Small business owners typically maintain very rigorous schedules, even during the summer! Depending on what industry you work in, summer could actually be your busiest season. So, what happens when you want to get away? Or, when one of your employees want to go on vacation? Taking a break plays an important role in productivity, so you want to do your best to make it work. In a small business, it often just requires a little more preparation beforehand. Here’s what you need to know.
The Key is Advance Notice
Encourage employees (including yourself) to try to plan ahead when it comes to vacation. If you know this time of year is your busy season, try to schedule your days off around it! Certain industries will even have “blackout” periods when you’re not allowed to take off (outside of an emergency). For accountants, that’s usually between March and April. For retailers, it tends to fall around holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
While this isn’t a practical solution for all businesses, having a good workplace culture will allow everyone to work together to get the time off that’s needed. You can keep a large calendar at work for employees to write their requests for time off—or do so electronically. That allows them to see who’s going to be out when, so the other staff members know that they’ll need to present (and potentially help out a little more).
You can do the same! Let your employees know when you’re not going to be here and designate someone to be in charge. You can even start out slow, with a couple of days here and there, before taking off a full week or two. If you’ve established a practice of alternating time off, then they should understand when it’s your turn and be willing to assist. After all, you’d do the same for them!
Have You Considered a Temporary Shutdown?
Again, this isn’t really a one-size-fits-all solution, but for some people, it just makes more sense to close the doors for a week or two. During an off season, of course. You can either opt for a full shutdown, or just leave a minimal staff behind. We see it a lot with restaurants where the owners want a break, so they decide to give their entire staff off at the same time. Keep in mind, you should still expect some time off requests outside of this period, but it may help to limit scheduling struggles overall.
Sole proprietors may also want to consider this option in order to obtain a much-needed break. Without a full staff on-hand to assist you, it can be difficult to truly get away. So, occasionally, you may need to change your voicemail, set an automatic reply for your inbox, and just unplug. Even if it’s only for a few days, or involves you leaving a few hours early, that extra time to spend with family and friends will help you recharge. We understand how hectic your schedule can be, but that only makes vacation time more important. Your small business will thrive more if you’re not burnt out!
So, whether or not you’ve actually gotten a vacation this summer, now’s the time to start planning for the next one. As a small business owner, it’s up to you to set the trends toward time off for your staff. So, be flexible, be organized, and above all else, don’t forget to take time for yourself. If you need help planning and projecting so you can take a vacation without worry, we can do that too! ENSO Accounting offers year-round business solutions, not just tax filing services. Contact us today to learn more.
