Vacation?? What? Already? You may be wondering why I am writing about vacations when we have just come out of the holiday mode. I had continued building my business during the holiday season and wanted to share some tips with you. Your business may stop operating during the holidays, but that doesn’t mean your mind needs to. You can still find and think about ways for developing your business during the holiday break.
Here’s a short list of ways you can use the vacation to benefit your business:
Find Inspiration
Keep an open mind when you go on vacation. You may be able to find the answer to a thorny problem or gain inspiration to a new product line. The inspiration can come from anywhere: an idle conversation, traveling to a new location, reading a new book or publication, or even a dream borne from a good night’s sleep.
But remember that while inspiration can strike anytime and anywhere, there’s an equal chance of inspiration not striking at all. Keep an open mind, but temper your expectations.
Network
Holiday parties and reunions are a great place to network and expand your business contacts. Introduce yourself to new people or reconnect with old acquaintances. Ask about them and show interest in what they do for a living, even if it’s unrelated to your business. You never know—you may have need for someone in the line of work in the future.
Make sure you’re not crass and sales-y when you speak to others at a holiday event. People can smell hidden agendas a mile away, and it’s a major turn-off. You may end up shrinking your network instead of expanding it.
Recharge
If you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, then you’ve probably been running yourself ragged throughout the year. There’s nothing wrong with that. It comes with the territory when you’re trying to grown any business venture. But the human body can’t sustain that kind of punishment for extended periods of time without a break. And if anyone deserves a break, it’s you.
Turn off your smartphone and stay away from the computer. Lock up your business brain and focus on relaxing, even if it’s just for a couple of days. Spend time with your family, your pet, or even yourself. When you get back to work, you’re going to be rested and ready for whatever the next year will have in store for you with some great resolutions.
Refocus
Being in the thick of things for so long can lead you to have some serious tunnel vision. Stress and overwork might be limiting your view or affecting your judgment. As a result, you may be making the wrong business decisions and not realizing it.
Stepping back and taking a vacation might be just what you need to gain some perspective. Come back to your business with a fresh eye. You may notice some changes that need to be made that weren’t obvious before, when you were too preoccupied.
Hopefully the above tips will help you gain a little bit of progress in growing your company during holiday breaks. But always remember that this should be a secondary consideration. Family always comes first, and your business activities shouldn’t intrude on that.
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