Well, hello everyone!

First of all, thanks for all of the nice emails and well wishes on Facebook.  Also, thank you for all who continued to sign up for my newsletter while I was gone.  Well, I am back now and hope to be getting some really awesome articles out soon.

It seems like it has been forever, since I have been here, but I did learn quite a bit about aging, life, and business.  Without going into too much detail, I was thrown into—without any preparation—a caregiving role for an elderly parent.  No training, no preparation, no instruction manual.  Just roll with it.  Luckily, I am one of those impromptu folks that can do just that.  Not that I don’t like to do my homework ahead of time, because I sure do!  I can be a research-aholic when I want to be.

Well, Definitely Chock One Up for Work-At-Home

All I can say is that I was very blessed to have had the flexibility to be able to take as much time off as I needed.  Working from home in my own coaching and freelancing practice allowed me to do that.  My clients were just amazing and told me to take as much time as I needed.  Not many traditional jobs will tell you that.

There were times that I had so much on my plate in my new caregiving role that I knew—beyond a shadow of a doubt—I would have been fired or let go from a traditional job.  I actually know people who have had to work at home, because they had to miss so much time from work.

Yes, I would have been shown the door if not a few hand and finger gestures.  Okay, we won’t go there.  But you do see how it worked, right?  Sometimes we small business owners act like and think like we have a job.  We don’t.  We have a business.  A business that can and will carry on without us for a season.  If your business can’t have you take time off, then it really is a job—not a business.

How’s That Contingency Plan Working Out For You?

First of all, what is a contingency plan?  A contingency plan is how your business will carry on should you be unable to work or have everything (all equipment and possibly your house) destroyed via a natural or man-made disaster.

Do you have one in place?  I must admit that the one for my virtual assistant/freelance writing business, GBS Virtual Office Solutions, is spot-on.  There are enough backup plans and Plan B’s to be able to carry on.  There is also a delegation system where others can jump in and take over if they need to do so.

The system for my coaching and coaching blog needs more fortitude and maybe a little more moxie attitude!  I will be working to try and get that more in alignment with who I am and how I would like work implemented in my absence.  Oh, well it took this situation for me to see this with all of its fallacies and flappable holes.

Can Your Business Still Show You the Money or Is the Cupboard Bare?

I call it the Mother Hubbard Syndrome.  Remember poor old Mother Hubbard when she went to her cupboard, and it was bare?  Well, a few days or weeks of not working and you can begin to feel her pain.  Unless you have enough passive income in your business.

Do you have profit centers, affiliate marketing plans, product royalties or ways for money to work for you when you cannot work?  This is what passive income is.  While I do have a few affiliates which pay well and an eBook which doesn’t do too badly, it could be better.  Much better.  I definitely need more passive income.  You?

In Conclusion

While no one can predict what life will throw your way sometimes, you can plan and plan well in your business.  So, hopefully the time away does not just slip away, but become another way of enjoying the benefits of having a business.  A business which makes money for you whether you are there or not.

Mission very possible.

As always, I’d love to hear from you.  Has anyone else taken time off from his/her business and learned a thing or two?  What would you change or now do differently in your business?  Feel free to comment below.