If you are either self-employed or running your own business, it’s important to be in a position where you can take holidays. Working 52 weeks a year is unsustainable for most people, no matter how much they love their businesses. So, if you haven’t already taken or planned a holiday for this year, then it’s probably time you did.
Employed workers are entitled to a minimum of four weeks’ holiday, plus standard bank holidays. This is the benchmark you should use as a business owner or self-employed worker. If you are able to take more holiday and run your business successfully, that’s a real bonus.
One of the many reasons people cite for starting to work for themselves is ‘flexibility’. And that’s great on a day-to-day basis, where working for yourself allows you to manage childcare or other caring relationship or take a morning off for a healthcare appointment. But many business owners don’t take anything like the amount of holiday they would if they were employed.
Why is this?
For self-employed people, it’s often a case of ‘no work, no pay’ – and that’s a scary prospect. For small business owners it’s the worry that things won’t happen if they’re not there. In both cases, there are ways to manage these concerns so that you can get the break you need.
How to manage your holiday
Our opinion is that if you truly think your business will collapse if you go on holiday, you need to take a fresh look at how your business works. There are plenty of things you can do to get you and your business ‘holiday ready’, including:
Planning your workload – your clients will be absolutely fine with you taking a holiday, as long as you give them good notice, and have a plan in place for managing their work. In some cases, this might just be doing things ahead of time, or getting a colleague or associate to manage the account while you’re away. By having a straightforward conversation with your clients, you can work out the best way to make sure they still feel looked after while you are away.
Plan your finances – if it’s true that you won’t be earning while you’re on holiday, then make financial plans to make sure you can afford to take time off. This could be as simple as putting money aside each month to cover your costs, or plan your workload so that you have more work either side of your holiday to cover any losses. The best way to do this will depend on the type of business you run, and the way you manage pricing and invoicing with your clients.
Commit to your holiday – choose your dates, block them out in your diary and tell your clients well in advance. Book your holiday accommodation and travel so that it’s a done deal – this will stop you from pulling out of the holiday because you are worried about the business.
You might also want to think about
· Resources needed to cover your workload
· Get your team trained so they are confident while you are away
· Train your customers to leave you alone when you are on holiday
· Set an ‘out of office’ that’s clear about your break and your return date
· Plan your deadlines so you are not panicking about getting everything done before you go
If you’re worried about your business operating during your holiday, why not give us a call and we can help you put things in place to help. And if you haven’t booked your holiday yet, do it today!
Please note: This is not meant to constitute professional advice. It is generic guidance only and things may have changed since it was written – please always seek specific & tailored advice for your circumstances.