How Entrepreneurs Spend Their Summer — Experts Weigh In

Summer’s just around the corner and we’re starting to get excited for beach days and BBQs over here at MyCorp. Though, the summer season means something different for every business owner; one man’s busy season is another man’s slow. We wanted to ask our small business experts how they plan on spending the summer months.

Here’s what they had to say…

1. “Summer 2017 is all about creativity. We are slowing down to design and build the next version of our software. We are spending our days in the studio, and our nights out with friends getting inspiration for the next day. The variety of activities to inspire and relieve stress are helping us be at our most creative.” –Grant Stanley, Bric

2. “This summer, I am taking a week away from the business for a mission trip to Colombia. I will be completely disconnected and relying on my team to manage everything while I’m away. Later in the summer, we will have a team building retreat and we are looking at some industry and/or leadership conferences we can send our managers to attend. We will also use this summer to launch a new program called The Collective, which is a consulting and coaching program for small business owners who want to learn more about smart marketing practices they can implement to get more business.” –Kate Weissing, NewEra Collective

3.“This summer, my family is taking a vacation with my business partners and their families. We’re renting a beach house for 4 nights and planning to enjoy each other’s company and recharge. Of course, there will be some business talk with beers late at night, but the goal is to bond and relax!” –Chris Brantner, CutCableToday

4. “Summer is a great time for travel and taking some time off. However, your business will still run while you are away. As such, it’s essential to safeguard your small business with the appropriate security measures so you can rest easy and relax on your summer vacation.” –Sage Singleton, SafeWise

5. “This summer we’re trying out a new punch card option for our kids’ art classes at our Studio. I figure the summer is the best season to try out a new idea and get feedback from our customers. If it works out well, we might incorporate it into our Fall schedule.” –Valeen Bhat, Private Picassos

6. “This summer we have made a move, for the first time ever since 1955! We have launched our first ready-to-wear shirt collection online to further expand our business worldwide. Sticking true to our niche, all our dress shirts provide shoppers with the option to customize their shirts by selecting their preferred fit, neck size, chest size and sleeve length. All our shirts are made with superior workmanship, quality and fabrics imported from the finest mills of Italy. The collection consists of all shirts made in the USA, so yes it’s easy to say this summer will be a busy one for Anto! It will be one of those summers we use as an investment to grow our business, which we are all very optimistic and hopeful of.” –Margaret Andriassian, Anto Shirts

7. “This is the first time ever that I have tried half day Fridays during the summer. I started a few weeks ago and I will tell you it feels good. The first time I did feel a little guilty leaving the staff behind but then I thought, I work hard and I deserve this. It’s setting in now and I am getting used to it.

I’m also taking several vacations with my family and I will not be looking at my phone – which never happens. Ever! I finally have a group of employees that get it. They understand exactly what needs to be done when I am not around. I realize that I have a company, not a job.” –Teana McDonald, 3E Connections, Inc.

8. “I am hitting the road promoting my companies new smart phone app “Simon” 3-click paperless payroll.  It will be the very first complete payroll app for micro businesses. Micro businesses are any business that has 1-10 employees. My marketing department and myself will be attending various industry trade shows to promote our product through the months of June-July. Our app first debuted at SXSW 17 were it received an overwhelming amount of curiosity and support from all kinds of industries. The goal will be to get the word out there about the new app as well as to network with other industry professionals.   I will be at tradeshows in June and working on other publicity angles for the rest of the summer; including a few radio shows and speaking engagements.  Taking the summer off was no longer an option for me.”- Charles Read, GetPayroll

9. “My name is Aiden Rhaa and I run a photography studio in Boston, MA. I have been photographing weddings for 7 years and noticed that many of my previous clients have children now. This summer, I am planning on leveraging my email list to market children and family photography services to them for additional revenue.” –Aiden Rhaa, Aiden Rhaa Photography

10. “We are putting more redundancy in place with our technology; setting up conditions for automatic fail-over from one server to another so we can all be less on call and thus, relax and enjoy our summer more fully!” –John Kinskey, AccessDirect, Inc.

