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With a Little Planning, Vacations Can Become Reality July 1999 — Despite the notion that small business owners can't afford to spare any time away from their businesses, July survey result findings indicate that more and more small business owners are taking the time to go on and plan vacations. The key? Planning in advance. In fact, nearly 75 percent of the survey respondents have taken a week's vacation or more in the last two years (50% in the last year). This is compared to the nearly 30 percent who have not gotten away from work in more than four years. The biggest fear of leaving their businesses for an extended period of time, according to nearly half of the respondents was that there is no one else to do the work. Complaints from customers (21.7%), a decline in revenue (13%) and concern that work would cease (10%) in their absence were other concerns facing these small business owners. While a good percentage of small business owners have found a way to relax and rejuvenate after returning from vacation (41.3%), it doesn't go unnoticed that a majority (58.7%) of respondents feel a combination of being overwhelmed, tired, disoriented and anxious when they return to work. To alleviate the stress of leaving their business for a little R&R, most respondents agreed there are ways to prepare a small business and its customers for an owner's absence. Over half (57%) of the respondents proposed a combination of the following to ensure a business continues to operate efficiently: 1) notify key customers in advance; 2) designate a trusted employee to take charge; 3) train employees on how to make key decisions in an owner's absence; and 4) develop a response plan for critical issues. When the time does become available for small business owners, where do they want to be? Vacations planned to visit a foreign country (28.3%) and inhabit a beach or island (21.7%) were among the top destinations pinpointed for the next vacation spot. Click here to view the results of previous surveys.

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