Vacations, Part 2

Summer is coming to an end and I thought I would revisit the subject of taking a vacation as a small business owner. I wrote earlier this summer about the need to take a vacation and having faith that those around you will take care of the business just fine during your absence. That’s all well and good, but what about the sole proprietor? How does someone who is the only employee or perhaps one of only two people in the business take time off? The insecurity that many of us are feeling as we grind our way through the recession doesn’t help us feel any more at ease about closing up shop for a couple of weeks or even a couple of days. Last week I read another WSJ article about this issue and it got me wondering, should we be taking a break in today’s economy? Will we really risk losing potential clients if we aren’t available 24/7? The entrepreneurs interviewed in this article talked about switching to long weekends instead of taking a week off, bringing their Blackberries camping and even going so far as to not tell people that they are on vacation for fear that the customer might call someone else. Is it necessary to go to these lengths today? Are we setting a precedent that will forever change the way we take time off? I hope not.
I struggle with the fear of taking time off like so many others. I’ll admit, I wanted to take some time off last week to spend with my girls and I didn’t. I felt pressured (all from within) to put in a full week as we have so much going on and our need for funding continues to grow even though grants and corporate support has shrunk. I tell myself that I will make it up to my girls later. I’ll take a long weekend and we’ll finish our Davis Summer of Fun List, I promise. . .
I want to remind my fellow entrepreneurs (and myself) that if we focus on providing our customers with great service when we are present that those loyal customers will wait for our return from vacation and not run to the nearest competitor. Take care of your customer, take care of yourself and the rest will take care of itself.