Business doesn’t stop for the Holidays
I read a post from Chris Brogan about how he wasn’t stopping his business, just because it was the holidays. I happen to agree with Chris. I haven’t stopped posting blog entries or engaging in all the other business activities just because the holidays are here. In fact, while I’m visiting my family, I’ll be writing the drafts of the blogs posts for the last week of December, so that when I get back, I can post those blog entries as well. For the small business owner, business never stops. While larger businesses are shutting down and employees are relaxing a bit, I and other small business owners are focusing on continuing to do business.
Truth to tell, I use the holidays to do an assessment of my business, get my office and paperwork in order, and get ready for filing taxes. And even when I’m on holiday, I’ll be going through the mileage book, adding up totals for each month so I have that deduction prepped. My point is that business doesn’t stop, just because its the holiday.
Recently, I’ve started giving myself one day off each week. I’ve realized if I don’t I’ll burn out. But beyond that, I’m working pretty much every day. The truth is, if you’re an entrepreneur, your business is your life, at least for the first few years, and maybe even after, in terms of the time commitment involved. Owning a business is a lot of work and if you want it to succeed, you’ve got to be prepared to put the time in to make it a success.
So business doesn’t stop for the holidays. It might slow down some, which just means its an excellent time to get to some of those business task you’ve been putting off. But business doesn’t stop and in truth while your clients may not be as active, you can’t afford not to be. So if you’re tempted to give yourself a bit of time off, remember you’ll have to work twice as hard to make up for it. I’m not saying don’t enjoy the holidays, either, but I am saying keep focused on your business as well. Get some of those tasks done that you know you need to get finished.
What do all of you think? What will you do to keep yourself focused on business?
