Will you ever have an undisturbed holiday again?! Yes, some advanced planning is all it takes...
Are you a new business owner and wondering if you’ll ever be able to go on holiday again?!
Do you already take your work on holiday with you?
In July last year, the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that 81% of entrepreneurs work on holiday, with 1 in 5 entrepreneurs not taking any kind of holiday in the first two years of starting their business.
I’m here to tell you that you CAN achieve it, with the proper planning...
There have been times in my own entrepreneurial life that I’ve found myself in the hotel room, conducting a Zoom meeting on my phone, or even planning to use the downtime to brainstorm new ideas. But I looked around me and realised I was making the wrong choice, I planned holidays to take a break, and see the world with my family, and that’s what I should be doing.
I hope these three considerations will help you make the same choice and find a way to switch off and have a successful holiday...
1. Pick the right time
This comes back to having a comprehensive business plan and understanding what obstacles could be around the corner. Can you reflect on the past and see any patterns in your business operations? In the past you may have chosen a time to go away according to certain criteria – school holidays, last minute deals, or climate, but now you’re a business owner, your clients and deadlines need to be considered too...
2. Crisis management
Unfortunately, you can almost guarantee something will go wrong while you’re away! Before you go, can you prepare someone else to step in for you in the event of a crisis? Do you have the necessary apps on your phone to deal with it? Have you prepared all your clients for your absence in advance?
I find it useful to have in mind the things you absolutely cannot ignore while on holiday, so give yourself a set of criteria that defines a real emergency. Will it cost you money, will it cost you a client or a truly valuable opportunity or relationship?
3. Prepare in advance
As I mentioned above, who can you prepare for your absence in advance, and how? If you have a go-to person, they will need to know everything about your holiday, even flight times! They’ll need to know your set of ‘emergency criteria’ as well. You could suggest a window of availability during which time they can contact you, and I’ve found that in that case most people have figured out their own solution by the time that window opens... Then you’ll know it’s an emergency if they’re contacting outside of that window.
You could add a sentence to your email signature a couple of weeks or more in advance, notifying everyone of the dates you’ll be unavailable. Choose your words carefully in your out of office notification as well, ‘with limited connectivity’ for example sets people up for the fact there’ll be a delay, but just saying you’re away might not be clear enough.
And a bonus fourth tip! If you really WANT to do a bit of work, get a lightning bolt of inspiration or just really feel the NEED to check in, do it (But plan the times you check and turn off non-critical notifications otherwise you’ll be checking most minutes and missing out on the reasons you took that holiday). There’s no sense in feeling tense or worried about your business while you’re on holiday...
Mike Foster
The Entrepreneurs Mentor
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