Burcu, a 38-year-old certified public accountant in Rize, Turkey, runs thMenu reselling as a side hustle. Her day job is intense and evenings are limited. In year one she used a single playbook year-round and signed 7 customers. In year two she split her approach by season and added 15 more — totaling 22 customers and ₺8,900 MRR. The key shift: cold email + Zoom in winter, field sales along the coast in summer.
Winter (Nov-Mar): Cold Email + Zoom Demos
Rize winters mean constant rain and low temperatures. Burcu refuses to walk door-to-door in rain, and restaurant owners are off-season and won't entertain salespeople in person. So winter is fully digital: weekday evenings 7-9 PM, she sends 25 personalized emails. Subject line starts with the restaurant name (e.g., "QR menu demo for Rize Park Restoran"), and the first sentence references a recent Google Maps review.
If they reply, she sends a Zoom link. The demo is 15 minutes: 5 min screen-share, 5 min pricing, 5 min Q&A. In winter she averages 3 signups per month with a 48% close rate. Off-season owners are calm, listen longer, and decide faster — they have headspace to evaluate.
Summer (Apr-Oct): Coastal Walk-Ins
Early April the Black Sea coast wakes up. Fish restaurants, tea gardens, and boutique hotels in Ardeşen, Pazar, and Çayeli prep for season. Burcu spends 2 days a week (full Saturday + Wednesday evening) walking the coast with her iPad. She sits down at a table and shows a live demo in under 10 minutes.
- Season prep (Apr-May): owners are hiring staff and revising menus — digital tools are top of mind
- Face-to-face demos let the owner scan the QR code right there, making it tangible
- Peak season (Jul-Aug) owners are slammed — schedule for early Saturday or Wednesday evenings
Data and Comparison
Two-year data shows the seasonal split is statistically clear. Winter email: 612 sent, 47 demos, 22 signups. Close rate 47%. Summer field: 138 visits, 65 demos, 31 signups. Close rate 48%. Burcu's blended close rate in year one was 31% — matching channel to season lifted conversion by 17 points.
MRR distribution is balanced too: winter adds about ₺720/month new MRR, summer ₺980/month. Total ₺8,900 MRR — a 22% net income bump on top of her accounting practice. For Burcu, this side hustle now runs on a seasonal calendar, just like accounting itself peaks in Feb-Mar.
FAQ
Must you split a side hustle by season? Only if your region is tourism-driven or weather-sensitive. Year-round mall restaurants in big-city downtowns see less benefit.
Where do you get the email list? Burcu sends from her accounting firm's domain (boosts trust), and builds the list manually from Google Maps + the local chamber of commerce registry.
How many hours per week in summer? About 8-10 hours total (6 hours Saturday on the road, 2 hours Wednesday nearby, 1 hour evening follow-up). Winter is 10-12 hours of email + demos.
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