How much do you need a holiday?!
How many times have you said to yourself "I need to take a holiday soon"? We all need time away from work, from the internet and our phones, and everyday life. It's important to set aside some time each year for a break - but are we doing it? In this blog post, we'll be looking at the benefits of taking a summer holiday, as well as some tips on how to make the most of your vacation!
 
Everyone needs a holiday. Whether you're into Spa breaks, city sightseeing trips, beach vacations or just fancy a nice staycation with day trips around your local area, it's important to set aside time to spend with family or friends, or simply in your own company for some well-deserved rest and recuperation!

Do you find it hard to leave your business? 
However, when you run your own business, it's sometimes difficult to take a break from work. You might be worried about leaving your business in someone else's hands, or you might not be able to afford to take the time off. If this is the case, why not consider bringing in a virtual assistant to support you whilst you take a short break?

How can a VA help?
Virtual Assistants can keep the lights on in your business whilst you take a well-deserved break. Whether they are simply dealing with customer enquiries and contacting you in the event of a customer emergency (a legitimate one - they should be able to help filter out the less important enquiries for you to deal with on your return!) or carrying out essential day to day tasks so that your business can still run effectively in your absence, the support of a Virtual Assistant can be invaluable if you need time away to restore your energy levels and enthusiasm for your work.
 
If you're considering a break this year, why not reach out to us to find out more about the support that we can provide - whether it's short term and temporary or long-term support to free up your valuable time, there's remote business support out there that could prove beneficial.

Feel the benefits of a proper break ... 
Holidays are an essential part of a healthy work-life balance. If you're feeling stressed, burned out or simply in need of a change of scenery, make sure you take some time for yourself this summer and enjoy a well-earned break! You'll return to work refreshed, recharged and rejuvenated - ready to take on whatever challenges come your way.

What are your thoughts? Are you taking a holiday this summer?

Do you actually take a break?!
When you run your own business, I know just how hard it can be to take a step back and take a break, whether that’s for a fortnight’s summer break, or a long weekend – it’s hard to switch off knowing that your customers are temporarily unsupported, or that your email inbox is likely to be going crazy in your temporary absence!
 
However, taking a break is incredibly important for your health and wellbeing. We all need to reduce stress and enjoy a change of scenery, spending time with family or friends – or even finding peace and tranquillity with a solo break.  When you run your own business, it can become all-consuming and gradually seep into your downtime, with you working evening and weekends to keep up with customer demand, and this just isn’t sustainable in the long term. Everyone needs a break!!

What if your clients need you?
Unfortunately, just because you have ‘switched off’ it doesn’t mean your customers have! The worst-case scenario whilst you are away would be a customer having a major issue that they can’t fix themselves, resulting in an unhappy client and a mountain of work to come back to and deal with urgently upon your return.  Even if there isn’t a client drama, there’s always the chance that you could miss out on an opportunity for new work with a potential customer whilst you are out of the office.

Consider some cover 
There are solutions to these problems that don’t involve having to take on a full time, permanent member of staff to provide cover.  For example, why not consider temporary holiday cover? Even if it’s just to monitor your emails and calls and ensure that any urgent enquiries are dealt with promptly, whilst customers and potential customers without urgent issues feel as though they are supported, even if their calls/emails aren’t addressed fully until your return from your break.  Even if you do have to deal with urgent queries from a beach in Greece, it’s so much better to have someone else filtering through the ‘urgent’ enquiries, deciding what is a major issue (and what is a trivial one!) and therefore only disturbing your rest and relaxation when something really needs to be done.
 
Ensure your business is in safe hands
This kind of support can prove really useful even when you are in the office, as it gives you further time to focus on all-important customer support and delivery of your high-quality products/services without being sucked into trivial issues which could easily be dealt with by a third party.  It also means that if you need to take a short break for health reasons (due to temporary sickness) that you can rest more comfortably in the knowledge that your business is in safe hands.
 
Having an extra pair of hands in your business at the times when you really need it is so beneficial for many reasons – how could an extra, virtual team member make your life easier?

Do reach out to CC Professional if you’d like more to discuss how we can support you during holidays and at other times.

Are you taking a break over Christmas?  Let's face it, small business owners are notorious for not taking holiday leave.  It’s hard to juggle being a business owner and taking a well-deserved break!
 
*A recent survey found that three quarters (76%) of small business owners and entrepreneurs forego holidays to keep their business running smoothly.
 
It’s vital as business owner that you don’t allow yourself to burn out and that you take some time off, to benefit your personal wellbeing and to benefit your business.  The essential part is to plan early to ensure you can enjoy your holiday safe in the knowledge that your business is in capable hands.
 
1. Plan Early 
Once you’ve booked your holiday, you'll need to plan how you’ll manage your business while you’re away, so that you can enjoy some rest and relaxation.  It may be possible for you to take your business on holiday with you.  After all, most hotels and resorts now have WIFI and you could work during your holiday.  But, is that really something you want to do?!  How happy is your Partner/family about you spending most of Christmas and New Year working? 
 
