Alberta: With the Financial Post reporting last week that only 46% of small business owners are taking vacations, ActionCOACH’s Kent Boehm and Laurie Mcnaughton are offering advice on how to change that.
“Fear and mistrust stops many people from taking a vacation. They think that if they leave for one minute, their business will crumble.” That tells you 3 things: 1- They don’t have proper systems in place, 2- They don’t think much of their staff and 3- Their staff have not been managed properly,” says McNaughton, an ActionCOACH business coach in Edmonton.
“The ideal way to tackle this problem is with a 7-to-14 day ‘practice’ vacation. Take one or two weeks off, but stay in the city. Give someone you trust a number you can easily be reached, and let them know they can use it if they have to. Check in once a day if you have to. This ‘practice’ vacation will be a wonderful test of the people and systems you have put in place. And because you are in town & can be easily reached, you can rest easy, knowing you will be informed if something major arises,” says Kent Boehm, an ActionCOACH business coach in Calgary.
“And if something does arise, you will know exactly the weak points in systems and teams- and you can fix it with establishing a clear chain of command,” says McNaughton.
“The key,” as Laurie argues, “is to have someone in charge you trust. And he or she will only gain that trust if you allow him or her to make decisions, even the wrong ones, occasionally. Nobody learns in a vacuum. If your response to that is to say, ‘I can't afford mistakes’ then you are also saying ‘I will never take a vacation.’"
And what about losing customers? The general consensus is that if you lose a customer during a two week vacation, he or she was never really a customer anyway. Most people stick around for reasonable prices and great service.
As the statistics show, without a vacation, business owners will never be able to recharge their batteries to enjoy their business or their life.
For more vacation tips from ActionCOACH Canada visit: Business Tips for Small Businesses http://bit.ly/lUEDgO
To contact Laurie McNaughton visit: www.actioncoach.com/lauriemcnaughton
To contact Kent Boehm visit: www.actioncoach.com/kentboehm
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To book an interview contact
Rachel Sentes, Publicist
Rachel Sentes, Publicist
604-366-7846
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