The seasons have changed and yes, while it is the first day of fall, that isn’t really what I mean.

Do the seasons still mean the same things to everyone? Not just farmers. Few of us farm for a living anymore.

Sure, it used to be that fall was the season to reap what you had sown. After working hard all spring and summer growing what you would need for winter, fall was time to harvest all of that work.

This year, in 2014… the summer wasn’t chock full of planting and working hard in the summer sun. For our society in general, summer is time to relax and enjoy some time off. Summer gets slower. We leave early on Friday and go in late on Monday. The kids have summer vacation. Woohoo!

Now, kids are all back in school, the pool is closed, the outdoor dining areas where you could relax and have a cocktail waiting for dinner are going to be closing soon, too. Summer is over. It is fall and that means we’ve just left those “lazy days of summer”.

But, are they really lazy? I mean for all the people who work, but more so for those who work for themselves; who create jobs and create products or offer services – the seasons mean so many different things.

For the many, many small business owners out there, the traditional meaning of the seasons is still real. Summer is a busy time and many are indeed planning to “harvest” what was planned all year. Rightfully so, the 4th quarter is almost here – but there are still 3 more months to achieve the annual goals. It just doesn’t end there either; unless you report your fiscal earnings to a group of people who change their perspective of value you offer. Stockholders, investors, bankers reviewing loan applications, franchise candidates… the work goes on and on.

I do hope that there were lazy days of summer for the small business owner, and a few in the spring and fall, too. I certainly hope they get one or two in the winter because it is going to snow –  a lot – this winter.

Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in and be cozy in bed, taking a lazy day of winter? That would be a nice change of season…

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl