I had zero inbound leads in July. In fact, I’d also zero leads from outbound activities as well. Apart from servicing my existing clients, little happened in July. There are many reasons why this happened. Some might put this down to the “summer slump”, others say my business is too new to get inbound activity. There’s also the small factor that I paused business, by taking over 5 weeks’ holiday.
The truth is a combination of all three. Or, maybe my business is doomed to failure.
As a solopreneur or small agency owner, taking time off can be one of the most challenging times you can face. In the start-up phase, if you stop working, the business stops, both current projects and the development of future activities.
Last week I saw a post from an entrepreneur who noted they’re going on their first holiday in 5 years of business. I will also note they didn’t say they were taking the whole time off… This is comparable to my own experience, but if you follow any business owner on social media, they make entrepreneurship sound like you can take a holiday when you want and work from wherever you want.
For the most part, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Though it’s something I now personally have, that comes with the luxury, of not needing new business.
The thing is, you work incredibly hard to start and grow your company. And the compounding effect of this work is that it should start to grow. But how can you take time off and not set yourself back?
To be honest, it’s pretty hard at the start. But as you add systems, processes and team members it does eventually become easier.
In short, it comes with stability.
And that’s the purpose of this article. How can you as a business or agency owner take time off? How can you create consistency and stability in your company to leave the business, if only momentarily?
Well, let’s answer that.
Preparation is key
Work won’t just magically disappear because you’re on holiday. Your pre and post-holiday workloads are going to be higher. Either you work a bit harder on the shoulders of your holiday, you take on less work, or you bring in support to help you.
2-3 weeks before any holiday I emailed/called each of my key clients to get an understanding of upcoming projects and the deadlines for these. The purpose is to get any work scheduled in as early as possible or to plan it for your return.
You have a decision to make. Are you prepared to work while away? In an emergency scenario? If so, prepare any files or materials you might need. If not, then these materials can go to a partner or freelancer.
It can be tempting to schedule social posts when you’re away, but that comes down to your marketing activities and sales plans. Will a short pause disrupt business development? If so, plan your posts. If not, they can wait.
Having a look at the data on my LinkedIn during my time away, my reach dropped to pretty much zero. I was not engaging with prospective clients nor was I being seen in their feed. My regular interactions and inbound leads dried up entirely.
There’s a lot of talk about feeding the algorithm and ensuring your content is seen by relevant people. The bottom line is, that if there’s no activity, there can be no positive result.
And this poses the question that was my only real concern in the early days of business. If your income is likely to be lower because of annual leave, can you afford it? And I’m not talking about the cost of your trip, but the reduction in income and the cost involved in getting back to full steam after the break.
One tip I would always advise is to ensure you prepare for this in the prior months. Putting a little aside to offset any potential loss in revenue is the key to not worrying about it when time rolls around. The bigger the financial buffer you have, the less you’ll be stressed when there’s no income.
Switching off
Congratulations, you’ve made a great choice and I can see you sitting on a lounger sipping your Mai Tai or two. You might be feeling guilty about taking some time out of the business. I promise that there is rarely a problem or issue that can’t wait until you’re home. Remember, your client’s emergencies are not yours.
You may have chosen to do a little work while away, know that it’s fine. But set yourself boundaries. I dedicated time to work on the majority of my early-year travels. I checked emails, delegated tasks and replied to let people know I’d action non-priority work on my return.
Understand this. You are entitled to time off. Being anxious about this is normal, but remember. It’s just a pause, not the off switch for your business. But it’s important that you actually switch off. Turn off your email notifications both on your phone and on your watch. Take time to relax and decompress now, because your time out of the business, will give you the energy and the motivation to grow it on your return.
It’s also fine to use this downtime to brainstorm. Rarely does great creativity happen in the midst of deadlines, targets and busy schedules. Bring a notepad and jot down ideas or create a mindmap. Whatever works for you. Some of our best ideas happen in the downtime. It’s a nice way to think big without restriction.
Most importantly, enjoy your time off. You’ve earned it.
Getting back to business
You may have experienced Sunday night dread in your career. Often, the night before you return to work this can be amplified. There are varying trains of thought on how to best deal with these ‘Sunday scaries’. Personally, I like to tackle them head-on.
I do this by making a list of everything I need to achieve the following morning. I’ll be honest, If it suited to do so, I started on my email replies on the aeroplane home (saving them to drafts).
Whatever your process, the most important thing is to get yourself motivated for the first hour, day and week ahead. How are you going to make this a success? What tasks do you need to complete for this to happen?
Prioritise these. What tasks are you going to make the biggest impact on your return to work? Do you need to focus on business development, or is client management critical? Clear the decks, get back on track and use this bout of energy and focus to move your business forward at pace.
For many, the hardest part of returning from time off is getting the motivation to ramp up business growth activity once again. And I get it. Relaxing by the pool, going for dinner and spending time alone or with loved ones is an amazing feeling.
None of that would be possible without putting the effort into your business. If you want more holidays, better holidays or indeed early retirement, then you need to get your head back into business quickly. One of the key areas we focus on in my business coaching sessions is accountability and I have many clients who schedule our next session in their first week back.
I always found that taking time out of the business gave me a renewed sense of urgency. When I was travelling, I stayed in beautiful places and admired the wealth around me. And yes, I wanted some of that. It gave me the drive to kick our business into a higher gear and work towards our ambitious goals.
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