Home Business Insights & Advice Taking a holiday when self-employed: Putting family first

Taking a holiday when self-employed: Putting family first

by Sarah Dunsby
15th Mar 23 9:45 am

You may be aware that those in employed positions get a certain number of days of annual leave each year, varying dependent on the company. However, this isn’t the case for those who are classed as self-employed. Any day you take off for illness or pleasure may mean a loss of earnings. Therefore, you might want to think about how you can spend time with your family on holiday, without missing out on too much of your regular income.

Book in advance

Booking excursions in advance when on holiday can allow you to figure out when you are likely to be unavailable. Should you opt for one of the many great tours in Marrakech, you might find that, for the majority of the day, you won’t be able to access your phone or computer. Having this time to yourself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Going on tours abroad with family can allow you to spend quality time, with everyone leaving the tech behind to focus on each other. You may also find that exploring different parts of the world helps you to avoid feeling burned out, which could allow you to then be more productive on your return.

Choose your dates carefully

Depending on your trade, there may be some parts of the year that are quieter than others. For those who work as freelancers, you may be pleased to find that it is the summer months that may offer you less work. This may be due to more people taking their paid annual leave at this time, so there is less work and communication with freelancing individuals. The benefit of this may be that you aren’t needed as frequently during the school holidays. This could make it the perfect time to focus on getting away with your family and making the most of the time you have together without other commitments getting in the way. Even if it is unlikely that you will get work in this time, it could still be a good idea to inform your clients of when you will be away from home.

Do small jobs while away

Should you not want to turn down any work while on holiday, and it is feasible for you to do so, you may want to think about the benefits of working remotely from a different country. To be able to do so, you may want to think about getting a wireless dongle, especially if your hotel doesn’t have free Wi-Fi. In saying that, you might want to limit your working to the morning or evening, so that it doesn’t spoil the holiday for yourself or your family, who might want to spend time with you. This could allow you to do a few short projects that don’t take much time, and still keep some of your usual income.

Being self-employed can grant you a lot of freedom, but you might also struggle with not having the guaranteed income that comes with employment. It can be possible to find time for a holiday, and still earn some money, when you work for yourself.

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