We had the good fortune of connecting with David Sizemore and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
After working as a Seasonal Santa Claus professionally during the 2018 and 2019 Holiday seasons for a local Connecticut company, I decided to start my own business so that I could build up my own client base and better control my hours. As fate would have it, I needed to have my own business for the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the pandemic, so being able to pivot from in-person Santa visits to doing every visit via Zoom the past two seasons was essential. I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to visit children literally all of the US and the world during the past two Holiday seasons via Zoom and other platforms.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My story begins with my own family, as my Uncle Frank Carfora, who played the role of Santa for many, many years, could no longer do it due to health reasons. I was asked to don the red suit for our traditional Christmas Eve gatherings and loved it! I then began to do “Selfies with Santa” at the high school I worked at and enjoyed being Santa even more. In 2018, for my 50th birthday, my wife sent me to a national Santa convention (IBRBS) at the Omni Hotel in Broomfield, Colorado. It was a transformative experience for me, which propelled me to work professionally as a Santa as well as grow the “real beard” for the season. From there, I worked for two seasons on the Essex Steam Train (North Pole Express) in Essex, CT as a Santa, before starting my own business as an LLC at the end of the 2019 season.

For me. the pandemic actually gave me time during the summer and early fall of 2020 to figure out how to get my business off of the ground, how to best market myself, as well as garner new ideas about Santa from my colleagues at the CT Society of Santas. I also had a great mentor in Santa Billy Niedbala who provided a great deal of guidance, support, and encouragement.

Lastly, what I want the world to know is that as a Santa, my vocation is to bring joy and smiles to children of all ages. I am just as happy visiting with families online through my home studio as I am with in-person visits.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As a resident of central Connecticut, there are a number of places to visit depending on the time of season. During the summer, the CT shoreline and the calm waters of Long Island sound have several beaches to visit, whether state parks or town beaches. CT is famous for great seafood establishments and I would highly recommend Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough in Noank in far southeastern CT. CT also has great minor league professional teams, especially the Hartford Yardgoats, the Double A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies who play in a beautiful downtown ballpark called Dunkin’ Donuts Park. CT is also home to great theater and stages quite a few Broadway type of plays that get their start in CT before going on in NYC. Lastly, where I live is a two hours drive from both Boston and New York City, so those make for great day trips as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Special thanks to my web designer Mark McKinney who not only put me in touch with your organization, but who’s efforts in designing my website has been my lifeline in building hundreds of clients all over the world!

Website: www.davidsizemorellc.com

Instagram: david.sizemore.39

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/david-sizemore-869a271b7

Twitter: @DavidSizemoreL1.

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