Not unusual at all for carborated engines, this is a good time to switch to fuel injected :-)
The problem with starting the engine comes from
a cold carborater coupled with a weaker battery from the cold temps. The best advice to give in regards to cold starts is to preheat the engine for a while. While on the subject, remember to have someone manually turn the prop a few times to limber up the oil, in the cold temps the oil becomes quite dense and increases the stress on the battery