Chimney Sweep Business Ideas for the Offseason and Beyond

Warm weather rolling in means a few things: shorts, lots of grilling, and (finally!) turning off the heat in the house. For your chimney service business, the final part there typically results in a downturn of business.

But it does not have to be that way! Summertime gives you a great period to offer additional services or products for your customers. Let’s go over some things you can do to keep your business busy in the off-season.

Preventing the “Fall Rush”

One thing that hits big in the chimney service industry is the “fall rush.” If you've worked in this business for any amount of time, you definitely know about the massive amount of calls you will receive during the early fall months.

What’s the big reason for this? Customers tend to forget about heat until they actually need it. To counteract this, we recommend developing a good marketing strategy to roll out to your customers in the spring/summer season. Build up an email, letter, or phone call series to reach out to your existing clients. Inform them they can get the prep-work for next season done early so that they won't get left behind as time slots fill up. Spreading out appointments like this also gives you more time to interact with new clients, and no business ever complained about getting more customers!

Outdoor Products

A big benefit of working as a chimney specialist is your knowledge of fireplace functionality. That doesn’t have to limit you to indoor work, as you can easily leverage your hard-won knowledge when it comes to outdoor activities on the patio. Everyone loves sitting fireside late night in the summer. That gives you the chance to cater to clients with a few additional key products.

Grills – Who doesn’t love to grill in the summer? Offering a range of both fire and gas grills will help boost product sales. The installation of built-in grills gives you a great service option if you have prior experience with masonry as well. 

Chiminea – A classic outdoor fireplace commonly found in the Western United states, the chiminea works well for more contained outdoor fires. These can be beautiful pieces to add to a patio, with various finishes and materials like clay and cast iron. 

Outdoor Pizza Oven – What better way to enjoy spending time outside than to make some home-made pizza? Outdoor brick pizza ovens are a great installation service you can provide to clients. Since the materials used for construction will be close to a standard fireplace install and repair, you won’t need to worry about sourcing inventory too much.

Gas Outdoor Fireplace – Customers with existing gas fireplaces are solid candidates for outdoor gas fireplaces. With modern styling and sleeker aesthetics, outdoor gas fireplaces make great permanent installations to outdoor areas.

Bug Protection – One nasty downside to summertime outdoors? The bugs. Luckily, there you have a variety of options available to prevent dealing with these little pests! The classic Tiki Torch with bug-repellant fluid is a go-to option for a pleasing look. You can offer alternatives like electric bug-catchers or table-top burners as well. Portable sprays are great to offer in a retails space, if you have one.

Acquiring New Knowledge and Chimney Skills

Downtime doesn’t always have to be filled with more work. Instead, you can utilize this time to improve efficiency in the office or field via training. Take this time to sign up employees for seminars or events around what’s new in the chimney industry.

Unfortunately, COVID put a big damper on trade shows or in-person seminars. Still, you have some alternative options like online classes and broadcasts. Look no further than the upcoming NCSG Virtual event for a great example of this. Keeping up with the latest helps you make sure your clients continue to get the best possible service.

Speaking of webinars, if you’re currently a Smart Service client, you should check out our webinars featuring tips and tricks on using our software. They're entirely free to attend, and cover features you may have missed in our latest updates, as well as old favorites. We keep all of our previous webinars in one convenient hub, so you can always take a few minutes to learn something new.