11. “I find the summer is the perfect opportunity to bucke down and keep the momentum going so the year finishes off strong. This summer, I’m working on launching a new media asset. (And then I’ll celebrate in the fall with a vacation.)” –Lauren Pawell, Bixa Media

12. “As a small business owner of a growing eco-friendly cleaning business, I have a very busy summer planned. First, I am taking my staff of about 20 on a company retreat for a weekend, as a way of thanking them for all of the hard work that has been instrumental in our growth over the last year. Rather than recharging over the summer, we are looking to expand into more suburbs. We are also planning a big back to school push/promotion that seems to do better and better for us each year.” –Joanna Douglas, Clean Affinity Cleaning Service

13. “Summer is a busy time for our business. Our plans this summer include updating our websites and introducing seasonal based promotions. As a Botox business/medical spa, people are more concerned with personal appearance over the summer than any time of the year. No vacation here, think big marketing push and growth!” –Dr. Alex Roher M.D., San Diego Botox Inc.

14. “I started a global marketing firm 16 years ago and summer is my favorite time of year. I love the great weather, longer days, slower pace, and the fact most networking groups go on hiatus so there is more time to hang out with family & friends. I do take long weekends and vacation but I do not have anything major planned this summer. A lot of my clients take time off so the pace of business is more relaxed which is nice. I always try to get as much work into the queue as possible now since it can be hard to get clients to commit once people go on vacations in their offices, that way we can schedule timing of deliverables that works for everyone over the next few months.” –Paige Arnof-Fenn, Mavens & Moguls

15. “As the owner of several small businesses, the summer provides a unique opportunity for me. It is the down season for one of my largest companies, so it provides extra time for me to focus on growth with my other companies. I’ll spend the summer launching new products and marketing campaigns, plus get away for at least a few camping trips.” –Gillian Perkins, Aptus Creative Marketing

16. “This summer, I’m taking several long weekend vacations but cannot be away from my business for too long at a time. My business is in a growth pattern – we are launching a new complementary website, 65Medicare.org, and bringing on two new part-time staffers to work on the site. As summer is typically a slower time for my business, I plan to work hard through the summer to lay the groundwork for a record 4th quarter and 2018.” –Garrett Ball, Secure Medicare Solutions

17. “I believe in constantly having new and different experiences—when you see or are exposed to something for the first time, your brain is inspired and makes new connections that it wouldn’t have before. This summer I’m taking my kids on vacation to Wyoming where we will be climbing mountains, exploring Yellow Stone and rafting down Snake River. This vacation couldn’t be more different from what we usually do—we’ll be completely off the grid, disconnected from the distractions and reconnected with nature. We’ll see every star, we’ll be in a place where you can hear and feel complete silence, and we’ll be humbled and inspired by the vast beauty around us.” –David Moncur, Moncur branding + digital agency

18. “If I can put it in a few words, it’s all about balance! I’m spending summer time going to parks and beaches with my family as much as I can. But as an entrepreneur I can’t afford to step out of the office for too long. I’m usually working around 12-16 hours a day to get things going and to move the needle, so this year I’ll enjoy the sunny days right here from my city. I’ll go after the best of both worlds with one foot at the office and another at the beach having ice-cold lemonades!” –Nick Chandi, SlickPie Accounting Software

19. “Summer is our busiest season as clients go on vacation. I will take one week off in July
to escape the oppressive Texas heat by hiking in Canada, but otherwise my business partner and I will be busy caring for client’s pets so that they can take a vacation.” –Chantelle Wallace, Skyline Pet Care Austin

20. “Although I enjoy summer vacations as much as the next person, I truly love being at work, and I enjoy working in the office and interacting with the employees; those relationships and that communication recharges me constantly. I take the summertime to help the employees recharge and find a healthy balance between work life and social life. This year, we’ve implemented goals to reward employees with a “Get Out of Jail Free” card which allows employees to take a Friday afternoon off to enjoy their time away from the office, with no guilt.” –Matthew Massee, The Advocates

21. “As a small business owner and recovering workaholic, it would be easy for me to just work and find more work to do for the entire summer. Admittedly, I love staying productive, and love to create innovative ways and strategies that would contribute to bettering my business, that will in turn better small business growth for my clients.

But after over 20 years of working and not finding a good balance between family, personal fulfillment and business, I recently learned how to “blend.” For the summer, I plan to create, work and even blend the two when it’s purposeful. For example, I like building workflow models for my clients. I like organizing their business areas while creating functional ways for them to make their businesses easier to manage. So, some of the projects will be creating will be while I’m outdoors by the ocean, taking a walk. Then I will get out my laptop and create the workflow charts with the wind behind my back. Several years ago, most business owners wouldn’t dream to make their businesses remote and mobile, but with blending your life, you can find ways to simultaneously rest and work more productively.” –Eunice Joshua Clarke, The Executive Advantage Virtual