How to Go on a Restful Vacation and Still Make Money, While Retaining Your Sanity!
Ok, so here’s the scenario. You are so excited about finally taking 7, 10 or even 14 days off. But before the trip, you are so darn busy that you think about cancelling the whole trip at least twice a day. During the trip you work or think about work more than want to. And when you come back from the trip, you are tired and overwhelmed with work. Or you just can’t seem to get your brain back to where it was and everything feels foggy. Plus you lose money because during the 4 weeks while you were preparing for, taking, and recovering from your trip – you were not getting new clients!
WHAT GIVES?
Is it impossible for business owners to take real, restful vacations? No, but you do need to know how to do it right.
First let’s talk about mastering cash flow. The first rule is called: The Rule of 60 Days. That is that whatever marketing activities that you have planned for June, July and August may not come to fruition in terms of revenue until September, October and November. That means that you always have to be planning for 60 days out.
So when you go on vacation, you can plan for a revenue slump during your trip by making sure you have speaking events or sponsorships or webinars (or some other Revenue Generating Activities) planned for before and after your trip. That way money is coming in on both sides.
There are 9 major Revenue Generating Activities – with speaking, sponsorships and webinars being the top 3. Our Cash Flow Mastery program, starting in July, will give you a complete foundation in generating consistently high income in your business. www.CashFlowMasteryNow.com.
Now, you need to plan for before, during, and after your trip. This is where the importance of time management really shines:
Before You Leave:
- Delegate any newsletters, promotional emails and social media posts to the team so that your marketing continues when you get back!
- Plan out your RGAs, like speaking events, sponsorships, webinars to happen when you get back, so that you can jump into revenue generating immediately (after your rest days, of course).
- Write a list of all the things that you will be doing when you get back – so that you have something to refer to when your mind is foggy when you return.
While You Are Gone:
- If you have to work while you travel, pick one or two days to get it all done. That way you can spend the rest of your vacation chilling.
- Be sure to reinforce restful activities to help you let go – meditate each morning, move your body, and set intentions for how you would like to spend quality time.
- Make fun goals. This isn’t necessary for all of us – but sometimes we just can’t stop working! So make goals that are based on hobbies: read a novel, learn one of the suites in the tarot deck, watercolor for 30 minutes a day, have one deep conversation a day. Use that go-getter brain to go get something fun!
When You Get Back:
- Be sure to get back early enough to give yourself 1-2 full days to recover from travel and integrate all that you have experienced. If that means coming back on Saturday instead of Sunday – do so.
- Don’t expect to jump into your work with the same vigor as you had before. You change when you travel, so be patient as you find a new rhythm that works for you. You might need to have some shorter days at first.
- Do your Revenue Generating Activities – immediately start doing your sales conversations and marketing activities so that you can start generating revenue. Stick to your plan.
The key to making vacations amazing is understanding how to create cash flow and how to work a plan. It takes work and time management, but you’ll get it, eventually. I now regularly take 5+ weeks of vacation a year, and I follow every step I’ve outlined above. Here’s to your time off! Enjoy!
Photo: flickr, Danielle King
