How to Take Time Off In Your Business (Without Everything Falling Apart)

In February, I got to spend a beautiful month in California on Coronado Island, my favorite place in the world! It was a wonderful opportunity and though I was still working, I wasn't doing nearly as many hours as usual.  

Instead, I got to spend some quiet time reflecting and dreaming about my business, relaxing on the beach, and playing with my son.  

How was this possible? How on earth could I just pick up and spend a month on the beach?  

It didn't happen by accident, that's for sure.  

I very consciously structured my business so that it can still run without me.  

I don't have to be present for every action that happens in my business, which gives me a ton of freedom I wouldn't have if I had to do everything myself.  

Here's the secret:  I have a great team to handle things for me.  

Even though I was only working minimal hours on my business for an entire month, content still got created and published.  

Client work still got scheduled and taken care of.  

Social media updates were still posted.  

I did show up for a few team meetings and client calls, but other than that, my clients were taken care of and my own business tasks were handled without me. Pretty nice, right?  

How did I set all this up?  

I started by figuring out which business tasks I don't need or like to do, or that I'm not good at, then I set out to build a great team I could trust to handle those tasks for me.  

I did this by asking around to colleagues and Facebook groups, and I got recommendations. I carefully interviewed potential team members until I found people I clicked with.  

It took a little time to get things organized and delegated, but it was well worth the investment of time and money because without my team, my Coronado Island trip never would have happened.  

After I got the team in place, how did things actually work during my trip? 

I stayed in touch with my team, but on a limited basis.  

For a few set hours each week, I made myself available for questions and updates from my team. Before I left and during the few meetings we had during my trip, I made sure everyone was clear on what needed to happen. 

I made sure not to schedule any launches or major projects for the time I was gone (though a team can potentially handle a lot of this for you too, it's just easier to do it when you want to be more available).  

I also use a few other tricks to keep things running automatically, even if I decide to spend an afternoon on the beach instead of at my desk.   

• Scheduling software is amazing!  

I took care of all my emails and social media stuff before I left so it would just go out on its own while I was dipping my toes in the sparkly waters of the Pacific. I didn't even have to be there to push “send.”  

• I scheduled the few client calls I took in advance so I wouldn't be emailing back and forth during my trip.  

• I made sure my clients knew I was gone, what my response time frame would be, and when I would be available.  

It took a bit of planning and I had to frontload some work, but it was worth it!  

If you've been dreaming of having the flexibility to take time off, I'd love to help! My team and I can take some work off your plate so you can have a real vacation. Let's talk.