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4th of July - Fun, Safe, Profitable … and Make Money Too?
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Morning!
Today is the 4th of July, a time in America where evening fireworks light up the skyline, people enjoy the outdoor activities and peace and tranquility reign freely across the nation.
Oh, and the time where bunches of kids and adults alike blow themselves apart as well.
A zany not-exactly-overprotective mom myself (my typical reaction to my kids being pummeled at karate, for example, generally is, "why didn’t you ask for more?"), I live in an area where fireworks are happily illegal. I still do have lazy hazy memories of sparklers when I was a kid ("Mom! Why can’t I hold them by the bright shiny end?") but for the most part, the 4th of July celebrations over here in LingLand consist of 2 mile walks from where I park the car so as NOT to be innundated with drunk drivers in the wee hours of the morning to the river’s edge and waiting for 5 blasted hours for the fireworks to begin and even more exciting, to end hoping the kids are bored enough to want to stay home.
Turns out, this year they actually are - they find watching it on HDTV to be just as fulfilling. See, life truly does bestow blessings on parents every couple of decades!
Anywhos! If you’re going to venture out into the ferocious frenzy known as the 4th of July festivities, there are some crucial safety tips you MUST implement. But first, a word from some humor:
Ahem. Back to our tips:
With Kids At Festivities
Have kids wear bright-colored clothing so you can spot them quickly.
Designate a "safe" area if you get separated - ie, that bevy of police cars that guard the entrance.
Go over stranger-danger 14 times again.
Bring extra dollars to buy the cute little dollar store glow-sticks they love waving around as the evening dawns. ‘matter of fact, go one better, visit your own local dollar store and stock up at much cheaper prices.
Bring books. The celebrations around my area are soooo popular (how popular are they Barbara!) that you have to arrive 5 hours before they start, just to snag a decent viewing area. I generally pack a backpack with books and games.
Be wary of excessive water drinking. It’s heck finding decent toilets at 4th of July fireworks….and the last thing you want is junior telling you in the quiet dulcet tones of a foghorn, Mommy! My peepee is straight because I want to pee!
Have a first aid kit with you. Nothing major, mind you - just bug spray, bandaids in case they bash their knee open from falling off the railing on which they shouldn’t have been climbing on the first place, etc.
With Kids at Home Parties
Be alert to open grills and pools. Too quiet is generally NOT a good sign with kids.
Keep drunk adults away from kids if at all possible. They’re scary to children.
Don’t let them use fireworks themselves! This is plain common sense.
If you DO have home fireworks, have a fire-estinguisher handy and know how to handle burns.
With Pets at Home Parties
Pets can be scared from the fireworks. Be there to comfort them. Big booms can cause them to freak out.
Keep pets away from all fireworks. All together now - Ya think, Barbara?
Parking and Driving Home
Chances are, you’ll see bunches of drunk people around. Don’t mow them over.
Park away from the fireworks. Walking back is character-building exercise-wise, and you won’t be caught in the Traffic Jam from Hell. Be alert when walking back to the car.
Want more resources regarding 4th of July fireworks and safety? Check out:
- 20+ Tools for the Best Fourth of July Ever
- A Booming Business
- ASPCA 4th of July Safety
- Down The Rabbit Hole: Firework Safety, What’s that?
- Eye & Firework Safety Awareness Month - June
- Fireworks More Dangerous for Children Than Adults
- Fireworks Safety
- Fourth of July: Firework Safety
- Fourth of July: Be safe, avoid fireworks injuries
- Hospital Fireworks Safety
- July Fourth fireworks safety tips: Add more BOOM, less BURN to your family’s celebration
- Kids Health Fireworks Safety
- Shoot off fireworks safely on July 4th
- Suture for a Living
- The Ultimate Man’s Guide to Fireworks
- Tips for a Fun, Festive & Safe 4th of July from The National Council on Fireworks Safety
- Will you let your kids/teens shoot off fireworks?
Now, this wouldn’t be a Barbara Ling post if I didn’t offer you some rather creative tips on how to make money from the 4 of July too! :) The following ideas are all offline endeavors.
Step 1.) Decide how you want to make money on the 4th of July.
Do you want to sell products? If so, you’ll need a table, possibly permission from the town to set up the table, the products, business cards, a fishbowl, a 1 page handout people can shove into their pockets as they walk along, etc.
Do you want to get your blog known? If so, prepare like the above but this time, focus on offering thingees that will make peop[le want to visit it when they get home. Let’s say that you blog about teaching your child Math - Pull together some of your best posts, format them prettyfully (to quote my daughter), brand them with your blog name at the bottom, and make sure you close a great call to action.
WP-Print is a great plugin for this.
Step 2.) Prepare your products/handouts/etc.
Remember, this is for the 4th of July. Chances are, people are NOT going to want to stop and chat with you! They’ll either want to impulse buy or take your materials and look at them later.
What are some things you can sell? Related 4th of July goodies would be:
- Glow-sticks/balloons/festive thingees
- Bug Spray
- Tote bags for people to carry back their impluse purchases from other vendors
Unrelated 4th of July goodies might be:
- Mace/personal protection
- Flashlights
- Seat cushions
- Bottled water/beverages
If you want to sell your own products, chances are, unless they’re small and carriable….they won’t sell (who wants to carry huge honking heavy thingees back to the car on a day like this?). Instead, focus on compelling people to ask for a flyer/business card instead.
Step 3.) Scout out a good location and set up your table.
Remember, you’re on your own here - you need to check if your town allows such things. I see them all over the place in my neck of the woods. Assuming they do, you can set up a table nearby the constant traffic of people walking to and from the festivities.
Remember that fishbowl I recommended you include? You can offer a lunch lottery - ie, "Drop in your business card and win a free lunch to Houlihans!" etc. Or, offer a free copy of your product in return for dropping in a business card.
Now, when you create your table display, you should probably have a good set of rocks (yes, rocks) in case the wind kicks up (don’t want paper flying all over the place!). Other weights you could use include:
- Cute little figurines
- Coffee cups minus the coffee
- Sleeping toddlers
- World of Warcraft CDROMS that your child simply HAD to have and then LOST interest after 3 days leaving you MINUS the blasted $60 it cost to sign up in the FIRST PLACE
Step 4.) Get there early and PROMOTE/SELL!
You probably want to set up your area before the massive influx of traffic begins.
Remember! There are many different definitions of "profit" - it can be monetary, or future leads gleaned from the fishbowl, or the distribution of your most popular posts etc.
Personally, I choose to relax on the 4th of July, but then again, I also choose to wake up at 3am to start my day, so go figure. If you want to add a business bent to this 4th of July holidays, I hope you’ve found the above useful indeed. How will YOU be spending the holidays? I’d love to know!
Enjoy!,
Barbara Ling
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Subscribe to the comments for this post
I like your ideas of networking with the crowd and offering handouts. I’ve seen it done before but never thought of it myself. I just like enjoying the fireworks.
I like taking a break as well. But I also well know that many folks go nonstop as well.
Have a great 4th,
Barbara
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