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The holiday season is once again here, and with it comes time to relax, focus on family and friends and take stock in what is really important in life. What if you are a small business owner who has not worked through your processes to create a business rather than a job?  Every small business owner knows that being away from the office can be just as stressful as being in it, unless you have evaluated your processes and updated them so that your business can run without you.

Phone calls from employees dealing with a minor crisis will pull your focus from your family, or your holiday dinner will be taken over by business talk. Like the merry bells of Christmas, your cell phone will constantly chime with the sounds of urgent text messages and emails that must be dealt with. Clients will need your attention, unless you have evaluated your processes and updated them so that your business can run without you.

It’s easy to let business take over personal life, but as a small business owner it’s vital that you get some time away from work.

Here are some tips for helping you switch off during the holidays.

Shut down entirely for the week

If your business can be shut down for a week, consider closing from Mid-December through to New Years. Your employees will love the time off and you won’t be bothered with urgent texts about something that just went wrong at the office. This time is generally not as productive for workers anyhow, as they all want to get home, be with loved ones, and celebrate the season.

Just make sure you give your clients some notice that you’re closing up. Good clients will respect your decision and even encourage it.

Have someone trained to deal with your absence

A big headache for many business owners is constant calls from employees who can’t carry out basic tasks or make decisions. If you plan on taking time off but are leaving the business open, have someone senior available to answer questions or take over duties other employees can’t.

Make sure employees are prepared for situations that could arise, but they can fix on their own. Can they use someone else’s computer if theirs dies? If a client calls with a crisis, which staff members can deal with each situation?

Assign one or two people—not you—to be contact people in case staff needs assistance and give those two people strict instructions about when they can contact you. You don’t need phone calls on your days off because someone doesn’t know how to work the coffee machine.

Resist the urge to plan meetings during this time

When a client comes to you just before you take your days off and requests a meeting over the holidays, it can be difficult to resist that urge. That meeting, however, will take up time and space in your brain, aside from the actual meeting time. You’ll prepare for it, you’ll think about it, you’ll plan what to say. If the meeting doesn’t go well, it might even affect the rest of your days off.

Instead, push the meeting until after the holidays. Unless the situation is dire, an extra week won’t hurt. Or ask another staff member to attend the meeting for you.

Final thoughts

If you’re taking time over the holidays, really take time. Don’t take time off but then spend that time constantly checking for work-related texts and emails or attending meetings. Put your cell phone away. Stop checking your email. Set an outgoing email that lets people know when you’ll respond to their messages and change your voicemail to note your days off. That way you can rest, relax, and enjoy your break.

If you’re a small business owner, you’ll need this time to restore your energy for January. Now go hide your cell phone!

What’s next?

Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you bring more balance to your business.  Start by taking our Business Health Check; answer truthfully!

Next if you have not done so already, create or update your Business Plan, using this complementary resource.

Need help creating a business plan which incorporates your core values and vision statement?  Get in touch to find out how we can help you reach your business, financial and lifestyle goals.

At A Parness Company CPA, there are so many ways we can help.

• Need help with your accounting?
• Want to create a tax minimization plan?
• Want to discuss your business growth plan?
• Need help with your finances?
• Are you concerned about your retirement goals?
• Maybe you need to be held accountable for your 90 day action plan?

Whatever you’re looking to do in your business, we can help. contact us for a complimentary discovery session to get started.

Our team continues learning new skills and reviews opportunities for tax saving strategies under the new law, the TCJA to bring added value to our client meetings, and we’ve been doing this for over 25 years.