Vacations and Happy Clients, You Can Have it All!

It’s summertime, yay! Vacation time, right? If your immediate response was anything but a wholehearted YES, then read on, this article may be your ticket to freedom.

Everyone needs time to rest, rejuvenate, and just plain have fun! It’s not only good for us, it’s good for our clients too. We make much better partners when we’ve taken care of ourselves and have taken the time off we deserve.

I just got back from a week-long vacation at Disneyland with my two seven year olds, and I speak from firsthand experience. Everything from the change in routine, the change in scenery, and the chance to reconnect with my kids was priceless.

There’s just something about rocketing through Space Mountain into the Stars that jazzes me up and refuels me in a way my computer just can’t.

Ok, ok, so Space Mountain isn’t necessarily your thing. But everyone has their thing, whatever it is. You know what makes your eyes light up and fires up your enthusiasm.

You don’t even have to go anywhere to have a great vacation. It could be something you do close to home, as long as it’s a play break, it will do the trick.

Need more convincing? Check out these studies:

• In 2006, Air New Zealand used NASA equipment to conduct the most in-depth study ever performed on the effect of vacations on a group of volunteers.  The results showed that the volunteers slept three times better, performed 25% better, and even had better sex after taking a vacation!

• A study from the State University of New York at Oswego discovered that women who vacation at least twice a year have a 50% less chance of developing coronary heart disease or any other serious heart problems.

How Your Clients Benefit

“But what about my clients? They’re so dependent on me, how can I just leave them for a whole week (or two)? How will they manage?”

I hear you. I know it’s your job to be the person everyone depends upon. But consider this: what kind of a job do you do when you’re tired, burned out, or stuck in a rut? How does that differ from the kind of job you do when you’re refreshed, enthusiastic, and have a spring in your step?

I’m going to take a guess here: I’ll bet the answer to the last one is you’re more creative, effective and efficient. I’ll bet you get more done in less time, and that you come up with more ideas on how to do it better. And that is a huge benefit to your clients as well as to you.

Soooooooo, the truth is, when you go on vacation, you are actually doing your clients a favor!!

Presenting the Idea to Clients

The next step, of course, is to get them to see it from your point of view. Which will be easier than you think, once you’ve decided you’re going to do it. Coaches in particular will be very likely to support you.

Most coaches, even business coaches, are all about life balance and taking care of yourself first, in order to have something to offer others (another great reason to specialize in the coach market, fyi.)

For specific ideas on how to approach your clients, see my post “5 Hot Tips on How to Arrange a Vacation and Get your Clients on Board with the Idea.”