98. How to take a one month vacation when you have a roster of monthly retainer clients

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Here's a good question from Mark about taking a one month vacation when you have a full roster of monthly retainer clients:

For most of us, it's been all work, all the time since last March. My wife suggested that I take a month off (July) in the summer. It would be great to unplug.

Any thoughts on how to do that when you have a roster of clients that you work with on a regular basis?

The high level summary includes:

1. Splitting the month (i.e. going 15th to 15th) to avoid one complete missing invoicing/service period and therefore charging full rates. Or go 3 weeks to make it easier to do that.
2. Prepare in advance and have things lined up so the client is able to run with things without you—or with minimal input from you while away.
3. Manage expectations early and often with your clients. Tell them early and often that you plan to be away, how you'll handle it, and what it means.
4. Be prepared to do extra work leading up to and returning from your break (i.e. more calls with your clients/their suppliers, etc.)
5. See if you can do some check-in calls mid-break (contained to a day or two) and/or be available to answer emergency or time-sensitive emails with some expected delay
6. If you can't do many of these, you might need to offer a partial refund. Remember, the value you charge for is not based on hours or individual weeks. It's based on creating a transition into a better situation for your clients. How you do that is up to you. So don't nickel and dime it into hours or weeks. 

I've gone on multi-week breaks before and it hasn't been an issue. A month is a long time so do what feels right at the end of the day.

Hope this helps!

Bye for now.

Kevin

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