Summertime, and Where's My Vacation?

Almost universally, small business owners bemoan the fact that vacations are hard to take. Who's going to look after the customers and potential new business opportunities if you take some time off?  Entrepreneurs generally just don't take any time off in the early years. But depending on the kind of business you own, you may be able to take mini-vacations or "semi-vacations" after a few years. 

If you have employees that you trust, train them to run the business for a few days and take a mini-vacation or two throughout the year -- a good reason to hire people you could trust. But even then, you'll want to be reachable if an emergency arises. Choose vacation spots where you there is Internet and cellphone access if you need to be available. And the more accessible you are, the more it becomes a "semi-vacation" -- you're away, but your mind isn't. 

An entrepreneur I know takes long weekends at the family's vacation home and has set himself up to be able to operate his payroll service remotely. From his laptop in the mountains, he can do anything and everything he can do from his desktop in his office. Maybe it doesn't feel like much of a get-away, but his wife and kids get the escape they enjoy.

I was in business over five years before I felt I could take a real vacation and be confident the business would be intact when I returned. Be patient; you'll get there. Until then, you could do worse than take mini- or semi-vacations.