29 May 2024

ALR report part 1 – Gritt’s Farm is a bunch of quitters.

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
Strawberries, donuts, cinnamon rolls, sweet tea, and blueberry cake for a light, healthy mid-morning snack between sessions at Gritt's ALR. Many of us came to learn more about the food service and the Gritt's Team, led by Stevie, delivered. Hey Gang, At these kind of events you hear presenters going on about all the things they do, but Greg Huber took me aside on a NAFDMA bus tour and reminded me to ask, “What’s the story behind the story here?” The weather was picture-perfect for nearly all of our two-day, three-night NAFDMA ALR in Charleston & Buffalo, WV. We rolled in the…
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15 Jan 2024

Take your own advice.

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
Make your list, check it twice, but don't make too many resolutions - Even this list is too long! Take your own advice. I never think of myself as particularly swayed by remembrance, nostalgia, or special dates - I can eat birthday cake anytime within a week of my actual birthday, for instance. However, Christmas & New Year's Eve likely create the most profound internal feelings: a sense of momentousness. Christmas is my heartwarming family time. Kids are back from college; in the past, we'd created Christmas magic with Legos and stuffed animals. Family games and meals make it a cozy time…
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26 Dec 2023

Part 3 – Pre-season Actions & Systems.

Agritourism, Employee Management, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
The light beam from the watch tower on a misty October night at Maize Quest. Part 3 - Pre-season Actions & Systems. The last two weeks, we covered what we learned, discovered, and uncovered as the weather handed out an old-school rainy season over much of the upper Midwest to the mid-Atlantic and into the Northeast US. If you missed the other two blogs, take a few minutes to find and read them, as the process is sequential. We thought first about choices made "Years in Advance" regarding the very structure of our businesses to create a more stable operational…
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19 Dec 2023

Part 2 – Strategic & Pre-season, the first 4 of a dozen.

Agritourism, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
Our lavender festival brings guests and revenue into late June & early July which coincides purposefully with blueberry picking season. Part 2 - Strategic & Pre-season, the first 4 of a dozen. Last week, we started looking at how to plan for what turned out to be a rainy season (and for future rainy ones). We're breaking our planning & strategies out into five categories. Years in Advance Strategic Choices Pre-season Actions Day of Weather Event Post-apocalypse Today, we'll briefly review "Years in Advance" and then move through "Strategic Choices" & "Pre-Season Actions." Years in Advance. Some choices that enabled us to survive 2023's…
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12 Dec 2023

Three lessons from a plain ol’ rainy season: Part 1 Year’s in Advance.

Agritourism, Family Business, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N8zACnXLdA The video above is "Time to wash the pumpkins" was our spoof on the old Dunkin Donuts commercial we made one rainy fall day years ago. Three lessons from a plain ol' rainy season: Part 1 Year's in Advance. It wasn't a disaster. Being hit by a tornado, hurricane, flood, or fire - is a disaster. It was a plain ol' rainy season, and it just kind of sucks. We aren't used to rainy seasons; our last one is back in 2018. The last one this pervasive was back in 2002. Measurable precipitation every weekend from Labor Day through Oct 27th, with the…
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17 Jan 2023

No free lunch – Part 2 Deploying The [NEW] Guiding Principle.

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
The [NEW] Guiding Principle. You can't make money unless people get onsite, but they are ready to spend once they arrive. In Part 1, "Back on your game," we reviewed how the Free Lunch of marketing due to artificial scarcity is over. We have to get back on our marketing 'game' and promote like it's 2019 all over again. Part 2 Deploying The [NEW] Guiding Principle. You can't make money unless people get onsite. The driving goal is to get people through the door. DUH, right? It goes a bit deeper on three focused levels. Focus #1: Differentiation. My buddy John Schallert, who runs an excellent workshop,…
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12 Jan 2023

No free lunch – Part 1 – Back on your game.

Agritourism, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
I love the saying, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." You know how it goes... You get invited to coffee with an old friend, which turns out to be an MLM or Amway pitch.You think you got a steal of a deal on that tractor on Facebook Marketplace, and it needs a new 3-point hitch two days after bringing it home.A friend helps you move, then needs your pick-up for three days while she moves. The good news is: You've been eating free lunches for 2-3 years. In 2020, our outdoor businesses were the only attractions open. Drive-thru festivals helped the…
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13 Dec 2022

Eliminate, first, your self-induced suffering. Part 1 – Relationships

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
Are you lighting the fuse then complaining about the burn? Eliminate, first, your self-induced suffering. Part 1 - Relationships This blog is not the classic trope of "Put on your oxygen mask before you help others," but instead, a more inward-looking exercise. One of my current favorite motivational speakers is Duke University's women's basketball coach, Kara Lawson, who proposes that [her players] / [you] / [me] spend most of our lives waiting for things to get easy, to be easier, when in fact we should "handle hard better." (Click here for her whole speech) I'm all in, that's me 100%, and if you have kids or…
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31 Jul 2022

I took my eyes off the ball (or disc in this case.)

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
Ouch. I took my eyes off the ball (or disc in this case.) If you've ever played sports, you've got a story like this: I was on a fastbreak across the field after dropping a short pass to our Ultimate Frisbee team's "Handler." Think of Adam as the roving quarterback to whom midfielders like me pass a catch until he can launch it downfield for a goal. I dropped him the pass, took off, cutting behind the player guarding me, and struck out across the field. Adam saw me and flicked the disc a little high, but right on the money.…
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26 May 2022

Stop beating yourself up Part 2 – A big enough carcass on which to feed.

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business
The cheetah only sprints for 38secs per hunt - She either catches the prey or gives up in that amount of time. Stop beating yourself up Part 2 - A big enough carcass on which to feed. In sales (and we're all in the world of selling products, events, experiences, and food to people), they say, "You eat what you kill." Isn't that why we love this business? Our efforts directly affect our income. You are more profitable if you hold a great event, host a great wedding, launch an excellent tulip festival, and care for your guests. You went out and made the sale. You…
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