The Vacation Challenge

Photo: Lake Wenatchee, WA, August 2007. By Sunday Tollefson.

As I prepare to vacation for a few days, I realize that I talk with small business owners about vacations a lot. My question is this: do you take vacations? Can you take vacations? If you cannot take a vacation, what is the reason? And when do you expect that you will take a vacation? What if you were confined to a hospital bed tomorrow with no ability to operate your business? What would happen to your business?

For too many business owners, the answers remind them how their businesses have completely absorbed their lives. It doesn't have to be this way. In fact, I propose to you that it shouldn't be that way. Business owners who lack a balance of fun and play in their lives are sacrificing quality of life. For what?

By changing just a few aspects of their operations, they can take a vacation.

If a business is like a smoothly running engine, the parts know their roles. Marketing happens in line with a plan, finances are predictable, technology systems are functional, various procedures and workflows are documented, people understand your expectations, etc.

If you are a business owner who cannot vacation because your business will come to a grinding hault, I propose that you plan a vacation in the coming year. The challenge is ensuring that the business continues during your absence with no hiccups. By vacation, I don't mean a four-day weekend. I'm talking about two weeks away or more.

Are you up to it?

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Have you seen business owners in the "I-Can't-Vacation" predicament? What would happen to your business if you walked away for two weeks? How could planning an extended vacation affect your perceptions regarding your business?