It might be incredibly tempting for a business owner to work continuously and forget that weekends or vacations are just as important. As a business owner, managing your company around the clock while implementing strategies and improvements, and at the same time reaching out to more clients is something you may feel you can’t afford to set aside. This makes it challenging for any entrepreneur to take a break, even for a quick summer vacation with the family.
Even if working alone definitely allows you to accomplish more, taking a break occasionally can be beneficial. Concerned with the way things are going while you’re away? Think about this:
The truth is – taking a vacation is among the best things you can do for your business, your clients, and yourself.
- You can take a mental and physical rest on vacation.
- You’ll return with more vitality and a new outlook.
- You’ll discover that your clients and staff can function without you for a few weeks.
- You won’t experience burnout or resentment, which can ruin your relationships with clients and employees.
Prepared to go on auto-pilot? There are a few things you need to do before packing your bags: Planning, communication, the right frame of mind, and a reliable virtual assistant.
Get Into The Right Mindset
Going on vacation entails unwinding and leaving work behind. Make a sincere effort to stick to your well-earned holiday, and make plans in advance to avoid bringing work along. If you’re confined in a small cabin on a cruise ship with your laptop while everyone else is sipping Daquiris by the pool, you won’t be having much fun.
A Well-Planned Work Strategy
A well-defined plan is necessary to ensure that every task is carried out successfully to ensure your firm continues to run without you.
Every action must be accounted for, and tasks must be assigned to the appropriate individuals. You must have access to a number of excellent company planning software solutions and project management tools that can assist you and your team in automating certain procedures that allow you to make comments and take notes.
Plan your tasks so that you won’t have any deadlines to complete either during your trip or the week after you get back. Additionally, try to finish everything a week before you depart. This provides you time to catch up when you return and helps you be ready for project delays that could turn your vacation into a nightmare.
As much as possible, plan your trip three to six months in advance to give yourself plenty of time to get ready.
Client and Employee Awareness
When clients count on you to be present yet you aren’t, issues develop.
Inform them well in advance of your trip, and make sure to remind them just before you depart. To let clients know when you’ll be gone and when you’ll be back – this is almost the same as posting a notice on the door of your storefront informing them that it will be closed. An update on social media does wonders for clients.
Making the Most of Technology
A reliable internet connection and cellphone network are essentials you cannot sacrifice. You’ll want to stay on top of any business activity. This is doable nowadays no matter where on the planet you are thanks to technology.
Check your mobile data plan for cellular data. A background check on reliable network connections at your destination might be taken into consideration prior to booking. Satellite Internet: In regions where cellular networks are not available, satellite data may be the solution.
It’s simpler than ever to stay on top of urgent activities like email and client interaction because you have your smartphone and Wifi is practically ubiquitous (even on cruise ships!). Remember to keep your gadgets juiced and bring every necessary technological gizmo you’re going to need to stay charged.
If you’re planning to go off-grid, this could be a little challenging, so be sure to always carry a portable solar-powered charger as an additional potential alternate source of power.
Diligently Delegate
If things don’t run “’business as usual” while you’re away, you should re-evaluate your management skills. Learning to take a step back and let others handle things shows your confidence and trust in your team. If you’ve trained them well, you can relax and let them work. This is where investing in the right virtual staff can effectively and cost-efficiently streamline your operations and grow your business even if your virtual team is halfway across the world from you.
Even though you might be on vacation, everyone else isn’t. That is the beauty of outsourcing.
Maintaining Connections
Having a delegated virtual assistant attend to non-essential daily tasks can take a load off your worries even when you’re “out of coverage”. An outsourced customer service support can attend to queries and calls while you’re away and have an itemized call sheet ready and waiting for you to go through.
With the additional help of a voicemail message and email auto-responders, you’ll be kept up to speed once you return. Respond to urgent messages and note which ones you’ll need to respond to when you get back.
Set a designated time of day to check your voicemail and emails, as well as a specific time to communicate with your virtual team to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Key Take Aways
While taking a break from work may be challenging, it is definitely possible to have a good time on vacation if you have the correct tools. With some advance planning, a reliable team, effective use of technology, and open lines of communication – you can effectively manage your business remotely. At EVS, our virtual staffing solutions are tried and tested to help keep your operations streamlined so you can take that trip and be assured we’ve got everything covered. Call us today and find out how you can grow your business with us and save on labor costs.