take a vacation when its slow?

[Blessed]

I missed 2 weeks my senior year of high school for a family trip and it was brutal. I was one of 20 "valedictorians" graduating with a greater than 4.0 average because I took "honors" classes that were weighted heavier and even left high school with some college credit. All that to say, I was a good student - I had a lot of homework, but I always got it done and school was easy for me. I hate to think of how much more brutal those two weeks would have been if I had not been a good student.

I think you are right to say that you will keep doing what you are until it becomes a problem. Especially since we all know that vacations during non-peak times can be much more pleasant than vacations during the summer when everyone else is on vacation too - even more so if you have little ones to deal with too!

Just another idea - what about doing two or three "mini" vacations that coincide with the kids scheduled days off school - take advantage of the long weekends and hit some places closer to home - maybe pulling the kids out of school for only a day or two instead of a whole week or more.

[huggytree]

we do take some mini vacations (3 day)

high end vacations are very important to me.....its one of the reasons why i went into business...so i could afford something nice every year....cant do a high end vacation for 3 days.....its gotta be 7-10 days to be a good one....

this year were planning on a more boring-average type vacation...i may have something planned and wait to see if i have a slow week during the summer...something that can be planned w/ 1 weeks notice....thinking about the Dakota's....wife want Dollywood....or Dolly land or whatever its called...the whole smokey mountains thing....we will be driving this time for sure, so somewhere within 1-2 days drive...

[jamesray50]

What about taking your vacations during winter break or spring break? I think here they close the schools for 2 weeks for winter break, and 1 week for spring break.

[Blessed]

High-end vacations are nice and your kids will remember all the awesome things they were able to go do - which has a lot of value in and of itself.

You might have to start simply scratching out a week each summer - pick a week, fill it up on the appointment schedule with "vacation" and then schedule work around it. When you get around to hiring your assistant and getting them trained that will help out a lot in this regard - that way your business won't be totally out of commission when you are away.

[Spider]

Here's something for you guys to plan for and strive for - when you have grown your businesses to the point with a goodly number of employees and managers, there is cover for your vacations and the money to take them. I used to take a month vacation for Christmas/New Year and another month mid-summer. We flew First Class and visited such places as the Grand Canyon, winter skiing trips to Colorado and New Mexico, scuba diving in the Caribbean.

Yes, I know there are lots of reasons to remain a one-person or one+assistant business but vacations isn't one of them! When you are in business for yourself and by yourself, vacations cost you double - once for the cost of the vacation and again for the money you lost by not working.

No vacations or minimal vacations is part of the price you pay for choosing the micro-business format. But you get it back in other ways.

[huggytree]

i agree Spider

Im hoping to hire someone by the beginning of summer part time...

from what im learning if i hire 5 employees and get myself out of the field i will make less than i do by myself now......id have to hire 20 guys+ to get into a higher profit/ business running by itself situation....thats a big jump in thinking.......i know id have a heck of alot more stress with 5 employees...once your up to 20 employees id assume you hire someone to worry for you........getting to 20 may never be possible for me here......there are no large 'quality' shops....5-6 employees seems to be the max for the quality minded shops.......all the large shops are cheap/hack companies...slap it in and move on to the next job...

when someone completes their kitchen they wont wait 10 days for me to install their kitchen sink...it has to be within 2 days or even 1......new homes could wait until i returned...but there will ALWAYS be something that MUST be finished while im gone if i leave during a busy season....id have to line someone up...

[Spider]

It certainly does take a different pattern of thinking. Backing into it - as most small businesses try to do - is not, I think, the best way to go about it. When I say, backing into it, I mean growing from a sole operator, adding an emplyee here and there as the workload increases, and hiring a manager when the business has become too stressful, results in not enjoying one's business. I think one has to take a complete break and start again, or stay small.

For example, doing small jobs is good for the small business. A large business doing small jobs invariably has to cut corners and not provide the best service. Why? Because small jobs are best done by small businesses. A large business is better at handling large jobs. But that requires a totally different approach.