Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC Do you know what sounds great? A vacation. But you are a small business owner so you can’t take one, right? After all, if you are gone, your business will crumble.
Red flag! This doesn’t have to be your reality. Just because you own a business, doesn’t mean the business needs to own you. It’s not unreasonable to want (and take) a vacation. You can make your vacation dreams a reality by looking at your systems.
How much vacation time do you want next year?
If you want to have two weeks off in August and another two weeks at Christmas, start planning now. You can implement systems so your business runs independently of you during your vacation.
Test your systems in small increments first. What happens when you are not at your business for one or two days? What systems can you put in place to change the results of your absence?
Let’s say when you are away, you are getting calls from staff about where to put new stock. To fix this, you could create an organizational system that clearly sorts your stock. Test and improve this system over the year. Then, when you are ready to leave on vacation, you won’t get bombarded by stock questions anymore. The same principle applies to everything that happens in your business.
Working solo?
Even you can plan to have time away. Let your customers know well in advance that, for example, you are taking the month of August off. I do it; you can do it too! Plan the times you work hard and the times you rest.
At the very least, give yourself the same amount of vacation time that you would’ve got as someone else’s employee. Book your time off now, and start putting systems in place so that you can get away.
What about the money?
Perhaps you are thinking, “It’s all well and good that I can leave for a vacation, but I don’t have the money to go.” Chances are the money is there. It’s just being spent on other things that, at the time, feel more important.
Consider your time away as essential as paying a vendor for supplies. You are paying yourself for your work. It’s a fixed cost of your business. Open a bank account, deposit your payment, and watch your vacation become a reality. Saving money for time away is a great investment. Your company will be more profitable when you are happy and content.
Time away is all about creating boundaries so you can have personal freedom. If you are so entrenched in your company that you don’t have time for your health, your family, and your happiness, then what’s the point? Why are you working so hard?
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey!
