3 Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for Summer
IN A HURRY? HERE’S THE BOTTOM LINE
Now is the time to start planning your summer schedule! Starting preparations in the spring ensures that you can fully embrace summer fun without letting your professional responsibilities slide. To prep, I’m confirming team schedules, blocking my vacation dates, securing childcare for my daughter, and working ahead on marketing activities to make sure my business continues to grow throughout the summer months.
GOT A MINUTE? HERE ARE THE DETAILS TO CONSIDER
As spring break rolls around every year, I find myself chomping at the bit to begin planning my summer. My family always looks forward to a more relaxed and flexible schedule, in the summer, when my daughter is off of school. But that doesn’t mean I want my business to slow down.
Starting preparations in the spring ensures that my team and I can fully embrace summer fun without letting our professional responsibilities slide. Let’s go over three areas that my assistant and I are handling, right now, to gear up for a summer that promises fun and family time - as well as productivity and continued business growth.
Confirming Schedules & Vacation Dates
Summer is officially a few months away, yet I’m already blocking off vacation dates and encouraging my team to do the same. I’m also creating new weekly time blocks for the summer months. Because I don’t work most Fridays in the summer, I need to make sure I’ve still budgeted the right hours to accomplish everything for my business.
This applies to my team of independent contractors, too. My Senior VAs and I have made it a priority to encourage each team member to confirm their weekly schedules and lock in their vacation dates early. With this proactive approach, we can plan for backup coverage so there is never a gap in service for our clients.
Working ahead on plans ensures we have the time we need to unplug and recharge, and spend quality time with our families.
✔️ Add this to your to-do list: Create your summer schedule and block off vacation days.
Finding Childcare for My Daughter
As much as I love having a lighter schedule during the summer, focused work time is one of my non-negotiables. My daughter is not old enough to be completely independent in the summer, so I need to make sure I’ve covered my bases for keeping her occupied during my working time blocks.
To help out, my assistant is researching a range of childcare options in my area, including full-summer programs, day camps, and miscellaneous activities. I’ll be making the final decisions on where to enroll my daughter, soon, so that we can head into summer with a plan in place.
My goal is to structure a summer that accommodates her needs and mine, weaving together productivity and quality time in a way that feels right.
✔️ Add this to your to-do list: Secure coverage for your kids and/or pets, so that you can focus on work when you need to.
Working Ahead on Marketing Activities
Every business owner dreads the “feast or famine” cycle of sales. My business sees a little bit of seasonal variability, but not much, and it’s important to me that I maintain a steady stream of quality leads and amazing clients in our circle.
That’s why we’re planning on marketing activities now, to maintain our visibility and consistently promote the Melissa Swink & Co. services throughout the summer months.
By scheduling content in advance, refining our marketing strategy, and ensuring we have a pipeline of promotional activities lined up, we can maintain a consistent presence in the eyes of our clients and prospects. This helps smooth out any sales fluctuations and keeps the business growing throughout the summer.
✔️ Add this to your to-do list: Work ahead on your content calendar and plan all summer sales activities.
Get a Team in Place to Make Your Summer Great
I could never enjoy a flexible summer season without the support of my team!
If you’re curious about how my Virtual Assistant team can give you some well-deserved time off, I invite you to schedule a no-obligation consultation. If you’re a current client of Melissa Swink & Co., please feel free to reach out to me via email if you’d like to review the tasks and projects you’re sending our way and discover additional ways we can support you as you grow your business and look ahead to your summer schedule.