Prepare to Unplug

The freedom of business ownership comes at a cost for many. While it is true that a business owner can come and go as they wish it is also true that most business owners have the business at the top of their mind 24x7.

As we begin the summer with the coming of Memorial Day this is an opportunity to prepare for your business to be running without you, at least for a short while.

To be clear, please don't mistake this message for a lack of awareness or sensitivity to what Memorial Day is about. Memorial Day is completely about remembering those that sacrificed for our freedoms and way of life. At the same time it is also the social norm for vacations to begin right after the school year is done and the temperatures warm up. So here is a list of things all owners should address before taking some time off.

PLANNING

Calendar: Be proactive in managing your calendar. Block those times on your calendar when you know you will away. Failure to do so can allow people to get on your calendar that you are then trying to tactfully reschedule.

Critical Activities: Recognize what is crucial to be done before and after your absence. Your workload is likely to increase before your absence and failure to be proactive likely means a rush to cram it all in before you are gone, get a head start. Same is true on the back end. Know if you have a critical task a day or two after your return. Anticipate you will need these first few days for "re-entry" and make room on the calendar.

Family: Sometimes work creeps into vacation, do your best to prevent that at all costs, but if it is likely to happen make sure you know which parts of the vacation are mandatory hands off.

COMMUNICATE

To whom? everyone. Start with your team so they can prepare their activities and calendar. Provide opportunity for questions and discussion both before and after. Set the ground rules.

If you interact with your customers regularly then let those that need to know what is happening. and the same is true for your suppliers an partners that need to know.

Use technology such as out of office messages and voice mail messages. This sets expectations for those that didn't know before. Also this is a great time to set up some other points of contact and let the team take care of things while you are away.

TRAINING

Vacation and time away from the business is a great time for the company to learn and grow.

First, some regular tasks can be shared with the team and see how they handle it without you. You could be pleasantly surprised and may find some tasks you can delegate forever.

Second, the times you usually use for your team 1 on 1's could be times they repurpose to learn new things on their own.

Finally, step up your knowledge. While its critical to detach it can also give you perspective to review the business from a distance and see new opportunities. If the vacation allows it, then think about what you want to learn and how you can grow as an owner. Is there a book or articles you should be reading? Are their videos or podcasts you can watch while traveling? See below for the Online Business Education Portal with the free trial :) Is there a colleague or competitor in the area where you are going that you don't normally get to engage with. Yes, again, respect the sanctity of vacation but take advantage of the opportunities that are fun and unique.

DELEGATE AND EMPOWER

Let some stuff go and give guidelines and boundaries for the team to take care of things for awhile. Do it right and you will not only have a relaxing time but the business will improve while you do less, not more.

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Creating Your Abundance,

John Davis