The Entrepreneur and Travelling

As I’m writing this particular blog, I’m on my way home from a series of work-based travels. The travelling for the last two months is still ongoing, and I have 1 more trek to make across our country before calling it quits for the fall.

This is the life of being an Entrepreneur, its pedal to the metal until you can get a base or foundation large enough to delegate the work out too.

We are growing rapidly and that in of itself is amazing. To see our firm, grow from 1 to 7, has been mind blowing. To see our clients continually reach out to us and entrust their strategy with us, has been inspiring. But, it comes with the consequences too;

• work life balance in disarray,
• pushing family and friends time for one more phone call,
• one more email,
• one more….blog.

The work is rewarding but relentless.

Is there a solution to growing your business and balancing your life? I’m sure there are multiple options for the right approach. Unfortunately, I have yet to discover the perfect one.

This blog is more of a nod to my fellow Entrepreneurs. I get it, I see your daily struggle and I resonate with the story. In this blog I will try my best to outline my survivors kit to traveling. This works for me, but I realize it wont work for everyone!

Travel:

• If you have high energy this tip might work for you. Book all your appointments back to back. When travelling for work I try and cram as many appointments, meetings and con calls into my schedule as possible. This means I might have 1 or 2 months a year where I am constantly on the road. It's not sustainable (long term) but it's easy for high energy people to GO GO GO in a controlled burst. That way it leaves the rest of my year to have moderate to light travelling as required and lots of quality time at home. This can work especially well if you control your own work schedule.
• I piggyback travelling for work with vacationing. Sometimes my schedule does not always line up that I can meet with clients and peers back to back. In those events I try throwing in a few tours, restaurants, sightseeing etc. If my husband has vacation time, he makes it a point to do this with me. That way we can maximize quality time. For example, as I am writing this blog from a train with Wi-Fi (we decided on travelling via train so I could continue to work uninterrupted with Wi-Fi) we have just come back from Ottawa. In Ottawa I had a 2-day appointment to rework contracts, brainstorm on new programs and learn employment law with AMC’s lawyer. Also, in Ottawa, are some of our closest friends, therefore, we piggybacked my work travelling into an Ottawa / Kingston Cottage travel arrangement with friends. That’s a fulfilling trip!

Here is an image of me working from the train

• Schedule your calls when you travel! So important to my business is being accessible to the AMC consultants, clients and our candidates. Blue Tooth is always hooked up to the car and my calls are prompted on my outlook calendar. All contacts are pre-programed into the phone, so I can voice activate. Hands free please - Work smart and stay alive!
• Avoid driving if you can and take the train or bus. Crazy I know but it works! When I have clients booked back to back downtown Toronto or another big city, I take fast and reliable public transit. Driving into the big city can be a waste of time for me. The commute via car is getting worse and worse. If I have contracts, work emails or revisions on documents that need to be reviewed asap, I take the train into the city. From that point I uber to my appointments or rent a car. Although the time on the train can be slightly longer than the car ride, the time I gain to write uninterrupted emails, document review and writing is priceless. I do this via local Wi-Fi, hot spot or my phone emails. This will not work for everyone, but I have found in many instances this becomes an essential component of my time management.

Here are just a few glances into how I organize my travels. Perhaps consider, trying out a few and seeing how it works for you. Make a list of the pro’s and con’s before you start. I know how precious time can be to an Entrepreneur so make sure you are organized and prepared to try one of the tips above.

Bon voyage and good luck!

-Agnes

#30DaysOfValue #30DS #ConversationInProgress #EmbraceTheSuck #KnowledgeIsPower #PracticalResilience #worklifebalance #entrepreneur #travellingforwork