With the holiday season upon us, many business owners struggle between making time for their family while giving their business the attention it needs. The fact is that in most cases, it’s the business that wins. Here’s five tips to help you focus more on yourself and your family without stressing about the business.

1. Plan ahead. Notify customers, suppliers and anyone else who might need to reach you, that you’ll be working reduced hours or will be away between certain dates. Set up an auto responder email and update your voicemail greeting.
2. Limit your “response time”. There’s no way a business owner would allow themselves to be inaccessible for days (or perhaps even one). So set aside a period of time each day, 30-60 minutes to check email and voicemail. Keep responses to a minimum. It’s okay to acknowledge the email, then let them know you will look into it upon your return.
3. Reflect. Being away from the office can give you the time and energy to focus and plan for the year ahead. Think about what changes you would like to make, create new goals and plan your strategy.
4. Don’t worry. Any customer that threatens to leave you because your on holiday is a customer you don’t want. If your business suffers because of a few days off, then you have bigger things to worry about than the holidays.
5. Never apologize. You have just as much right to take a holiday as anyone else. That’s one of the perks of being the boss. Never apologize or feel bad for doing so. You’ve earned it!

Marc Gordon is a marketing expert and professional speaker. Get more marketing tips on his website, marcgordon.ca and on his online show, marctv.net.