Prior to going on vacation, get your business in order.
Preparing your clients and staff for your absence is essential to making your vacation truly enjoyable. And keeping your small business in the black, especially if you have recently received any small business grants.
Inform your one-on-one clients in advance of your vacation plans and that you won't be able to complete their job during that time if they deal directly with you rather than one of your workers.
If you have clients who put off getting work done until the last minute, let them know you're going away (or will be unavailable) starting a few days before you actually depart on vacation.
That way, when you should be packing and getting ready to leave, you won't have to deal with their last-minute requests.
Take paper copies of your airline cards, bookings for your rental vehicle, hotel, and tour, as well as any other itinerary information for peace of mind. Finding an address and phone number on paper sometimes just takes less time and effort than using your phone or computer. Put the papers in a compact folder and arrange them so you can quickly reach them. Place the folder in your carry-on or purse. In this manner, you can easily board a plane or travel to your hotel even if your phone's battery runs out.
Prepare for your absence by training your staff.
Over the years, I've come to realize that anything in your office that may malfunction or break down will do so when you're away. If the office's Internet connection ever fails, it will do it while you are away. If the website for your company is going to crash, it will do it while you're away.
Equipment failures, delivery hiccups that enrage your biggest client, and pretty much anything else requiring immediate response are standard. Make a list:
What to do, when to contact for help, and who to call if any of the machines won't boot up in the morning.
What to do if the Internet connection goes out, what to look for, how to reset the router and cable modem, and when to contact the cable provider for assistance.
What to do, how to verify (i.e., that it's the website that's down and not the office Internet connection) and who to call to diagnose and fix the issue if the company website appears to be down.
When to call the office building's building maintenance contact, as well as her phone number.
Create ground rules for your vacation.
Even the most meticulous preparation will be useless if you let yourself become enmeshed in working on your small business every day. Establish a time of day and a time limit for checking in on the company to prevent that. Pick an hour in the morning and perhaps another 45 minutes in the evening after you return from dinner or other evening events when you're likely to be just hanging out in the hotel room anyway.
Be cautious when using hotel or public WiFi to prevent hacking. Using a VPN is the best choice when not using a private connection (virtual private network). VPNs are provided by numerous well-known antivirus software providers. If you use antivirus software, ask the provider if they offer such a feature.