Christmas Vacation for Your Home Business - A Survival Guide

On Monday morning not too long ago, I braced myself for a deluge of email. I had not switched on my computer for three days and just knew I would have a couple of hundred emails. I was wrong. There were 486. That afternoon, our postal carrier left a basket of mail that must have weighed a couple of pounds. 'I need a vacation,' I muttered to myself. But that was the problem. Monday was my first day back from one, and I vowed I would never take another. I eventually came to my senses, but I still tend to think of time away from business with a mix of excitement and dread. And those feelings are looming large right now as I anticipate my daughter's holiday break from school - which this year, lasts for three long weeks. The December holidays were one of the reasons I opted for a work-at-home lifestyle. When I worked outside the home as a corporate event planner, our first big convention of the year always occurred the second week of January. This meant I had to work 10 hours a day, six days a week each December (although I got Christmas and New Year off). I resented the fact that everyone else was home decorating the house and baking goodies, and vowed to be able to do that one day. Now that I'm a home based entrepreneur, I can keep that promise to myself. But as a one-person shop, I need to take steps to insure that my business will still be here after the decorations have been put away. Imagine the orders, customer service calls and income opportunities we miss by being away from our posts for a couple of weeks! The fortunate thing about a December break is that most of the Western world is occupied with the same things: holiday get-togethers, family activities and religious observance. All business slows down mid-December as people focus on their faith and families. The exception, of course, is Christmas shopping. If your business involves selling gift items, you may not get a holiday break until December 25. If that's the case, I suggest taking at least the week off between Christmas and New Year. A vacation - even a short one - will allow you to recharge your mental batteries, resulting in increased energy and creativity on January 2. It will also help you avoid the feelings of resentment I experienced at that event planning job. The trick to taking the time you need and starting back up smoothly is in how you prepare your business for your absence. Here are some tips: 1. COMMUNICATION IS KEY No matter when you begin your holiday break, you need to let your clients know. Two weeks before any vacation, Angela Strosnider of Virtual Office and Business Solutions announces it to her clients, relatives and others. 'I take the laptop and check for any emergency mails as well. Besides that I make an autorespond message to all emails about when I'll return,' she says. You need to communicate with your customers when you get back as well, especially when email replies have been delayed for a few days due to your absence. 'People are understanding if you offer a reason for the long wait,' says Terri Seymour of < http://www.websuccesscentral.com > 2. GIVE YOURSELF A WINDOW TO CATCH UP 'I've always thought that I should extend my vacation by two days when telling others,' says Roberta Stubblefield of The Mom Team < http://RobertaS.themomteam.com > 'That way I can use the two days to catch up on everything with the answering machine on, then be ready to start out fresh.' 3. CONSIDER HIRING A BACKUP A virtual assistant could be the answer to your vacation prayers, notes Kristie Lemauga, who happens to be the VA at < http://www.kksadministrative.com > Kristie suggests that by forwarding your email to a live person instead of using an autoresponder, your customers can have their needs handled in a personal manner. Kristie says that A VA can also 'process any orders, info requests, data entry, and unsubscribes while you are away, take phone calls for your business, prepare your calender for your return, and assist with administrative tasks ... so you can catch up in the areas that require your personal attention.' 4. MAKE A PLAYDATE FOR THE KIDS As much as we love our children (and for many of us, they are the reason we are working at home in the first place), they can also be a distraction. You'll catch up faster upon your return if they're having fun outside the house. Terri Seymour arranges an overnight visit with their grandparents, but taking them to a playdate at the home of a trusted friend may give you all the time you need to focus on your work. (Just be sure your friend knows you'll return the favor soon!) 5. ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY! Remember that you need your break! Bake those cookies - enjoy the parties - build a snowman with your kids and warm yourselves up next to a roaring fire. As Angela Strosnider says, 'Working at home is a 24/7 job just like any other when you add a house and family. Take a personal time-out with you and your loved ones, and you will feel much better about working so much later.'