Santa means business and business is good

In 2018, Santa, aka Mitch Allen, got a present when Barbara Corcoran invested in his business, HireSanta, on Shark Tank. The year before, the company did about $338,000 in business. After he walked onto the set with 20 of his Santas and walked away with an investment, HireSanta.com did $1.4 million. In 2025, the Southlake-based company did $4 million. All told, it has passed $20 million in sales. “Barbara’s worry in the Tank was that we only make money about 10 weeks a year. She was right. We just got very good at those 10 weeks,” Allen said, chuckling.

Other measures of growth When Allen went on Shark Tank, the company employed about 1,000 Santas. Today HireSanta.com has more than 6,000, and it adds more than 500 new Santa Claus entertainers every year. Bookings also have increased…by about 400%. “Every December we get more requests than we have Santas, especially on Saturdays and Sundays,” said Allen, who added, “6,000 Santas sounds like a lot —until it’s the second Saturday in December.”

Investment vs. exposure Corcoran’s investment was $200,000 for 10% of the company and half the profits until she was paid back. Allen said the exposure has far exceeded her investment. “Anybody can say they run the best Santa company. It’s different when five investors grill you on national TV and one of them writes a check,” he said. “That kind of third-party validation can’t be bought. “Here’s the part I’m proudest of: Barbara got her money back faster than she has from any other company.” The original episode ran in 2018, with updates in 2019 and 2023. The episodes re-run on CNBC three or four times a year, and ABC has repeated them. “Most companies pay to keep a commercial on the air. Ours keeps running, and I’ve never gotten a bill,” he said. Allen said the show changed how corporate buyers see them, too. “As seen on Shark Tank gets you a callback that a Santa company in Southlake never would,” he said. Corcoran is still an owner—and a fan. “Last December, when she made a deal with a Christmas caroling company, she pointed to us as proof that a holiday entertainment business can scale,” Allen said, adding with a smile, “She’s also called me a marketing genius. I try not to bring that up more than once a day.”

How HireSanta makes money HireSanta charges the client one price and pays the Santa a set fee. The difference is its profit.

There’s no placement fee, and Santas pay nothing to join. A family or company books through HireSanta. com and pays up front. His company matches the right Santa, manages the details, pays the Santa directly and handles the paperwork. About 80% of its business comes from companies, retailers and organizations, with the other 20% being families, Allen said. Clients range from Disney, Amazon, the Ritz-Carlton and the Dallas Cowboys, to the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball, and theme parks, resorts and cities. “Companies have figured out that Santa is the one spokesperson with universal name recognition and no scandals,” he said. HireSanta also books the Easter Bunny each spring, and HireMariachis.com books mariachi bands year-round. Both are entities of HireSanta.

About the Santas A working Santa who commits to the full season typically earns $7,000 to $10,000 between early November and Christmas Eve, Allen said. Allen finds Santas in Santa schools and at conventions, events such as Lone Star Santas Roundup in Grapevine, through a professional Santa Facebook group, referrals, and through “State of the Season,” a Facebook Live event he hosts. “Then we find the Santa who fits, whether that’s a Santa with media experience, a bi-lingual Santa, an ASL Santa or a Santa who reflects the families he’ll visit,” he said. Also, Allen said, reliability is everything. “The beard gets you the interview. Answering your phone on Dec. 20 gets you re-booked,” he said. Every Santa is background checked and self-insured. HireSanta carries additional insurance.

The Santas are independent professionals, and most invest thousands of dollars in custom-made outfits, Allen said. HireSanta provides everything around the performance: the client, the booking, the paperwork, payment and coaching.

Seasons “December is when we deliver. The rest of the year is when we build the company,” he said. Spring is recruiting. Summer is sales. HireSanta runs on a core team of five full-time employees, plus about a dozen people around the world who handle specialized tasks. “We stay lean on purpose. AI helps us answer thousands of in-bound emails with personal replies instead of canned templates, work that would otherwise take a much bigger staff,” Allen said.

When a Santa calls in sick Allen said his favorite miracle story started with a 3 a.m. phone call. “One of our Santas told us he wouldn’t be in the chair at 10 a.m. That gave us seven hours to find a replacement, in the middle of the season, when every good Santa is already booked,” he recalled. “So, we woke up half the Santa world. Emails, texts, phone calls. We found our Santa, he was in the chair at 10, and the client never knew there was a problem.”

Most challenging assignment “We were at Ski Dubai, the indoor ski resort inside Mall of the Emirates in the UAE. It’s the only gig where Santa needed sunscreen to get to the snow,” Allen said. On paper it was a Santa booking. In practice, it was international talent staffing: flights, lodging, per diems, currency exchange and a 10-hour time difference with the home office. “We also prepped for cultural differences, so every greeting and every photo landed the right way,” he said. “The client buys a moment. We handle the hundred decisions behind it.”

Where they serve Allen said Texas is still a core market, but only about 5% of the business is in D-FW. They staff Santas in all 50 states and around the world. “D-FW still matters, though. It’s home, it’s one of the biggest corporate headquarters markets in the country, and it’s where I make my one public appearance each year, at the Dallas Holiday Parade,” he said.

Mall Santa competition Allen said the mall Santa isn’t going anywhere, but malls are a smaller part of the story. “Companies have learned what parents already knew. When Santa is there, families show up and stay longer,” he said. “Families have changed, too. They want more personal visits and more time with Santa.” Also, the virtual visits that became popular during the Covid-19 pandemic are mostly gone, he added. “Kids would rather sit on Santa’s lap than watch him buffer,” he said with a grin.

AI and Santa “If your product is a video of Santa saying a child’s name, AI is coming for you,” he said. “If your product is a real man with a real beard kneeling down in a living room, AI just made you rarer. “Kids are the world’s toughest fact-checkers. They ask follow-up questions, and they pull the beard.” Allen stressed he is not anti-AI. He has AI agents working for HireSanta every day. “They don’t eat the cookies, and they’ve never asked for Christmas Eve off,” he said, laughing. “AI handles the logistics so our people can focus on the part that has to stay human.”

Repeat corporate clients Allen said more than 85% of the corporate clients re-book. “If an independent Santa gets the flu on Dec. 12, the planner with 400 employees and their kids waiting doesn’t want his voicemail,” he said. “She wants a company. “So, we earn the renewal: vetted, background-checked Santas, insurance documentation, vendor paperwork, one invoice, coverage in multiple cities, and someone who answers the phone in December.”

Companies before, lessons carried over Before HireSanta, Allen built LeadRival, an internet advertising company. He also is a partner at Allied Rivals, a lead generation and digital marketing firm. “Lead generation taught me how customers search and what makes them pick up the phone. That’s why HireSanta.com ranks No. 1 on Google for the searches that matter,” he said. “We’re a marketing company that happens to deliver Santas.” The second lesson came from the Entrepreneurs Organization: learn from people who’ve done it. “Before I ever walked on the set, members of EO Fort Worth, a chapter I helped found, and EO Los Angeles ran practice pitches and a mock Shark Tank for me,” he said.

Still in the suit Allen’s first time in a Santa suit was at the Christmas party for a company he had founded. “I’ve been Santa since 2007,” he said. “I keep doing it because it’s the best market research in the company. In the suit, I see exactly what our clients and Santas see.” Allen said he has returned to some homes so many years that he’s watched the kids grow up. “One year I walked in and saw a framed photo on the mantle, Santa Allen hugging a little boy who now stood almost to my shoulder,” he said.