Are You Taking Regular Holidays Away From Your Veterinary Business?

As a business owner, you can feel reluctant to take regular holidays especially in the beginning but that may not be the best idea..

I don’t know about you guys, but I know that when friends are chatting around a barbeque the one subject that always seems to come up is holidays… whether they’ve taken a holiday recently or which trips they would like to plan.

Now as business owners we can feel reluctant to take regular holidays… especially in the beginning where you often believe you’re too busy to take a break or your cash flow situation just won’t allow for ‘treats’.

But have you ever considered that the holiday you perceive as a luxury indulgence could actually be one of the best investments you could ever make in your Veterinary business?

Let me explain why…

You see, when you are very busy working in your business, you can become so bogged down with details and concerns about making sure you deliver everything your clients are expecting of you, that your own wellbeing and business goals actually become… well, a little bit lost!

But, in order to grow your business, you need to invest ‘thinking time’… as well as ‘doing time’.

You must make regular time to take a large step back… clear your mind of the day-to-day details and figure out whether you are still on the right path towards your ultimate lifestyle business… and to inspire growth.

Are you too busy 'doing' and missing opportunities?

Often you’ll find that the further you step away, the more creative you can become in your vision… all sorts of wonderful ideas and plans suddenly pop into your head from nowhere!

This is the amazing universe at play again… if you’re too busy ‘doing’ then you’re not likely to be receptive to the opportunities the universe presents… but once you clear your mind, you free up space to allow yourself to receive these gifts.

Jen and I regularly take time away where we can brainstorm ideas with no outside interruptions… we schedule small chunks of time every week and plan regular, longer periods where we can reconnect with our business goals.

No phones ringing… no email… just us focusing on our lifestyle plan… it’s great!

Today I invite you to look at your schedule for the rest of this year and block out regular time that you will spend entirely on planning and thinking.

Perhaps you could consider...

Daily…?  

An hour per day for 3 or 4 days of the week… don’t forget your lifestyle dates too… time where you go off alone and do something you enjoy as that will help you get clarity.  

Monthly…?

An overnight stay or weekend trip with your partner once per month… quality time spent together where you forget about the day-to-day business for a couple of days and enjoy each other’s company.

Twice a year…?

A week or fortnight break with the family… if you can take a week or fortnight out of the business, this is when you will see the biggest opportunities as you will be granting them space to flow into your mind.

The longer, the better!

It can often take several days to completely unwind and forget about work distractions. Sometimes holidays are so short that by the time you’ve unwound, you’re already back at work, so try to include at least one longer break for you to truly feel distanced 

About Diederik

Diederik Gelderman BVSc, MVS graduated from the University of Sydney with First Class Honours in 1977.

Besides his veterinary work, Dr Gelderman is also a certified NLP Master Practitioner and Trainer and world-renowned coach to veterinarians wanting to improve their profitability. He has coached and consulted with more than 350 small to medium enterprises in a diverse range of industries, and has also held workshops/seminars around the world, including in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, USA, South Africa and around Europe, both for smaller organisations and through his Turbo Charge Your Practice Workshops.