Hey Gang,
It’s the off-season for us “Fall-focused types” or hammer-down time for you Christmas tree people, but either way, it’s time for the most exciting topic: Accounting!
In my collegiate years, Accounting 101 at Penn State was one of the first televised courses, meaning it was a live video feed of the professor in some undisclosed location broadcasting old-school through wires to dozens of classrooms.
Now, accounting might be one of the most boring classes, to begin with, AND it was remote (before that was ubiquitous, kids), AND it was, for me, HARD.
At one point, I was doing so poorly that I asked to go to the filming location to at least sit with the professor in the room to try to get it better… Request DENIED. I guess the professor was so popular no one was allowed to be in the room with him.
So I slogged through T-Charts, issuing debits and credits, until I got out of that course, never to return for a 2nd accounting course in my life! Fast forward to today with Quickbooks Online, and things are much easier. Still, the underlying fundamentals of ANY business remain more critical than the accounting setup to track them after the fact.
This time of year, we’re looking back for positive and negative impacts on the business from the ideas we implemented in 2024 and found a neat one.
We opened a bar in the middle of our Corn Maze & Fun Park called “The Roost” for its chicken theme and decor. It was risky, right? Will people accept alcohol in the middle of a family-friendly event?
The resounding answer was – YES.
Results? Not a single drunk. Guests were thanking us for offering beer & wine, and we got a $1.61 increase in our guests’ per-cap spending. Doesn’t seem like much until you start multiplying by every 1,000 guests.
What did that mean? With The Roost open, we DOUBLED revenue from the winery in October over October 2023 when our tasting room was the only wine outlet.
Did you try anything risky? (Not in college, I mean, like, now, in your business:-) I’d love to hear about it!
It highlights ONE of the many ways to grow your business. Increasing the on-site spend is a great way to grow without convincing anyone else to visit your place!
So, how did you increase visitor spending in 2024? What are your ideas for 2025 to grow revenue without growing attendance? If you plan how to develop per-person revenue when more people show up… You’ve won twice.
More over the next few weeks.
Holiday best from all of us,
Hugh
