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How to Take a Vacation From Your Marketing

CHuntly

As a business owner, the most important thing you can do for yourself is take a break. It also happens to be the hardest thing to do if you are trying to run your business because the moment you go silent on the marketing front you will lose audience interest.

With the holidays right around the corner, it is the perfect time to take a breather from 24/7 entrepreneur brain. Taking both a physical and a mental break from your business (even if it’s a staycation) will help you avoid burn out.

If you’re looking to take some time off this holiday season, don’t let your marketing efforts suffer. Here are a few things to consider to keep that momentum going throughout your time away.

  1. Blog early: You should have a regular posting schedule for your blogs so your audience can come to expect content at a certain time. Keep that schedule going while you are away by writing your blogs ahead of time. Most blogging platforms will allow you to schedule each blog to go live at a specific day or time.
  2. Automation is your best friend: This requires a bit of planning, but if you work ahead of time, you can schedule content to go out while you are away. Work with a program like Hootsuite, Buffer, Mailchimp, etc. Try to stay away from the bots that automatically like and comment on posts as those can seem too contrived.
  3. Delegate tasks: If you already have a team in place, make sure you put someone in charge while you are away. Empower them to make decisions without you, but let them know that you are available for emergencies. If you are a solopreneur, hire someone you trust to look after things while you are gone. Start working with them at least a few weeks in advance so they are fully comfortable while you are away.
  4. Prioritize tasks: Not everything has to be done right now. Have a look through your to do list and rank everything by due dates. If there are things that need to get done before you leave, then get them done. If you have tasks with no due date or ones with later due dates, leave those to get done when you get back.

After taking some time for yourself, you will find that you return more refreshed, which usually leads to more energy to put into your business. Taking time away from your business will allow you to approach your business from a new perspective. It will make you a better business owner – and your marketing strategy doesn’t have to suffer.

Candace Huntly is the Founder and Principal at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

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Get organized for 2017

2017-workbook

5 Ways to Prepare for 2017

sandra

It’s hard to believe that there’s only about six weeks left in 2016! While many use this time heading into the holidays to wind things down in their business, I find it one of the busiest times of the year. For me, it’s the time to start working on the plan for the New Year as well as work with clients developing their own plans. Here are 5 ways to prepare for 2017:

  1. Celebrate your accomplishments

Taking the time to review the current year’s accomplishments is a great way to start the New Year. We often focus on the things that didn’t go according to plan or the mistakes made along the way. If we direct our energy on the negative we set ourselves up for more of the same. No matter how much went wrong this year, there are always things that went right. Find time to reflect on what those things are.

  1. Review what’s working and what isn’t

You know the saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The interesting thing is that many of us keep doing things the way we’ve always done them expecting that if we do more of it that the results will be different. When we don’t get the expected results, we find ourselves frustrated and disillusioned. Of course there are things that we’re doing that do work for us. We need to identify them and see how we can leverage them moving into the New Year.

  1. Identify required resources

We all need help of some sort to make our goals a reality. If things didn’t go according to plan, then it’s time to think about who or what you need in your business to get you where you want to be. What help our resources would have made life easier for you in 2016? Make a list of what you need and make a plan to obtain it.

  1. Set 1 or 2 primary goals

We often don’t achieve the things we wanted to in a year because we overestimate what can be done. We end up feeling overwhelmed with all the things we want to do and the result is that we do even less than we planned. Instead of having 10 goals that you want to achieve in 2017, pick one or two major goals that you want to focus on. Consider what goals if met, will make it easier to achieve other smaller goals. It’s all about finding that goose who lays the golden eggs!

  1. Schedule time off

All work and no play doesn’t just make us dull, it sets up fertile ground for burnout! Make sure that you schedule time away from your business or work so that you can relax and recharge. Achieving work/life balance doesn’t have to be mission impossible. Remember, you didn’t start your business to spend all your time working; you did it because you wanted freedom. Hard work does pay off, but we all need to take a step back so we can come back with fresh eyes and rested brains!

It’s never too late or too early to start planning your year. It’s important to give yourself the time to reflect on the year that has passed and consider what you want to achieve in the one coming. It’s about preparing a foundation to plant seeds that have no choice but to flourish. What are your plans for 2017?

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution. She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!

Connect:

www.embraceyourdestiny.ca

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny

www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook

www.twitter.com/sandradawes

5 reasons why entrepreneurs should travel

Praveeni

 

Life as an entrepreneur can often be stressful and overwhelming, with business commitments and client demands. Planning a vacation is usually the last thing on your mind when you’re trying to run your own business. Surprisingly travel can have some very real benefits for entrepreneurs, so if escaping the Canadian winter isn’t a good enough excuse here are 5 reasons why entrepreneurs should travel :

Relax and renew your mind

Many entrepreneurs overlook the fact that you can actually suffer from mental fatigue – your mind gets tired too! Travel allows you to let go of your troubles and focus on something other than work. Whether you’re lying on a beach or hiking up a mountain a new environment and change of scene can alleviate mental fatigue and relax your body as well.

