My column this week at the Tennessean is on rest and vacation:
Rest. Entrepreneurs can never seem to get enough of it. Vacations. Not a word that is in many entrepreneurs’ vocabularies.
According to a study just released by American Express Small Business Monitor, about two-thirds of small business owners find it stressful balancing their personal and business lives. Yet true rest and real vacations are essential not only for the entrepreneur’s personal health but for the health of the business.
So how do you build a business that allows you to create balance in your life?
You can find the entire column here at the Tennessean.
I have never gone on a deliberate holiday. Instead I take every second weekend off. People still think I am crazy because I still work the 7 day working week two times in a month.
I just got back from a much needed 7 day R&R in Seaside, OR. It’s the first vacation I’ve had for a very long time. I was nervous about taking the time off at first but come to find out it was a great way to make my customers feel even MORE appreciated.
I used the vacation as a tool to enhance the relationship I have with my customers. I called all my key clients a couple weeks in advance to give them a heads up and to plot out a schedule of “must-do’s” prior to leaving town. I followed up a few days before I left to ask if there were any loose ends to tie up. The response was fantastic. Going on vacation actually made my customers feel more appreciated than ever.
With that being said, I’m off to Expedia to plan another one 🙂
I find that as a business owner- you just have to let go and do the time off thing. It’s little like base jumping into a black cave, but well worth it.
Joe