Christmas greetings (and the story of a Christmas tree vendor)

Yesterday, we went to celebrate Chase & Snow's Christmas party - we had lunch in a neighbouring town and enjoyed authentic stone oven pizzas. 

We sat down at a window table and ordered the pizzas. Looking out the window, at the edge of the parking lot, I spotted a Christmas tree vendor. The edge of the parking lot was lined with handsome Christmas trees of all sizes. There was a sign "Local Christmas Trees" with a price list underneath and a handy tree packing machine next to it. The tree vendor, probably the entrepreneur himself, slowly walked in front of the row of trees in silence, alone. There was already some snow on his shoulders and you could tell from his face that he had been out for quite some time.

As I waited for my pizza, I looked at this lonely man and felt sad. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about the nature of things, which I guess you could also call purpose or mission. I guess the nature, purpose or mission of a car is to transport people and goods from one place to another. The nature of a sauna is to make people sweaty and happy. The nature of our cat Miss Sopie is to eat, sleep and jump on people’s laps (with good success). 

The nature, purpose and mission of an entrepreneur is to serve customers. 

As I watched this lonely entrepreneur, I thought how sad it is when you want to serve, but there is no one there who wants your help. 

However, at about the same time as our pizzas arrived, things started to happen. First, a man drove up in a car and chose a small tree for himself. A couple arrived on foot and took a medium sized tree with them. A father and son arrived with a large trailer and bought one large tree and it looked like they got another smaller one, too. At one point, there was almost a traffic jam in front of the row of trees! Fortunately, a small lady, who was obviously one of the staff, had also arrived at this point. There was a tree to suit’s needs everyone, and business was booming!

During dessert, the man I had first observed left the lady to tend to the business and drove off in his car, hopefully for a break somewhere warm. 

How amazing it is when an entrepreneur gets to live out his nature and purpose, to serve his customers! Families get a beautiful tree to take home and the tree farmer gets paid for his work, as well as the chance to buy a few things to put under his own Christmas tree. Genuine, honest trading always benefits both parties. 

This past year has been very quiet for Chase & Snow. Many times this year I have been that lonely entrepreneur, wondering what is to come. However, at Chase & Snow we decided not to give up and to really concentrate in product development and marketing. Now, at the end of the year, we have been able live out our nature more, and several projects have been completed. At the beginning of January, we will start building three new websites. The quiet times are over, I hope. 

I really do hope so. That in 2024 I will be able to fulfil my purpose as an entrepreneur and serve more and more customers with warmth and a big heart, as I always do. That we can find the right service package for all our customers, one that serves them better than they ever dared to hope for. That we can help small businesses succeed - our own business included. 

To all our customers, partners and other readers, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - and to all entrepreneurs among you, a very busy start to the year! 

This text was written by Lumia Huhdanpää-Jais, the Snow half of Chase & Snow.