Do you break from networking or network during breaks?

Do you work on holiday?
Are you the type that takes a proper break or do you let the holiday and work lines blur?

What about networking?
Do all events and social media cease, do you attend a reduced number of events and schedule posts, or do you try to follow the business-as-usual mantra?

What about beforehand?
Are you under control, or peddling frantically towards departure day, or resigned to packing the laptop and finishing off on your journey or even during your holiday?

And what about during?
Do you remain on a device during holidays to continue with some social networking visibility, or it is locked away in your bag or safe with digital detox being the goal?

And, if you have kids, do school holidays make or break you?
Do they present a break from the work/parenting juggle or create even more challenges for your work and networking activities?

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Holidays can be logistically complex

Holidays are a really logistically-interesting time for any small business owner and they raise a zillion questions about which way to continue networking (and marketing your business).

Approaches will likely differ depending on whether you are employed or self-employed and if you can take a proper break from the networking function – event, social or other – and be covered by someone else in your absence.

Behaviour will also vary depending on your personality, your attitude to work-life balance, planning and organisational skills, and views on what networking actually should incur. It’s not just about event attendance and social media marketing by the way.

August for many involves holiday time, myself included. Yet self-employment, despite all its flexibility, still means that it is not a month without networking. The working world is still ticking after all!

We all need a break from work of course and I’m a huge believer in striving for work-life balance. In the run up to school holidays, my mind can be so befuddled, I’m not sure what day it is and I can hear the calming voice in my head reminding me that part-time hours, reduced work/family juggles and turning my back on school runs with trip/lunch money, homework, apps galore, pe/swim kits, trainers/wellies, suncream/coats, club pick-ups/ride shares is within in touching distance. 08.47 feels very different in the school holidays ????

I have a young family and whilst I want them to view their mother as a role-model for honest, hard work as I build my business, I also want their young memories to be filled with quality family time involving mealtimes, weekend activities and school holiday trips.

However, as a networker, marketeer and organiser of business development events, my profession is all about connecting people to assist business growth. I don’t feel the same compulsion to break completely from networking just because I’m in a different location or technically on holiday. And I often find that time off work and away from physical networking events can free up time for other activities to build your networking identity.

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Networking in your break can have benefits

When I’m on holiday, I often find networking accompanies me (just a little) and here are some reasons why.

1. Open-for-business mindset – but with boundaries

Telling everyone you’re away, posting about your absence or switching on that “closed” out-of-office will definitely tell the world you’re away but could it be sending the wrong signal and present a barrier both to inbound enquiries and to your own ability to respond. If I’m open for business, then I’m open to thinking about future work opportunities, albeit in a more remote and relaxed fashion whilst away. In many cases, buyers head elsewhere if they don’t feel they’ve reached someone or at least know when they may get a reply.

Be open to business, even if you set your boundaries on reply times.

 

2. Using the Out of Office as a marketing tool

Switching on the out-of-office may be something that’s craved in the days leading up to your break but have you thought about what you’re going to write in a message that so many people will receive.

When did you last review your Out of Office message and the role it might play in company communication?

The thing with an Out of Office is what it communicates. It can reflect events personally, in business and further afield BUT it can also let us share info and even humour. Contrary to its “rule-setting” logic, there’s no rule. No right or wrong. We set availability and information parameters.

The key is communication when balancing personal and work commitments. Messages buy time (Miranda-style “Bear with” moments) BUT should also clarify availability and further help. And they can include links to more help or even marketing promotions or upcoming events or news. Messages saying nothing could be a wasted opportunity.

If you use an Out of Office, check whether it is communicating the right messages

 

3. Staying tuned in to opportunity

I truly believe that if you love what you do for a living then it should permeate conversations anytime and anywhere. There’s a time and place for work chat of course, but leaving your work behind isn’t always a holiday pre-requisite. My desire to meet new people who may enrich both my business and personal life and who may inspire new business ideas and planning isn’t filed away on my desk when I go away; it is always firmly packed in my suitcase. Despite taking time out to give my young family some much-needed attention, I’m still switched on to work, to opportunity and to networking. Over the years, I’ve had some fantastic and inspiring conversations with people at the swimming pool or on a tour.

Why not let networking – aka relationship-building, often with strangers – come on holiday with you just a little and see where it takes you.

 

4. Networking admin

Networking is an ongoing process which demands a huge investment in time and effort to maintain relationships with your contacts and to keep systems updated. Here are just 5 ideas of things you could do with little gaps of time whilst away, especially if there are long travel times involved.

• Sort your systems – or get someone else to whilst you’re away. It’s a great time to update your CRM, database, and mailing lists – or even get a new system set up – whilst you’re not accessing the data.
• Catch up on overdue emails (and clear a few too). If you’ve not yet sent that follow up message after meeting someone, now is a great time to do that. Clear the follow up decks a little.
• Review and accept connection requests on social platforms.
• Write requested testimonials and request some for yourself.
• Review and improve your social networking profiles.

Are there any small activities you could do on holiday that might be beneficial to your networking identity – or levels of organisation once you get home?

 

5. Reinvigorating your business

Some people will reinvigorate themselves and their businesses by taking a complete break. For others, remaining partially switched-on and getting the breathing space to plan and get ahead may be the tonic that’s needed.

I often return from a break with new ideas and inspiration, new networking events planned, blogs and resources drafted, emails and enquiries responded to, new contacts both back at home and from holiday encounters acquired, and follow-up actions logged.

A break can be relaxing but space to make a head-start can invigorate your business and provide instant momentum once you arrive home. At the very least, staying partially tuned-in will sort out those first day blues if the email is up-to-date and the ‘to do’ list is prepared.

And if you’re still really averse to letting any work / networking creep into that holiday, you could always extend that out of office by just a day when you get back.

A day out of the office before you really need to restart fully can help you get ahead of yourself.

 

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A break from networking or networking during your break?

Whilst we all know that taking a break from work is crucial to physically and mentally recharge, if meeting people and contacts fuels you personally and in business and staying partially connected to work whilst away fits your working style, then perhaps allowing a little work and networking – within reason – to accompany you on holiday may be the right call. There may be value and opportunity sitting hiding in your holiday encounters and there’s certainly a stress-busting angle in both the catch-up or advance planning time.

So, will you be taking a full 100% break from networking or will networking form a tiny part of your break?

MORE INFO

Kirsty James is a networking, relationship-marketing and connections expert with a track record in supporting people to ‘Connect with Purpose’. Kirsty specialises in effective business communication and relationship-marketing using the power of networking to enable personal and business growth and community engagement. Offering networking skills training, workshop facilitation, event hosting and speaking, and marketing project management.

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