-new shovel.

'cause this season we're all gonna be in deep **** in this part of the country.

It's not just in SW Florida, It's EVERYWHERE!! I'm also way down in commisions, Farmers here are really suffering, making less for their milk than they did in the 1970's!! So of course they are spending at lot less on animal heath products...doesn't look like it will get better any time soon.

I'll be winterizing my own boat this weekend (which really sucks!!) and store it here on my own property this winter.

Good luck with the Real estate hik

[twobums]

I do not want to thread jack yachtcare's post but it is very different here in Lee County... this is from USA Today... 1st thing I read online this morning. Yes, the whole country is hurting. Lee County is in a world of hurt:

Being jobless for 6 months or more 'grinds on you' - USATODAY.com