Can You Take a Month’s Vacation From Your Restaurants?

You can when you set up your company to run without depending upon you.

This is Spring Break week here in Texas (we go early in the year) — time to think about getting away.

What’s the secret of restaurateurs who can get away for a week, two weeks, a month or more?

In recent years I have noticed that my work with multi-unit independent restaurant company owners is increasingly focused on their quality of life.

They wonder, “What is the point of owning a growing, thriving restaurant company if you cannot enjoy every minute?” For many of them, enjoyment means leaving when they want to.

My clients tend to be successful beyond their wildest dreams — even before we start working together. Together, we make their businesses and lives even better. One aspect of that is their ability to get away.

Taking Advantage of Your Success

One client says, “I bought a vacation home for my family, so let’s set my business up so we can go there for a month and not be interrupted with work.”

Another tells me, “I decided I am going to work like a dog for 10 years — and then cash in!”

I don’t wish that 10-year sentence on anybody. You really don’t have to sacrifice years of your life to arrive at a great exit strategy.

The beautiful thing is that, when you are successful, you can take advantage of flexibility. Nothing is more rewarding than arranging your company with that in mind.

Three Ways People Handle Vacation Time

1. Staying home. You don’t take advantage of Spring Break, or any break, because you need to work. You feel, “There’s so much going on in my company I am not comfortable leaving.”When you do this, you’re not allowing yourself to enjoy the freedom that is possible in your life.
2. Getting away in body only. You are on vacation, but you are spending a lot of time thinking about work, checking email, and even making some calls.You see the value of leaving, but your company is not set up properly to let you truly detach. Either that or you just do not know how to unplug.
3. Really on vacation. You are fully present on your vacation. You are making the most of your time away from work. You trust that your company has been staffed and arranged so it is not dependent on you for its day-to-day and week-to-week success.You are truly taking advantage of the opportunity you have created for yourself through your achievements.

I really hope you’re in the third category, and you really can be on vacation — giving yourself that gift.