5 Hot Tips on How Arrange a Vacation and Get your Clients on Board with the Idea

You’ve decided! It’s high time for a vacation. If you’re not so sure, and you haven’t read my post Vacations and Happy Clients, How to Have it All, then go check it out!

Here are some step-by-step tips on how to prepare your clients for your well-deserved vacation:

1.    Give them plenty of notice! Entrepreneurs have flexible schedules, and can plan around you much more effectively if they have lots of time to do so. Three to six weeks ahead is best.

2.    Find a covering partner, someone who will cover doing some of the essentials your clients need while you’re gone. Then when that person takes time off, you could offer to cover for them.

3.    Approach your clients in a positive way when you bring up the subject. Tell them, in your own words, that you want to be the best VA you can be for them. So you’ll be taking some time to recharge your batteries and refuel, so you can continue to support them 100%! My own VA, Angee Robertson, says: “Thanks so much for your support in allowing me to take this time to grow and expand myself, so I can be of better service to you!” (Fyi, if anyone else has a great way of communicating this to their clients, please share in comments, thanks!)

4.    Have a discussion with your clients about what they want to take on themselves, and what they might want your covering partner to do while you’re away. In some cases it won’t be worth it to teach someone else what to do. In other cases, it will, especially if this person is someone you might work with again.

5.    Make an appointment to have that discussion, so your clients can take a look at their schedule first and see what they need. Be honest with them about the person covering for you: how well you know them, why you trust them, and why you think they’ll be a good match.

If you can’t find anyone to cover that you trust, be honest about that also. Your clients will be grateful you made the effort, and they’ll be happy you care enough about them to not bring someone in you don’t have a good feeling about. With enough notice, they’ll be able to get by without you for a week or two.