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Here in Virginia, our weather tends to swing in major ways, often having us switch between heat and AC in the same day. In true Southern fashion, last week’s vibey cool spring has morphed into summer temps overnight!

These balmy afternoons have me thinking about upcoming vacations and how freelancers can prepare their schedule, clients, and finances to unplug and relax.

Ready to plan your own summer getaway? Here’s how to set yourself (and your clients) up for success.

⚠️ Give clients a heads up

Years ago when I was a newer freelancer, I used to be afraid of telling my clients I was out of town. I wanted to be on-call 24/7, lest they replace me with someone else.

Now, however, I’ve realized an important lesson that I hope you know, too: your client is not sitting around waiting for a reason to get rid of you. If you’ve worked with them for at least a couple of months, you’ve likely earned their respect and guess what - they don’t want to lose you!

Once you start planning your time off, give your clients a heads up. Maybe you can give them a quick overview at the start of summer, followed by a reminder at the beginning of the month you’ll be away.

Let them know whether or not you’ll be online. Maybe you’re ok popping in to check emails every once in a while, and maybe you’ll be in the middle of the woods soaking in the stars with no cell phone reception. Give your clients some expectations on how reach-able you’ll be.

🤫 Pick a quiet time to go

If you’ve been in my neck of the internet for a while, you know I track my projects and income each month (and have for the last several years). That makes it really easy for me look back at real data on my business and choose the best time to getaway with minimum inconvenience to my clients (and consequently, myself).

Obviously, feel free to take a vacay anytime you want! But I know that my Julys really slow down. So if my family is planning time away, chances are most of my clients will be offline as well. 🙂 

💻 Decide how offline you want to be

Are you going to bring your laptop with you on vacation? Or are you going to bring it juuuuuust in case? To be honest, I’ve done both, depending on the type of vacation. Unplanned, last-minute getaways that involve a last-minute Airbnb deal may be more like a “workcation” for me.

But other trips, I’ll go completely offline(!). For instance, a couple of weeks ago, l went on a solo adventure: a two-day spring perennials gardening workshop at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation (Bunny Mellon’s former estate).

I knew my time at the gardens would be jam-packed from morning to evening, so I let my clients know and didn’t even bring my laptop.

I did, however check emails shortly after I arrived (and getting settled into my converted barn stall…it was tres chic, I must say).

And wouldn’t you know, a client needed a clean Google doc copy of a piece I’d submitted a few hours earlier. I actually could duplicate the doc from my phone but I also let him know that I had just arrived out of town without a computer. And he was so nice and didn’t care!

I think most clients are like that. And if they’re not, it’s probably time to start looking to replace them. #facts 🤷🏻‍♀️

So with these tips in mind, I’d love to know…any late spring or summer plans on the horizon? Hit reply and let me know!

Happy freelancing,

Lauren

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