Summer is fast approaching, with schools closing in less than four weeks for the holidays. There are some businesses that are able to close over the summer months, however, if, like me, you are an entrepreneur or a mumpreneur where your business needs to keep going all year round, check out my tips below on how to successfully keep your business up and running but also enjoy time out with your children.
Plan in advance
Planning ahead will help things run a little smoother. Decide what days and times you are going to work, what activities you want to do with your children, what childcare options you have available, are there any summer clubs they can join in, what work must be completed and what can wait until after the holidays, are there things you can do now to save valuable time during the holidays? Spend time before the holidays to start thinking and planning.
Prioritise
You may have a to do list as long as your arm, but does it all need to be done now? Review your list and prioritise what needs to be done urgently and what can wait until after the summer holidays. Focus and manage the urgent and important tasks that must be done and leave the rest until the kids are back at school and you have more time on your hands.
Scheduling
Do you have regular emailers, social media posts or standard emails that you send out frequently? Use the likes of Buffer or Hootsuite for your social media; create templates for regular emails where you can just add bits in to personalise; and most emarketing tools will have a scheduling capability for you to create the content in advance and schedule them to automatically go out. Getting these done in advance will allow you to enjoy time with your family, without needing to worry about getting back to the office or fumbling on your phone to post.
Family and Friends
Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for support. Do you have friends that are in the same position as you, juggling a business and a family? Why not form a tag team where they have the kids for a day and in exchange you take their children for a day. Do you have family around that could look after them or take them out for the day?
Delegate and outsource
If your children are old enough, can they get involved to help with bits around the house? Maybe they can help with putting the washing on or having a quick hoover around whilst you catch up on emails. Or look at outsourcing the essential day to day tasks to a Virtual Assistant to ease the burden. They could keep on top of your emails, schedule your social media, follow up on enquiries, update your website, follow up on customer leads, take your incoming calls etc.
Phone calls and out of office
Remember to set your out of office and voicemail to advise you aren’t actively checking messages. Where you can, it’s useful to set specific times of day that you are able to spend a few minutes reviewing your messages. By adding this to your out of office and voicemail will allow customers to know when you are available in the event something is urgent. Anything not urgent can then wait until you are free.
Don’t forget to take some time out
As an entrepreneur or mumpreneur we often forget that we also need to take a break away from our business. When planning make sure you include time to enjoy yourself and give your family your full attention. It is hard but we all need a break to recharge the batteries once in a while. The majority of us have started our businesses to work around our family so we need to make sure we also enjoy spending time with them too!
If you are looking to outsource some of your workload during the holidays, why not arrange a call with me now to discuss ways that I could help ease the burden and allow you the family time you deserve. Email info@petrinava.com or call 07538 543421.