Summer greetings to you from Houston!
I just returned to hot, humid Texas last week after 6 1/2 weeks on the road. We completed the 3rd Annual Riley Roo and Mommy Too Grand Adventure which involved driving 5000+ miles, visiting 90+ family members and friends and visiting 4 different cities in beautiful (and much cooler!) North Carolina and Tennessee. We had an amazing time, but we were exhausted when we arrived home and sure were happy to see Eric/Daddy, Daisy Dog and Jasper Kitty!
Some highlights included:
- Spending a week at our tree farm in Pinehurst, NC and discovering treasured artifacts and antiques dated from 1895-1930 in one of the old barns.
- Riley attended a two-week Disney musical theatre camp near Asheville, NC and got a lead role as “Simba” from The Lion King.
- We attended my youngest sister’s wedding (on my birthfather’s side of the family) in Cleveland, TN.
- We visited with friends from three other states (California, Florida. and Ohio) who happened to be in Asheville while we were…
- We did lots of hiking, got plenty of lake time. and even went zip lining!
This is the third summer in a row that I’ve done a big trip like this with my daughter. I’ve had friends and neighbors say things like “Wow, it must be nice to have the time to do that!” and the truth is, yes it is AND my husband and I have made it a priority. Since we live so far away from our relatives, I feel that it is important for me to commit to spending time each summer on the East Coast so Riley knows her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Travel and Family are tied for first place as our #1 Barbour Family Values! As a result, summer trips like this are essential to the fabric of our family.
Here are three simple business planning strategies to help design your business model to support your life (not the other way around!):
- Get creative with your schedule. If you own your own business, look at the cycles throughout the year when business is a bit slower. Plan to build in family and/or rest time during this time. Perhaps it’s during the summer or over the holidays. Or, if getting away for weeks at a time doesn’t make sense for you, can you build in every other Friday off of work? Or modify your work schedule so you finish up earlier in the day so you’re available to your kids when they get off the school bus? Find what works for you.
- Work virtually. I was able to conduct coaching sessions and healing sessions and work on other important projects (like my book) in between having lots and lots of fun this summer. If you can add an element of virtual work to your business, it will allow for so much more flexibility! You can use Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, and regular old teleconferencing to stay connected with your team and/or your clients. Also remember to ask for help. I asked a friend to facilitate the July meeting of SWIB, my local networking meeting, and it went great! I could have Skyped into the meeting but chose not to and they still had a super fun and effective meeting.
- Create a plan and take inspired action. Designing your business to vary from the traditional Monday-Friday 9-5 grind takes visioning, creativity, planning, and persistence. When I first started my business 19 years ago, there’s no way I could have taken 6 ½ weeks off in the summer. But over time, as my life circumstances have changed and as my priorities have evolved, it’s getting easier to step away from the old model of what I feel I “should” be doing to be successful and instead create a business model which is successful for my family AND for my clients. Remember to track your data to help you make good decisions. One of my clients owns a restaurant and after not having much business over the Christmas holiday last year, she’s made the decision to shut down the restaurant for a full week so she can enjoy that time with her family this year.
I’d love to hear from you–how are you designing your business and work to support your life? Leave a comment and let me know!
As you start to prepare for the fall and focusing in on new projects in your business or your personal life, if you need support and accountability, let’s set up a free 15-minute coaching consultation. I’d love to help if I can.
Enjoy the rest of your summer…
Elizabeth
P.S. If you’re curious to hear stories and see more photos of our Grand Adventure, I’d love for you to join me over on Facebook and you can read any of the posts between June 6 and July 22. There are some cool stories, especially the magical one about the yellow goldfinches!