3 Small Biz Tips for Small Business Week
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I had my first job in the world of finance working for a European private bank.
You might not know this, but banks didn’t always have KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations – because I started before the bank began implementing them.
And in this long ago far away galaxy, the upper level employees (I think it was director-level and above) were required to take two weeks’ vacation every year.
That’s right – required. (There was no PTO in those days either, as I recall.) You couldn’t take your vacation a day here and a day there; at least two weeks straight had to be taken.
That was because any irregularities in what you were doing for your clients would show up in those two weeks. You went on vacation to prove that you were doing everything right (or hope that nothing showed up in two weeks,)
If you’re a small business owner and you haven’t been able to go on vacation due to the demands of your business, you’re not receiving a badge of honor.
What it really means is that something either has gone awry, or you are headed for burnout.
Or both.
It’s much easier to start out being productive
Every small business owner will have very long days. (Bigger business owners too!) But that doesn’t mean every day should be a long day, because that helps lead you to burnout. Instead, begin with sustainable productivity practices that keep your energy high for important activities and move your business forward.
There are a lot of things that you could do as a business owner. Get the exact right shade of aqua for your font, decide whether the placement of your photo on your website should be here or there, or other things that will keep you busy but not move your business forward.
Some of us like to learn (it me) and might spend too much time on webinars that discuss topics we’re not even ready to think about, much less execute. It feels like you’re doing something, but if your business doesn’t need it right now, you’re probably better off saving it for later.
Here are some guidelines to think through structuring your company for productivity.
Work expands to fill the available time – I learned this on my first job. If you give yourself 14 hours to complete something that could be completed in six, you’re wasting eight hours. Many people give themselves right hours, because that’s the standard day, but if you didn't scroll, answer random emails, and do unimportant tasks, you could probably complete your day in five or six hours.
The brain needs recovery after intense brain activity (planning, strategizing, numbercrunching, etc.) – it’s like preparing for a tough physical endeavor. After you ruin the marathon, you rest. Even when you’re training for the marathon, periodically, you rest. Note that brain rest does not mean taking in more emails or business information; it’s more like a walk out in nature. Or even dancing along to a song you enjoy.
Each decision you make and every time you switch between different types of tasks, you lose a little productivity – some things you can automate, like having a sort of uniform that you wear (black turtleneck and jeans, for this very reason), the same two or three breakfasts on rotation, the process for client onboarding. This is also why batching similar tasks together is usually better than doing them one by one. Check your emails only at certain times during the day, and let people know through an autoresponder that you received their email.
Even a small interruption can take you away from what you were doing for ~23 minutes – do you want to be in charge of your time or do you want whoever’s in your inbox to be in charge of your time? It’s your choice, but if you want to be productive and get $hit done, you need to disable notifications.
Document the systems and processes you build – even if you are only planning for a lifestyle business that closes when you decide to stop working, having written documentation of your systems and processes is helpful. If you hire a VA or other staff, you’ll have the docs ready to go. And they can remind you of what you normally do on the days where it seems like it’s just one brain fart after another!
Create a barrier between home and work – you may shift between home life and work life several times a day, but it’s important that when you’re in “home life” that you don’t work. No checking email or scrolling or taking classes. The separation helps because if you mix everything together, you’ll feel like you’re always working and never getting a break. That’s bad for your brain and also pushes you closer to burnout.
Not taking care of yourself leads to burnout
Look, if you want to be a martyr, then go ahead. You’re not going to get any points for it, nor a cookie, and they won’t pin a medal on your tombstone. Do everything, don’t let anyone help you, and complain mightily about it but absolutely refuse to change anything about what you’re doing.
However, if you have a mission to help others and you want to do that for as long as you can, meaning that you want to avoid burnout, then schedule in regular times for self-care. It’s not just bubble baths and high tea (though if you like those things, have at it). It’s making time to eat properly and nourish yourself. Making time to exercise, not necessarily because you need to manage your weight but because it brings oxygenated blood to your brain. It’s making time to be with loved ones and engage in your favorite hobbies and activities outside work.
I know a lot of busy women who say they don’t have time to eat or exercise. Again: hi, burnout. Do you want to prioritize being busy and saying yes to everything whether or not it supports your business? Do you want to show up for your clients exhausted and hangry?
Or do you want to think carefully about what aligns with you and your business, and say no if it doesn’t? Do you want to show up as your best self to help your clients, because you are refreshed and energized?
You can do one or the other, but you can’t do both.
What you need to go on vacation
The great thing about having a small business is that you can pretty much go on vacation whenever you want to. It might take a little time to save up the money, but a vacation ios a great way to get some rest and recharge. Then when you come back, you can look at your business with fresh eyes and see if there’s anything you want to change – and there might not be.
You’ll probably want to wind up any short-term projects before you go, but longer-term ones may be able to sit on the shelf for a week. Depending on your clientele, you might want to simply turn on your out-of-office email. Or you might want to let clients & vendors know you’re gone for a period of time. (For privacy reasons, don't put this out on social media!)
If you have staff, they should be able to hold down the fort while you’re gone. You might choose to have one person who can contact you in case of emergency. That way you don’t have to check your email to make sure you haven’t missed anything important that needs to be taken care of immediately.
It’s a vacation, and unfortunately our American culture has taught us that rest is optional. But that’s only if you’re OK with complete burnout. If, however, you want to continue your business sustainably so you can continue to serve your clients, then vacations are not at all optional.
Recap (tl;dr):
Yes, you can take time off (which will only help your business) whether or not you’re the only one in your company.
Want more help creating systems and processes that allow you to go on vacation guilt-free? Let’s talk. Schedule a call here.