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You’re listening to episode 138 and we are talking about vacations and how to prepare your business for a vacation so that you can actually unplug and take a real break.

Many business owners haven’t taken a real vacation for years. And when they do, they usually take work with them. They’re dealing with client queries, answering emails, giving feedback and instructions to their team. Paying bills. It can feel like you just never get a break as a business owner. There is always something that needs your attention, that needs to be done. And it can feel impossible to break away for even a couple of days without being plugged into the business.

So, we go to the beach with our phones and we have the laptop close by in case we need to sneak away. This isn’t really a vacation, right? It’s just work with a nice view or different environment.This is obviously frustrating for your family. And for you.

Taking vacations where you aren’t constantly checking in, where you can really switch your brain off from work and be totally present is hard. And it is possible.

I am about to go on a two week vacation and want to run you through how I prepare my business for a vacation and how you can do it too so that you can get the right structures in place and set your business up with each vacation you take so that eventually these vacations can be real unplugged, disconnected vacations that give you a physical and mental break from your business.

My business is a very lean business, I don’t have a big team. I have one person, who I call my Wizard of Operations because she’s amazing at making sure that things run smoothly and she has also been trained in every area of my business. So she isn’t specialized in just one thing, she can do everything that I can do in the business. Then I outsource my accounting. And I also have a back up coach that can stand in for me if I am not available to do my weekly group coaching calls.

If you have a larger team, there might be a few more moving pieces to the puzzle since you need to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that communication is happening effectively. And of course if you don’t have a team at all and you’re a solo entrepreneur, you may have other challenges that you need to consider and solve for in order to be able to take a break.

Regardless of what your business looks like, it is possible to set your business up so that it can run independently of you. And in my opinion this is something every business owner should do. Because even if you do love what you do and you don’t mind taking vacations where you still do some work, if you’re always doing all of the work, the business cannot function if you’re not there. This means you are the bottleneck to the growth of your business. And sometimes life happens. Sometimes it’s not a vacation but illness or tragedy that strikes and we can’t work. And if you don’t work, and there is no income coming in…this can be devastating.

So, let’s dig into how I prepared for my vacation that I am taking. At the time of this recording, by the time you listen to it I will be back in action.

I plan my vacations ahead of time. Usually at least 6 months out. Unless it is a longer vacation. So for a vacation that is 1 or two weeks, 6 months is fine (depending on where your business is, right. I am just going to assume that you haven’t had a vacation in ages), but for 3 or 4 weeks, and anything beyond that, I would suggest planning 12 - 18 months in advance.

I set the dates for the vacation in my calendar, and I let my team know. I book the accommodation, flights, anything that cements it in. It’s happening. This is important because it gives us a deadline for the structure we need to get in place so that the business can stand on its own two feet by the time we go. The vacation date becomes the deadline for a business that can run without you.

I create a Vacation Project Board

Visualize being away from your business. Really think about everything that will happen while I’m away.

I have a trello board with everything that needs to be done before I leave, as well as a list of things that will need to happen while I am away.

This board is shared with my team and it creates a space where they can document any decisions they needed to make or challenges that come up while I was on vacation so that when I am back we can start working on getting the structure and systems in place so that those same challenges don’t come up again in the future. We use the board in a debrief meeting the day I am back so that I can get back up to speed and we have clear actions we need to focus on.

Batch/Automate

We create an action plan for everything that needs to be in place before I leave. That is why it’s important to plan in advance so that you have enough time to get those things done while serving your clients. 

For the actions that will need to happen while I am away, I ask myself, what can I batch or do in advance (especially if it is something only I can do) and what can I transfer to my team. What can I not transfer or batch and how am I going to solve for that. I will speak more about this in a minute. 

For me, some of the things I batch and schedule are my podcast, and any payments and invoices that need to go out.

For my podcast, episodes are batched for the entire trip and a week or two after I am back so that when I do return I am not thrown under stuff that needs to happen urgently. I like to keep the week I am back relatively open so that I can check in with my clients, and get up to speed with what happened while I am away and create any action plans for the things that are listed on the vacation board.

I decide what I will and won’t do while on vacation.

There is no right or wrong. It’s about being intentional and also communicating that to your family and friends who may be with you on the vacation. Share this with your family. If they know that you are going to spend an hour a day on work, while they are at the beach, then you’re there for them. Present. Not thinking about work. Everyone will enjoy it so much more. 

I prepare my team. My accountant, my operations manager. I bring my stand-in coach up to speed.

We make sure that everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what they will be responsible for while I am away. We decide ahead of time how we will deal with thongs that come up and how they will contact me if it really is an emergency and I need to step in.

The days before you go on vacation can feel very overwhelming. Even if you did plan and prepare for this vacation, you may still feel a bit anxious about leaving. This is where you need to trust that the work you did is enough and your team will come to the party. This is probably the hardest thing. Things are completely prepared for my vacation and I still have this nagging feeling that I am forgetting something. Just remember that it takes time to switch off. To go from go go go to relax. It’s okay if it takes you a couple of days to slow down and really relax. This is why I recommend taking the week before you go on holiday to start the winding down process. Don’t commit to things that will add pressure in the week before you go. Reduce your work hours that week as much as possible and start mentally preparing yourself for rest and relaxation. 

Here’s what I do in the week before I go away.

I reduce screen time. I will read a fiction book the week before instead of binging something on netflix or learning something business related on Youtube.. I try to get as much sleep as possible. I meditate in the morning and evening. And I set the intention to slow down and get into vacation mode.

Something else that helps me as well is that when things go wrong while I am on vacation, it isn’t a bad thing. We actually want things to pop up as we take these shorter breaks because it shows us where we need to make changes. You get to decide how you deal with emergencies and what exactly an emergency is while you’re away. That should also put your mind at ease a bit.

Go ahead and plan that vacation. Your business (and you) will be better for it.

Would you like me to help you prepare your business for a vacation? Join me in the Vacation Mode On! 3 Part Workshop Series that is happening in August. You will know exactly what you need to get in place for your business and get 1:1 support from me in implementing it. Grab your ticket to the series here

You can watch this weeks podcast video HERE

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