MARKETING MATTERS: TAKING THE SUMMER OFF?

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Tips and tricks for business success and growth
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
July 6, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  It's summer once again and it's easy to be distracted by the idea of beaches, poolside lounging, picnics and long vacations. After all, if the kids can do it, why can't we?
Well, we can. In fact, we should. Some time away from work can renew your perspective, recharge your willingness to work on the business, and give you some new insights as you involve yourself with things outside the scope of your usual workday.

Of course, taking time off, especially for the micro- or small-business owner is easier said than done; especially if it's only you or if it's a family business and the whole family would be going on vacation.
The trick is to plan for your time away in advance as best as possible by considering the following points:
  • How reachable can you be, or do you want to be while away?
  • Are you willing to work an hour or two in the morning and/night at night?
  • Will there be internet connection where you are?
  • Can you take the necessary technology with you to stay connected and complete your work? (For example in my case, a Smartphone and/or tablet is not enough - I need a fully functional laptop so that I can work on clients' artwork if necessary.)
  • Do you have an employee that can take on extra responsibility while you're away? If not, is there a trusted family member or friend that you can hire to handle certain essential tasks while you're away? Perhaps a virtual assistant is a consideration.
Depending on the size of your company and/or where you work from, it may not even be necessary to leave those pesky out-of-office messages on voicemail and e-mail bounce-backs. Again, in my case, my clients don't know if I'm working from my home office, my local Starbucks, or my hotel room when I'm traveling for fun or business. You may just want to let your critical accounts know that you will be unavailable for a period of time and/or that an associate will be handling your communications for you while you're gone and/or that your response time will be slowed down due to your out-of-office status.
Don't think that taking a vacation will ruin your business. Although a true phones off, no e-mail vacation may not be possible, when plans are put in place in advance, your clients will experience little to no disruption in their normal customer service experience and you will get to recharge those batteries.
I'm never sure if it's lucky or not, but, in my case, it seems that every time I need to be away, whether it's for work or pleasure, business actually picks up. My husband keeps telling me to take one vacation a month so Lev Promotions will grow even faster! At that rate, my vacations may just be the death of me!
Rama Beerfas is Chief Solutions Specialist for San Diego-based Lev Promotions, offering complete marketing services from consulting, promotional products, mobile marketing, social media marketing, editorial work and more. Rama also offers seminars and training in marketing and customer service related topics. She can be reached at (619) 697-2045 or at rama@levpromotions.com or visit www.levpromotions.com. Column requests and comments are welcome.
The views expressed in this editorial reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine. To submit an editorial for consideration, contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
 

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