You Don’t Have To Lose Money When You Take Time Off (aka: SUMMER TIPS)

You Don’t Have To Lose Money When You Take Time Off (aka: SUMMER TIPS)

Taking time off the past two weeks made me think of you, and how many women biz owners I hear getting particularly sad about not having as much time off as you’d like in the summer, OR feeling super torn between work that has to get done and kids who want to go to the beach or play the 100th round of a board game with you.
 
 And one of the mottos we have here with the In Arms Coaching team is that being a biz owner is NOT about settling, compromise, or guilt. I teach you to have it ALL- a thriving biz, time with the kids, time for self.
 
 So I wanted to share a few tips I have for taking time off in the summer without compromising your biz, your income, or your family or self-care time.
 


Tip 1: PLAN AHEAD and block that sh*! off.
Every August (at the latest) I plan my next year out. (Usually happens in August when I get the kid’s school calendar). I FIRST put in ALL my time off for the year (Two weeks in Dec. Two weeks in August. A week or two in July. EVERY day my kid is off school. Every school vacation. A week around my birthday.).

Next, I insert time to spend ON my biz: working behind the scenes to grow IAC. This usually amounts to about a full week every 4-6 weeks). So right now, sketch out when you want to be off next summer, and alert your team– you can build your marketing calendar around that starting now.

2. Empower your team to run smoothly while you’re away.

What does your team need to keep you up and running while you’re checked out at the beach? Make sure you’re training them to be able to make simple decisions for you while you’re gone. If I know something is coming up that for some reason I can’t fully check out for, I enable my team to handle as much as possible (assign a project manager so that your team is reporting to her, and you only hear from her when necessary) and then I make strictly designated times during the day to check in and tend to what needs my attention.

3. Own Your Time.

In the summer it’s easy for me to get up early. I like to get up really early, before anyone else is up, and bang out a few hours of super-focused work before anyone is even up. That way, by the time my kid wakes I’ve already crossed a bunch of work off my list. I can tend to her for an hour (get her breakfast, plan our day, connect with her) then when she’s ready to go do her own thing for an hour or two I wrap the rest up.

This plan can potentially allow me to get in 5 hours of SUPER focused work, while being able to completely check out of my biz around 11 am to take then rest of the day off. Then I schedule time around 4-5 to spend one more hour jumping on, checking email, talking with my team if necessary, etc. before I check out for the rest of the night.

(How to own your time so you’re not feeling pulled in all directions is what I like to call a :load-bearing wall” of your biz– it’s one of the cornerstones of holding your entire biz up! Check out others that you need to have in place during the next virtual week, “Work Smart, Earn Big.” I’ll be personally supporting you in examining and shoring up YOUR load-bearing walls in your biz.)

4. Be clear about your priorities (a sub-set of “Own Your Time”)

It’s summer.
If you have kids, this is the ONE summer they’ll be this age. And one day you’ll miss them. Plan your summer around making time for them, you, AND your biz– chances are this is a reason you went into biz for yourself to begin with. If you’re super clear and focused, you can make time to be present with all three things 🙂
Even if you DON’T have kids– it is so crucial for your biz that you grow it in balance with all the other things in your life that are important to you. Your biz will do better, you’ll be happier, and everyone wins.

What do you think about these tips?

Got any others?

How do YOU make time for what you love in the summer?

What questions do you have that I can answer for you?