One of the most commonly overlooked essential needs of someone with their own business is vacation time. Most entrepreneurs, knowing exactly how much their business makes when they’re paying attention, see a vacation as a double hit – there’s the cost of the vacation package itself, and then there’s the cost of not running your business directly on top of it.

People who run their own business are self starters by definition; they may not be the classic “Type A” aggressive personality, but they’re the kinds of people who have trouble delegating things. And this costs them in productivity, because they won’t take time away from their business to relax.

Relaxation is important – not just to your own overall physical and emotional and mental health, but to your business as well. A surprising amount of innovation happens when people are having fun and having a vacation – sitting by the pool drinking Mai Tai’s can be the start of your next great business plan, and serial entrepreneurs (people who start and sell businesses, then move on to other things) usually start their new business after an extended break.

If you’ve got a business that’s large enough to have employees, one of the perks of having employees is that you can designate some of them to run things when you’re gone. Set aside a specific time each day to check back with the office for any updates, and expect the week after the vacation to be one where you’re catching up with things (and make notes on what types of things weren’t done while you were out – that’s a direct recipe for where you can improve training in the future.)

Now, if your business is home based, there’s probably no-one to hand things off to, in house. Out of house, you probably have people who work in the same field you do; offer a vacation swap – you’ll cover their clients when they go on vacation, if they’ll cover yours when you go. If this isn’t possible, do your clients the courtesy of letting them know two weeks in advance of when your vacation is going to be. They’ll understand the need for a vacation; they just need to be able to plan their business needs around it.

While on your vacation, bring the laptop and bring the cell phone – and then very carefully leave them in the hotel room until early evening. Don’t start your vacation days with email and phone calls; they’ll only make you stress out about the business, rather than enjoy yourself. Do schedule a set “work time” where you skim your emails, reply to the most urgent ones possible, and otherwise tell yourself it can wait.

This time management is also important at trade shows; a lot of trade show attendees make the mistake of trying to run their exhibitor’s booth (or walk the aisles if they aren’t exhibitors) while also maintaining contact with the business back home. This inevitably makes a bad impression and ensures that you’ll miss something important. So, yes, it’s important to keep up with the details on the home front. It’s also important to pay attention to why you’re there in the first place.

Tags: home based business, Home Business, home business advice, internet business, work at home business

posted by Chris Simpson