{"id":9297,"date":"2025-05-06T09:24:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T08:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/accountancy\/?p=9297"},"modified":"2025-04-30T11:42:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T10:42:53","slug":"small-business-owner-holiday-support-ctt-accountancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctt-group.co.uk\/accountancy\/small-business-owner-holiday-support-ctt-accountancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Small business owner in need of a holiday? CTT Accountancy has your back!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cSleep when you\u2019re dead! Get in the grindset! Why do tomorrow what you can do today?\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all heard the hustle culture rhetoric, but in reality, these kinds of platitudes can lead straight to burnout.<\/p>\n
As a small business owner, such a thing as a holiday can feel furthest from your mind. But you\u2019re only human; you need rest. We all do from time to time!<\/p>\n
The need to keep tight control of your business, especially if you are still within the first few crucial years, can feel like the most important thing in your life no matter how stressed you get. But taking a break isn\u2019t just a luxury\u2014it\u2019s essential for your well-being and the long-term success of your business.<\/p>\n
At CTT Accountancy, we don\u2019t run your business while you\u2019re away (we\u2019ll leave the dog grooming or CNC machining to the experts!), but we do<\/strong> ensure that your finances, invoicing, payroll, and essential admin stay on track. With our strategic financial planning and process support, we provide back-up, take the burden off your shoulders and keep the wheels turning so you can enjoy some time off and return to your business refreshed, and ready to deal with anything.<\/p>\n As incredible as that might sound, it\u2019s true. Most sole traders and small business owners take just two weeks off a year and even then, most feel guilty about it!<\/p>\n Not a healthy mindset, and if the justification is that you get to oversee the success of your business, in the short term you might get a real benefit from it but over time, it\u2019ll start to wear you down. And it could get to the point that you start making errors because of it, or worse yet, experience burnout.<\/p>\n Not the best idea.<\/p>\n So, how can you avoid this? The only way is by taking a break.<\/p>\n It might feel easier said than done, but by working with us at CTT Accountancy, we can generate a financial plan together. This will give you peace of mind that your business can run smoothly, even while you\u2019re enjoying a much-deserved break from your business.<\/p>\n The financial plan will include:<\/p>\n Go for a hike in the mountains, sit on a sun-soaked beach, however you want to spend your free time you can do so safe in the knowledge that CTT Accountancy will help keep the business moving while you\u2019re away.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re one of the 39% of self-employed business owners that worries about taking time off work because you lose income when not working, we\u2019ll work with you to mitigate this as much as possible, putting in place processes to ensure the dip in income doesn\u2019t affect you in any noticeable way.<\/p>\n With back-up from an accountancy firm like CTT, taking a holiday from your 24\/7 job is easy.<\/p>\n Follow these simple steps, get in touch with us, and then book that holiday!<\/p>\n Probably the most important step. You should make sure you give yourself plenty of time to plan before you go away. The last thing you want is to have to rush your planning before you leave and then feel more stressed on holiday than before you left!<\/p>\n We recommend getting all plans in place at least a couple of months ahead of time, if you can. Obviously, this is an ideal scenario, and life rarely allows us such luxuries but it\u2019s a good target to aim for.<\/p>\n This is an activity to do every once in a while, whether you\u2019re going on holiday or not. Creating a list of all the current jobs you have ongoing, including all admin and financial tasks, helps give you a bird\u2019s eye view of exactly how much work you have to do to achieve the all-important time off.<\/p>\n We want you to be realistic; if you have a difficult client with a looming deadline then it probably isn\u2019t the right time to take a holiday just yet!<\/p>\n Using the list you have created you can then get a sense of all the tasks that absolutely HAVE to happen when you are on holiday. You can plan to diminish your workload leading up to some time off but there will inevitably be some tasks that can\u2019t be put off.<\/p>\n Highlight the tasks on your existing list or make a new one with only these essential tasks.<\/p>\n Another useful aspect of making the list is to identify any activities that could be automated, either by an automated email service or updating your social media channels, for instance.<\/p>\n Armed with your list of tasks we can then work together to carry out the jobs that cannot be scheduled or automated. We will keep the engine greased, the plates spinning, the wheels from falling off the cart, while you\u2019re away. It\u2019s all part of the service and one that we are happy to provide.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bad idea to go right back into the thick of it as soon as you return home; in many ways this will undo any benefits you gain from having a holiday in the first place.<\/p>\n Try to keep meetings and other jobs to a minimum for at least a week after you get back. This way you can ease yourself back into the wide world of work and still feel like you\u2019ve taken a break, allowing the reinvigoration of time spent relaxing to translate into your working life.<\/p>\n Think about who needs to know that you are away. If you work in a job that has a lot of client interaction, it will be a good idea to keep them in the loop. Even if you aren\u2019t in a heavy client-facing role, setting up an email notification lets anyone know you aren\u2019t contactable for the duration of your holiday.<\/p>\n Also, if you can, switch off your phone while you\u2019re away. Sacrilege, we know, but having a break doesn\u2019t just mean going to a different location. You need to cultivate relaxation, and let’s be honest, the internet simply isn\u2019t built to allow you to switch off your brain.<\/p>\n We can help you with all of this; you needn\u2019t go it alone. Switching off is hard during any time off if you\u2019re self-employed. In fact, a full 30% of people find it hard to do so during any downtime. We are so indoctrinated to believe work shall set us free that it can be hard to accept that downtime is essential and beneficial.<\/p>\nOne-fifth of small business owners won\u2019t take any leave in 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n
How CTT Accountancy can help you prepare for time off<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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7 steps you can take to put a holiday plan in place<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Plan early <\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Create a list of tasks <\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Identify what NEEDS to happen while you\u2019re on holiday<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Can anything be automated?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Consider additional resources<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Prep for your return<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Communicate with your clients<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Last but not least, enjoy your holiday!<\/strong><\/h4>\n