You could close your business while you’re on holiday. However, this also takes a lot of planning in advance, such as needing to communicate your plans to customers to ensure that you manage their expectations; and putting a block on customer and clients being able to schedule in meetings and appointments with you.
 
We personally wouldn’t recommend closing your business, as this also means you’re not earning money for the duration on your holiday.
 
2. Consider Staff Levels 
We recommend that the best way of running a business while on annual leave is to have someone else manage the business in your absence. This could be trusted employees and colleagues, or a reliable Virtual Assistant or Online Business Manager.
 
Plan rotas, schedules and training well in advance to ensure that you select the right people to manage the business while you’re away - and give yourself plenty of time to train them prior to your departure.  By doing this, you’ll provide an opportunity for the person covering to ask questions about any task they may be unsure of - and it will also give you the confidence that your business is in safe hands while you’re away.
 
3. Review Policies & Processes 
Are your processes and policies up to date?  If these need to be referred to in your absence, the person managing your business will understand the actions they must follow.
 
4. Don't be a 'Grinch'!
If you have an office, don’t be a 'Grinch' and think that because you’re going on holiday, you don’t need to decorate the office for the staff you leave behind to manage your business for you.  Bring some Christmas cheer to the office and decorate for those working over the festive period.
 
5. That Includes Your Online Presence 
Your physical offices are not the only element of your business that requires festive cheer. If you have an online presence, you need to ensure that this is also properly prepared for the Christmas period. Consider adding festive graphics to your website, or changing the colour scheme to a classic Christmas red and green. Add notices to make customers aware of any alterations in opening and closing times during the festive period. 
 
Remember - planning and communication is key whenever preparing your business before you go on leave! If you plan far enough in advance and leave your business in the capable hands of those you have trained, you'll be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the festivities and return to work feeling refreshed and ready to achieve your 2018 business goals.
 
*Source - The Guardian.

Summer is here (wait, is it here yet?!?)

Well even if the sun isn't here yet, the holiday season is most definitely upon us!!  

Sun, Sea, Sand, Sangria - and Substandard WIFI!
For many, thoughts are turning to Sun, Sea, Sand and Sangria.  Not for the self-employed or small business owners though… For many people I've spoken to in my network, and for me, sweet Summer holiday daydreams are usually quickly swallowed up by some kind of dark malevolent entity that whispers ‘Will the WIFI be good enough?’, ‘What if there's a customer emergency?’, and ‘What's the Spanish for "Is your broadband fast enough for video streaming?"… *shudders*

Switching off is hard to do!
We don’t mean to be party poopers, but when you're completely dependant on yourself for income, ‘switching off’ is very, very hard to do!  Even simple tasks like email management and call-handling require months of forethought and the kind of planning that wouldn’t seem out of place in a military tactical planning session.  I speak experience - I've been there!

Get some cover for your holiday 
This summer, why not consider asking for help from a Virtual Assistant whilst you are away?  For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a ‘Virtual Assistant’ is someone who specialises in helping make a business work more efficiently, without the costs associated with taking on a permanent member of staff.  The majority of Virtual Assistants tend to have worked as Personal Assistants or Executive Assistants in employed positions before making the leap into remote positions in this digital world.  As a result, these individuals have a great deal of knowledge and experience in helping businesses to run smoothly by carrying out essential day-to-day activities (i.e. administrative tasks, call handling, expenses management, diary and events management, social media posts, etc.), leaving the business owner and/or their staff with more time to grow the business or – in the case of this article – take a well earned break from work and relax with family and friends.

You (and your family) NEED a break
Many Virtual Assistants also offer holiday cover packages - i.e., responding to customer emails and telephone enquiries whilst you are away; ensuring that you're only woken from a warm and fuzzy cocktail-induced stupor if there's an actual customer emergency (not just one of those ‘customer emergencies’ that could actually be dealt with in a fortnight).
 
Your personal downtime is such an important part of a positive work/life balance, and although it's hard to do, I would strongly recommend putting an ‘out of office’ auto responder on your emails and trying your very best to ‘switch off’ at least once a year; even if you don’t fully appreciate it, your friends and family really will! 

Guess what - my business didn't collapse in my absence!
For my recent holiday, I took my own advice (for once!) and enlisted the services of a Virtual Assistant to cover for me during my absence.  It was FAB.  She handled everything for me and for the first time, I was able to relax, safe in the knowledge that if anything urgent came up while I was away, she would get in touch with me - and she did!  And do you know what, the world didn't end, my business didn't collapse in my absence and everything was sorted out ready for my return!

Switch off, relax and ENJOY your holiday
So if you're looking for some help this Summer, either to cover staff holidays or to take your own well-earned break, why not consider asking CC Professional Secretarial Services for help? We offer a range of business support services, and we'd really like to help you relax and enjoy your summer, knowing that your business is in good hands!

Visit our website or give us a ring on: 07931 783395 to find out how we can help you!