See different business environments

Travel gives you the opportunity to learn not only about a new culture but a new business environment as well. Whether you realize it or not traveling as an entrepreneur will strengthen your business acumen as you are exposed to different races, cultures and countries. It’s always good to know about how business is conducted in different countries, if you do choose to go international at some point you’ve already got a head start!

Make new connections

Networking is an important part of business so don’t limit your network to just local or national contacts. You never know when someone from another part of the world may require your expertise or vice versa. Travel is a great way to meet new people and make new connections. Whether you travel in a group or solo you’ll inevitably meet and make new friends who in turn will become a part of your international network.

Discover new opportunities

Exposure to different environments and cultures is a great source of inspiration. Traveling can help you discover new business opportunities and ideas as you learn about how different people live and different countries operate. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck thinking inside the box. You can also discover new export or import opportunities based on needs at home or in other countries. Your next great business idea or solution may be only a trip away.

Learn new things

Traveling enriches your life with new experiences and new skills. Look at vacations and travel as a learning opportunity rather than an expense. Whether you’re simply taking a historical tour or using a guidebook to learn the local lingo, travel will always afford you the opportunity to learn new things. It’s a great way to learn a new language or skill. Learning is something that should never stop regardless of age.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.

Take A Break

Sheralyn

In business, as in life, sometimes you just need a break.  Whether it is to step away for five minutes, 5 hours or even (yes, dare I say it) 5 days…sometimes you need the perspective that time and distance can offer in order to come back refreshed, renewed and reenergized.

As soloprenuers we are often given the advice to “never let up, even for a day.”  I recently attended a seminar on how to network through the summer months and a webcast on the importance of blogging constantly because “if you don’t someone else will and you’ll miss that opportunity.” I have even heard conversations that reference “How to remain effective in business even while on vacation.” Really?  Shouldn’t those two terms be mutually exclusive?  What is the point of a vacation if you are still trying to be effective in business?  You can’t do both well and more importantly, you shouldn’t!  The point of a vacation is to step away from the pressures of the daily activities related to your business so that when you return you will be better than ever.

This being July, there seemed no more obvious a time than now to remind solopreneurs that a break from your business isn’t a “nice to have,” it’s a necessity.  A break is an opportunity to take stock (literally and figuratively) to step away from day to day demands, to rest and rejuvenate.  If you do this properly – and by that we mean turn off your phones, close the laptop and shutter the store front – you will have no choice but to fully immerse yourself in the business of having fun with your family, relaxing on the deck of the cottage or at least on your own front porch or balcony.   While doing so, you’ll be gaining a fresh perspective on the direction your business should take moving forward. No one is suggesting that on a vacation you can’t THINK about work but you certainly shouldn’t be DOING any.  Believe it or not, this is imperative to your long term bottom line.  A rest equals the opportunity for your body to take a time-out, to catch up on some sleep and really what is more important to your business than your health?  Without your health, how are you going to run your business at all?  If you’re a solopreneur there is only one you and you are your business so you must take care of you!

Now – no one says you have to give up the business completely.  You can plan for your vacation.  You can schedule your posts and blogs well in advance in order to have them appear when you want them to.  You could ask a trusted friend, colleague or business associate (solopreneurs should never actually truly work alone) to cover for you.  Work ahead.  Submit work contracted by your clients ahead of time or negotiate for a longer deadline.  Chances are your client also wants to take a vacation at some point this summer so they will be happy to negotiate deadlines with you.  The point is, if you have planted the seeds properly, nurtured and cared for them, watered and weeded, you should be able to reap what you’ve sown upon your return.

Everyone, whether a corporate employee, a part timer working to help supplement the family income or a solopreneur – everyone needs a vacation and everyone is looking for an appropriate work – life balance.  So what’s the bottom line for your bottom line?  Take a break!

 

As Owner and Principal partner of “Writing Right For You” Sheralyn is a Communications Strategist – working together with entrepreneurs to maximize profit through effective use of the written word. Looking for web content that works, blog articles that engage or communications strategies that help you get noticed?  Contact Sheralyn today. Sheralyn is also the mother of two children now entering the “terrible and terrific teens” and spends her free time volunteering for several non-profit organizations.

Sheralyn Roman B.A., B.Ed.

Writing Right For You

Communications Strategies that help you GET TO THE POINT!

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