How do you take a vacation when you run a business of one? Working for yourself is wonderful, but there’s one serious dilemma. There’s nobody to give your workload to so that you can take some time off. Taking a vacation means spending a few days offline and many solopreneurs feel that they can’t do it, but they can and it’s well worth it.

In order to take a vacation there are 2 main fears that solopreneurs must first overcome:

1. Fear of Decreased Productivity: If you take a vacation to prevent burnout it will actually increase your productivity.

The main reason it’s important to pull the plug once in a while is the risk of burnout. When you work for yourself, it takes an incredible amount of work and you may never feel like you’re off the clock. Most solopreneurs have problems with work-life balance and this leads to burnout.

If you suffer one serious burnout, it can set your business back much more than a few days offline. The reason is that overly long hours and fatigue have a way of poisoning your mindset and making you negative about everything or making you sick. You need to be positive and healthy in order to work for yourself and be productive.

2. Fear of Losing Clients: If you do good work you’re an essential asset to your clients and they’ll actually miss you when you’re away.

The key is to not disappear entirely. Let everyone know that you’ll be away for a few days. You don’t have to tell them the details of your trip. Just let them know when you’ll be back. Have confidence and realize that what you do for them is important and you’re not as easily replaceable as you might think.

If you inform your clients of your absence in advance, a good client who runs their own business efficiently will plan around it. If you have a client who can’t wait a few days it is likely a sign of other issues and they’ll probably need to find someone else who can better accommodate their schedule.

Vacationing for solopreneurs is all about proper planning. Get started well ahead of time and tie up all of the loose ends before you go. Communicate well with your clients so they know what’s going on and coordinate what you need to with a virtual assistant. Plan also for the money you won’t make those few days you’re not working. Plan well and prosper.