Forum Moderators: buckworks
If you can't find someone who can run the shop for you, do you just disable purchasing from your store informing your visitors that you are gone for 2 weeks?
The problem with that is that you are advertising that your premises are unattended for the benefit of burglars.
Maybe call it "audit" or "restocking" or "refurbishment" or "staff training" some other worthy and plausible reason for not being able to fulfill for that time I suggest.
Rgds
Damon
Notice I said "used to." Having no true vacation is one of the reasons we sold out...
Then you can go away as long as you want. Just make sure to take your PC with you to answer customer questions, deal with vendors, and other issues.
Unless you also outsource your customer service...
Your problem is not vacation; your problem is 1 man operation... Any 1 man shop is quite risky (vacation can be planned in advance, accidents and illnesses can't).
Get a backup (at least one part-time employee) as soon as you are able to pay his salary. It will allow you to focus on growing your business, while he/she can take care of everyday operations.
Even if it seems you can't afford it right now, think again. Part-time, junior position don't cost much. Think of it as a kind of insurance policy...
Your problem is not vacation; your problem is 1 man operation... Any 1 man shop is quite risky (vacation can be planned in advance, accidents and illnesses can't).
Invaluable advice from starec. Start hiring, and once you know your employees and are happy with their work you will be able to not only take a vacation but also relax enough to enjoy it.
I add in a temporary message during Checkout (not visible anywhere prior to Checkout, which is devious I know) stating that: due to staff vacations (or whatever) all orders placed _date to _date will not ship out until _date. However: all shipping will automatically upgrade to FREE! UPS 2DayAir service during that period.
I also say the net result will be that packages should arrive in around the same amount of time or less, than they would have had they been shipped normally via UPS Ground had we been open as usual.
+ shipping fuctionality gets a tweak to implement the temporary change.
Customers have eaten this up. So I spend a little extra on freight for a few days' orders. But I keep the orders which I otherwise could have lost, my customers remain thrilled, and business continues on without a hiccup during my absence.
I don't know if anyone would accept 4 - 6 week shipping for small ecom items though.
A virtual office set up could be a solution for some of you. That is when you are not actually in their office, but you can get mail, have your phone answered, use their conference rooms etc. You can do it month to month to. I plan going virtual when I "semi-retire" - whenever that will be.
We'd be sitting on the phone with them for hours on each order, waiting for their ISP dialup to slowwwwllllyyyy bring up each new product page...and the yell back to hubby: 'Jim, come over here and tell me what you think of this widget here'....
I'm curious - does Amazon.com offer ordering by phone? A paper catalog? (another annoying request)
The virtual office post was interesting but I'm not sure I completely understand what it means. Can you explain a little further Huntster?
Sure, it's ripe for abuse. But it also has a lot of leeway.
If it isn't, you're doing it wrong.
hire someone you trust to take care of essentials while you are on vacation.
Laptop + Cell Phone + Wifi + WebmasterWorld = Las Vegas Vacation, baby!
carrying a laptop on vacation is not a vacation
What? How else can you blog, post pix to Flickr, and watch the webcam you have on your dog back at home?
How else can you blog, post pix to Flickr, and watch the webcam you have on your dog back at home?
one of my favortie hobbies...my personal favorite is the cell phone call from the golf course at 2 in the afternoon to the friends who work 12 hour days.
I have trouble some days finding time for sleep.
True indeed. Also, it never hurts to add some fresh content to your site(s) while you are vacationing. Remember, Google is watching.....
It wont kill you, or sabotage your vacation if you take your Notebook PC & Cell/PDA with you on the road.
If you can spare 45 to 75 minutes per day and dedicate it to building your online empire, you will be able to take more(not to mention a whole lot lengthier) vacations in the future.
Another thing to keep in mind, you need to build various streams of income through your site(s). If you sell products online succesfully, that is wonderful. But dont forget about affiliate programs, advertising, PPC, re-occurring subscribtion services, information products, etc. This way, it wont financially knock you when you are out a couple days/weeks if you have to shut down your shipping operation.
The work never stops so it is important you take time out - even if it means closing down for a week or two.
I find time to go on long vacations by taking my job with me all thanks to the power of the Internet (and not having any responsibilities at home)!
Sorry but taking your work with you no matter where you go does not constitute a vacation in my eyes.
When I get away I really like to get away.
Oddly enough my 2 best weeks of the year in terms of sales revenue coincided with my vacation. Go figure :-)
Clearly, DrGUID, to grow your business you need to take more time off! :)
I'm not exactly a one-person business, but there are certainly some things that only I do. I just completed a 17 day trip, and had two solutions:
- I've engaged some specialized contractors who are capable of handling site emergencies and the like on an hourly basis. If things go smoothly, there's little cost, but if something heads south it's covered.
- I do travel with a laptop and check in more or less daily.
I do appreciate those who like to go completely dark (electronically speaking) on vacation, but I find I can segment my time to allow minimal impact on my relaxation.
I recently read (actually, listened to the audio files) Donald Trump's two most recent books. I can't say I highly recommend them, as they are packed with self promotion and endless superlative slinging, but they are fairly brief and give a little insight into this successful guy's life. He attributes a big part of his success to working all the time - seven days a week, relatively few hours of sleep, and long hours engaged in work-related activity on many days. He can maintain the schedule because he enjoys what he does. While I'm sure he's got some activities he doesn't enjoy - dealing with messy personnel situations, tax planning, etc. - much of what he does isn't "work" in the negative sense. If he's analyzing an opportunity to develop a commercial site, it's not work - it's something he enjoys.
I think most of us DO find that a lot of what we do is fun and we'd do something similar anyway even if we weren't being paid for it. Those of us who are one-person or small businesses, though, no doubt have no choice but to take on tasks that we don't enjoy (and, unlike Donald Trump, we can't delegate these to a horde of specialists).
I think a great goal is a "vacation lifestyle" - to get one's work to a set of tasks that one finds to be reasonably enjoyable, and that lets one take advantage of either traveling as one works or enjoying some leisure at home base. (I'm not quite there yet, but I'm closer than I was a couple of years ago!) This means making some business choices, and may not work for every situation. Those of us who work in the virtual world, though, have a leg up on those who have no choice but to punch a clock in a physical office.
