Summer is here, and I hope you’re going to get a chance to get away from your store for at least a short vacation. And no, that buying trip to Atlanta doesn’t count — unless you extend it by a few days and go hike nearby Stone Mountain, or visit the University of Georgia college town of Athens. (Better practice saying “Go Dawgs” before you go.)  We all need a break from retailing in order to keep our energy and enthusiasm up for the rest of the year — so if you need permission to take some time off, consider it hereby granted!

In order to be a real vacation, you need to leave your store worries behind.  Here are a few tips to help you do that:

•Make sure your store is well stocked with supplies and forms for while you’re gone, including cash register tape

•Designate one or two key employees who are authorized to make important decisions in your absence

•Leave clear instructions regarding any customer special orders, upcoming advertising and promotions, etc.

It’s important to let your staff know where you will be, when you’ll be back, and how you can be reached in an emergency. We keep a “where we’ll be” form on our computer to fill in whenever we’ll be out of town, which is very handy because we can also make a copy for the cat sitter.  We usually e-mail the information to our family as well.

I’d also suggest letting your employees know when it is OK to contact you — and when it is not. We’ll never forget the vacation at a rustic camp in Ontario that was interrupted by someone from the main lodge tracking us down to answer a phone call about where to hang a picture.  Our staff now knows that we’d rather they make most decisions when we’re gone, and that we trust them to do so.

Once you leave on vacation, even if it’s only for an overnight at a nearby B & B, try to disconnect from the store.  Don’t check your e-mail, and don’t call in.  Between your cell phone and the land line of wherever you’re staying, your staff can reach you if they really need to. Assume that no news is good news.

Of course it is always fun to visit other shops when you are on vacation, but you should also try to do something physical. I’m not a very outdoorsy person, especially compared to my husband Dean (who is off biking across southern Indiana this week).  But I spend much of my working life inside, so  I try to get some fresh air and exercise when we vacation together.  Enjoying nature, and a change of scenery, helps me recharge and return eager to take on the challenges of shopkeeping once again.

Happy Retailing (and happy vacation),

Carol “Orange” Schroeder