Small Biz Owners Eye Summer Vacations

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June 1, 2005--With the summer vacation season having officially begun this past weekend, many small business owners will be making travel plans of their own, according to a recently released survey.

The survey, OPEN from American Express 2005 Semi-Annual Monitor, reported that 67% of small business owners will take at least a week off this summer. While this was virtually unchanged from the 2004 results, respondents - all owner-managers of companies with 100 or fewer employees - expect to check in with their offices less frequently while they are away than in previous years. The percentage of owners who are not expected to at all climbed from 22% to 27% while those who may check in "several times a day" fell from 22% to 16%.

Alice Bredin, OPEN small business advisor, said that the current economic uncertainty is likely responsible for the high percentage of vacationing bosses, who take time off to gain some perspective and recharge their batteries. "When your business is booming, you don't have the time -- you want to make hay while the sun shines," said Bredin. "When things are slow you can't justify time away."

But even as owners plan to monitor their businesses with less intensity, they are increasingly worried about the effect a weeklong absence might have on their businesses. The most pressing concern - shared by 42% of owners - was that a key client might not receive the appropriate level of service. Other fears included the possibility of missed business opportunities (31%), bad decisions made by underlings (28%), and equipment or operational failures (24%).

In addition to the report, Bredin recommended exhaustive planning during vacation periods. According to Bredin, this "vacation checklist" would include paying bills, restocking petty cash, making a "Murphy's Law Plan" for worst-case scenarios, and making it clear to employees under what circumstances they should be contacted.

Max Chafkin

Senior writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.