With holidays now fast approaching, have you thought about your business and ensuring that you have everything covered if you are due to take some time off?

Planning a holiday when you are self employed isn’t quite as simple as taking that time off. You need to think ahead. There is lots that you can do in advance but you need to factor time in, a few weeks before your break.

Some of the things that you can plan include:

Cover – can someone else do some of the work you do, if yes have you informed them of the leave that you are planning on taking?

Payroll – If you have staff, have you automated their pay to come out and checked that the funds will be available.

Stock – If you are a product-based business, have you got sufficient stock to cover demand whilst you are away, as well as when you are back (to save you panicking in the first few days back from your holiday)

Social media – Just because you are away from your business it doesn’t mean you can’t still show up on social media. You can use a scheduler to schedule your posts before going away across multiple platforms including, Google My Business, Linkedin, Instagram etc. Showing up on social media is important. Don’t get me wrong, I know engagement is a big part of social media but if you want to still post whilst away, then it is good to know that scheduling before you go is an option.

Communicating – If you have clients, have you given sufficient notice informing them of your time off. Depending on your business, do they have someone else to contact in an emergency?

Children – If you have children, have you factored in a work schedule to account for potentially having fewer working hours whilst the children are at home.

Planning – Have you started to think about things that you can plan, this could be writing blogs for your website or even planning posts ahead of time.

Staff – If you have employees and they are taking time off, have you got their time off covered? Lots of people are happy to support businesses on an ad hoc basis. For example, as a Virtual Assistant, I offer ad hoc cover and have supported businesses as and when they needed the support. 

Finances – If you are a business where you will lose your income if you are not working, it is worth factoring this across the year to ensure that you don’t have any financial problems.

Instructions – do you have a manual of what you do if you are away, whether it be a holiday or for an emergency. Could someone else easily cover you? If someone else can’t do your role, could they at least contact the relevant people to inform them that you can’t work that day? If yes, do the relevant people know where to find your diary and the contact details for your clients?

Don’t forget to set an autoresponder on your emails, informing people when you are due back in the office, with alternative or emergency contact details.

Planning is key and can make a difference, I don’t know about you but I don’t want to feel stressed on my holidays and if you are organised and prepared in advance, it can make a huge difference.

To read more tips on business organisation, please check out this blog: https://ghvirtualassistant.co.uk/2021/05/24/business-organisation/