Twelve Weeks of Christmas
Seasonal businesses don't die in December — they die in September, buying the inventory December needs. Learn to manage a demand cycle where cash goes out months before it comes back.
You sell handmade holiday ornaments online. More than half the year's revenue lands in October–December; the other nine months are a long, quiet cash drain with a warehouse bill.
It's January. Each month you decide how many units to order from your workshop partners (paid on order, $13/unit), how much to spend on marketing, and your price. Stock too little and the December surge sells out — and disappointed shoppers shrink next year's base. Stock too much and holding costs plus dead cash strangle you in spring.
End the run with $60,000 in cumulative profit and cash in the bank. Go broke — most likely right before the season that would have saved you — and you lose.