The Happiness Business

There’s an article in the Sun (which I couldn’t read) about a gentleman named Craig Casterella. His company, American Christmas, makes the Merriweather Disctrict look merry and bright for the season.

Screenshot of article from Baltimore Sun, article by Kiersten Hacker

Yes, I tried to find this article through the Howard County Library website. I failed. I guess I wasn’t looking under the right rock.

Seeing an article about a company that will do one’s holiday decorating put me in mind of the variety of businesses available to provide seasonal services. You can hire someone to:

Hang your Christmas lights
Clean your house in preparation for holiday guests
Cater your holiday meals and/or parties
Decorate the interior of your house.
You probably can hire someone to do your gift shopping, too.

It seems as if there is a service for almost anything one might be willing to pay for. Or, if there isn’t, there soon will be once a savvy entrepreneur figures out how to monetize it successfully. It wasn’t that long ago that you either washed your own car or took it to the car wash. Now you can have someone come to your home and do more than wash it. They will engage in high-level, luxury detailing services.

But where are the people who will detail my kitchen appliances? Why is that not a thing? I’m not sure I could afford to pay for that kind of work but I might contemplate saving up. Would you?

Are there some services you’d be willing to pay for but no one has created a business for them yet? For example, I know I’d be willing to hire someone to take our bins down for trash and recycling days and bring them back each week.

Dream big. Or small. Perhaps you need someone to drive you to dental appointments so you don’t chicken out. Someone to show up and put fresh sheets on all the beds once a week like clockwork. Someone to be in charge of your children’s school and activity schedules.

Is there a business for that?

There are dog walking services. Are there services that will get your sedentary relative off the couch and take them for a walk? I mean, I can see where that might be beneficial.

One last note: if you reread this piece you’ll see that many of the services I mention are things that we just expect women to do without assistance or compensation. Hmm…

Send me your business/service ideas. This could be fun. And we might think up something viable!

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