4 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Have a Fun Summer

The last year has been crazy but now that things are getting back to “normal” again, I’m not sure I remember how. With summer rolling in it feels like I should be slowing down and making more time for myself and the sun. I just need to fight that feeling of guilt that starts to tell me I should be working more.

But we deserve this summer more than we have ever deserved a summer before, right?

If we don’t take breaks, refresh, and reset, we’ll burn out. After more than a year of staying home and doing the same thing, it’s time to do ourselves and our businesses a favor and make the most of summer.

After all, why did we become entrepreneurs if not to be our own boss? This boss says it’s time to have fun.

Here are four tips for entrepreneurs to have a fun summer. 

1. Take a vacation, even if it’s a small vacation

I love to travel. Getting out of town, out of the state, and out of the country are all very exciting. So if you can splurge on going somewhere far, I say go for it.

But if you can’t imagine leaving your business behind, consider taking a mini-vacation. This could be a shorter length of time, not going too far from your home, or simply taking time off.

I’m a fan of small town tourism. There are so many neat small towns in Texas. I can take a long weekend, drive my car, and get the benefit of small town prices. Some of these towns are so different from my usual city lifestyle, that I might as well be in a different country.

Another idea is to shorten your work week by a day during the summer or at least commit to being done at noon on Fridays. Just make sure you are doing something for yourself and you can call it a vacation.

2. Prioritize projects you’ve been pushing off

Not every business will slow down during the summer, but many will. Take a look at your numbers and see when you’re the least busy. Then take that time to reprioritize your to-do list.

For me, summer is the time when I catch up on all of the projects I’ve been meaning to do but haven’t had a chance to prioritize. I bump up everything that’s been hovering at the bottom of my to-do list.

These projects are typically different than what I manage in a typical day, so in a small way, it adds a bit of novelty to my summer schedule.

3. Learn a new skill

The summer slowdown is also a good time to learn a new skill. If you’ve been meaning to take a fifteen media PR course, you can finish it in a couple hours and start practicing right away. Summer is a good amount of time to set a goal and integrate PR into your weekly routine.

But PR isn’t the only skill. You probably have already thought about what skills you’re missing, now is the time to find the information you need to improve your business.

4. Outsource what you don’t love

One way to make entrepreneurship better is to stop doing the work you don’t like doing. If you’re wearing many hats, surely there’s one that doesn’t suit you. Find someone who loves the work to do it for you and with your newfound free time, go on a vacation or at least out to the pool.

We both know that working all the time is not good in the long-term and it certainly is not a solution for growing your business. Make this summer the summer of delegation and you may just find that your business is better off for it.