Summer vacation time seems to produce a crunch on sole practitioners (and individually owned corps & LLC's). Whether you have vacation plans or schedule juggle with kids out of school, chances are that at least a few days, you will not be able to be available for your clients. But this is an impossibility when you run your own one-woman (or one-man) show, isn't it? I've never met a small business owner who shrugs off lost business. How can you afford to step out? My own worst-case vacation story is at the end!

How can you make the best of your plans? I've tried most of these, with varying degrees of success:

1) Route the calls to your cell phone & hope you have coverage. This could possibly work, but it both puts a damper on the vacation (Can you even answer calls whitewater rafting or snorkeling?) and even if the calls come through clear, it will be difficult to maintain a professional image when the sound of calypso music and a bartender asking if you want two olives is in the background (or the rollercoaster screams punctuate the background - you get the idea!).

2). Just ignore it all & take a total vacation. Chances are a client will suddenly have an urgent matter, an important order will come through or something.  I wholeheartedly encourage all business owners (including TYPE-A) to step away every once in a while (and somehow the world does seem to keep turning).  It is a great idea to leave your phone and laptop safely tucked away while you enjoy an outing with your spouse and/or children.  However, a week or two of zero contact doesn't work when you are running the show.  Nope, unless you have a seasonal business & you are in the off-season, waiting until you are back in town and leaving a client hanging for a week or more simply doesn't fly in today's instant-access world.

3). Leave it in someone else's hands, but check in. This by far seems to be the best approach. First, plan ahead.  Want specific steps to take? Notify key clients in advance of your travel plans, put a vacation message on your e-mail account and on your voice mail.  Second, get back-up help to pick up mail & faxes, respond to contacts and send you periodic updates or extremely urgent messages.  I know, a solo is now thinking "there is no one else."  Think again - we are talking about handling a few contacts, not full-time salaried help year-round.  You could hire a teenager, pay a friend, beg a sister or brother, install a temporary answering service - be creative! Most importantly, you can enjoy your time away from the business while not fretting that you might lose the biggest potential job of the year or alienate an important client.

So, I promised my worst business owner vacation story - here goes. A few years ago, I had a lovely oceanfront camp site to enjoy with my children.  We're talking tent-camping, beautiful scenery, roasting smores over the fire pit, star gazing at night (of course, there were hot showers & bathroom facilities nearby).  I made sure my calendar was clear for a week, clients knew I'd be away and so forth.   I thought I'd check my e-mail and get messages routed to my cell phone.  Only problem, without electricity, my phone died and I couldn't charge.  The only internet service was a 15 min. drive away at a little tiny library open a few hours a week (I believe dial-up, too).  When a pressing matter arose with a client who desired immediate resolution,  I ended up driving to find a good reception spot, conference calling on my children's cell phone (which could charge in the car) on a "firefly" phone  (for those unfamiliar, this phone has no numbers, only a few buttons and takes several min to get through passwords & push-button menus to dial out).   Everything eventually resolved, but it definitely made me think twice about how to manage business from afar!  Despite the business frustration, I must say we truly had a nice family vacation!  (and the smores were delicious)