What do you do to ready your business when you’re about to take some time off?
Do you schedule your content in advance? Alert your clients and virtual assistant? Set up an autoresponder for emails?
While these are all useful and necessary steps to do pre-vacation, there are some less practiced, but just as critical steps, that many entrepreneurs forget to take that would help them relax on their vacation with the peace of mind that everything is being taken care of.
4 Actions Most Entrepreneurs Forget to Take Before Their Holiday Break
1. Add buffer days to your calendar
Many entrepreneurs will block their calendars for the dates that they’ll be away, which is great because it ensures they won’t have clients trying to book sessions when they’re on vacation.
However, one action that’s easily overlooked is blocking off “buffer” days.
Use buffer days to ease into the swing of things after your vacation.
This could look like catching up on email, returning phone calls, preparing invoices, or planning your upcoming week.
When you block out buffer days on your calendar, you give yourself the time to comfortably get back into your routine.
2. Create or update your FAQ page
Besides writing an autoresponder email letting clients and readers know that you’re away, one way you can go the extra mile is by linking to a FAQ page based on common questions that you get.
If you already have a FAQ page, consider updating it, as many answers may have changed since you first created it.
When you have an up-to-date FAQ page, your automated answer will be able to answer emails in a more efficient manner and you can provide readers and potential clients with quick answers to their questions
3. Run through different email scenarios with your virtual assistant
If you have a team member, or you’re bringing one on before you take your vacation, a great first step is to give them template email responses based on the types of messages you usually receive.
Many entrepreneurs, however, forget the critical next step, which is to run through different scenarios with their virtual assistant in case something unusual or off-template arises.
For example, you may give your virtual assistant six different email templates based on what you usually see in your inbox, but they may receive an email asking for something entirely off-template on the very first day of your vacation.
In that situation, what are they supposed to do?
Do they try their best to come up with an answer? Contact you? Tell the reader to wait until you get back?
The answer largely depends on how long the virtual assistant has been working with you and how comfortable you feel with them.
From there, you can decide how to handle situations like this.
When you prepare for unexpected situations in advance, your team members will feel more confident and prepared while you are away on Holiday Break.
At the same time, you are able to relax knowing that they have all of the tools they need to get the job done right.
4. Conduct a test run with your virtual assistant
While many entrepreneurs will walk assistants through how to complete a task in preparation for their vacation, far less will give their virtual assistant a few days to test run being in charge without them.
If you’re only taking a week off, a test run of 1-2 days should be fine, and if you’re taking a longer amount off, like a month, you may want to consider a test run for an entire week.
During this time, you don’t have to stop working entirely but avoid your assistant’s designated tasks so they can get a complete idea of what to expect without you around.
Once the test run is over, you can reconvene with your assistant, chat about what other preparation could be useful and what preparation worked really well.
Taking the time to conduct a test run helps eliminate the stress that can come with wondering if you’ve really covered all of the necessary procedures with your assistant and help them feel more competent and comfortable in their role.
Prepare to Relax
Preparation is critical for making sure your business runs smoothly without you. It’s even more important so you can enjoy your vacation with your loved ones instead of constantly wondering if the business can really run without you.
Back To You
Which tip do you think will be most useful to you before you take a vacation? What other ways have you prepared?
