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When I worked a corporate job, I had unlimited PTO. And I easily took 6+ weeks of time off every year. I have kids and followed their school schedule, taking time off for spring break and Christmas (for example).
Now, I’m a solopreneur. When I started my own business, I was certain that I wouldn’t want to change how much time I take off each year. But to make that happen requires a bit more planning.
In a corporate job, PTO just exists. You request the days, someone approves them, and your paycheck stays the same. As a solopreneur, you have to create that infrastructure for yourself. On top of that, you don’t have coverage or backup when you’re gone.
A fellow solopreneur polled her audience recently and found that one-third of solo business owners never take time off. If you don’t actively build time off into your business, it simply won’t happen.
Plan for the income gap
For many solopreneurs, a week off is a week of zero income. That’s how my business operates: if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. There’s no money coming while I’m at the beach or traveling with my family. Without planning, that would be a huge source of stress.
My approach is a simple savings formula. I figure out how many weeks off I want per year, calculate my average weekly income, and set aside money in a specific savings account each month to “pay myself” during those vacation weeks.
Setting aside money to take time off is part of my business budget, and has been from the very early days. When I take a vacation, I pull money from my savings account so that I’m not impacted by a decrease in client income.
The math is straightforward, but most solopreneurs never do it. They wait until they’re burned out and then realize they can’t afford to take a vacation.
The earlier you build this kind of vacation savings habit into your business, the easier it is to step away when you want (or need!) a break.
Prepare your clients and your workload
The operational side of vacation comes down to communication and planning ahead.
Give clients advance notice. I let my clients know a few weeks before I’m taking time off. Most are understanding when you communicate early rather than dropping the news at the last minute.
Get ahead on deliverables. Depending on the type of work you do, this might mean front-loading some work you leave.
Set clear out-of-office expectations. Let clients know your response times and whether you’ll check messages at all.
If you’re uneasy about leaving your clients for a week, think of it this way: if you were an employee, they’d have to figure out how to operate without you for a week. Very few people are dealing with actual emergencies, and odds are that work can wait until you get back.
Build systems that run without you
If your business can’t survive a week without you touching it, that’s a structural problem worth thinking about — with or without a vacation on your calendar.
Automation can handle the tasks that would otherwise pile up while you’re gone: scheduled content, invoice reminders, and appointment scheduling. Documented processes matter too, especially if you bring in help, like a contractor covering something while you’re away, for example.
These systems also make your day-to-day easier. Automation is part of my overall business infrastructure, but it happens to make time off more feasible. Things hum along in the background, even when I’m not working.
Designing your business to include rest
I am writing this after returning from a weeklong trip to New York City. During my vacation, I didn’t respond to any incoming emails or deliver any client work. The planning required to step away is part of running a business well.
Burnout is very real and widespread among solopreneurs, and regular time off is one of the best ways to prevent it.
TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett now looks at her life as a “diversified portfolio” and says it’s set her up for success.
