An Artist/Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Sh*t Together in the Summer Holidays So You Can Actually Enjoy Time with Your Family
Are you an artist who’s also a parent and worrying about how you’ll keep the business ticking over the holidays?
With the summer school break just around the corner, you might be stressing out about how you’re going to juggle business and parenting. It can be a stressful time if you don’t get ready for it ahead of time so here are some tips to help keep your business going without feeling like you’re missing out on time with your kids or like you’re going to drop all the plates. I know you’re short on time so this will be a short and snappy one.
Plan ahead!
You need to be honest with yourself and set some time boundaries here.
When can you work? What are your business priorities?
It may be that you decide to work for a couple of hours in the evening during the summer holidays or perhaps you book the kids into a summer school one day a week. Maybe you plan out play days with their friends so that everyone gets a day off. Whatever it is, get it sorted now - don’t leave it to the last minute.
Planning ahead might also mean selling services that will start later on (i.e. September). This way you bring in the revenue now and do the work later.
Be kind to yourself
Plan in little pockets of relaxation - and yes this is still important. Perhaps you get up 10 minutes earlier to have your morning cup of tea in quiet or do a meditation or maybe you agree with your other half that you go for a 20 minute walk when they get in. These pockets of you time will help you replenish your energy and make you function better the rest of the time.
Ask for help - this was something that I struggled with for a long time. Hopefully you have family and friends around you that can spare an hour to let you go to the post office and post that order (or utilise this as your you time).
Also, you need to be prepared to let some things go. The business is there to support your chosen lifestyle not to rule it. Flogging yourself to the point of burnout is not going to attract those ideal clients anyway.
Be realistic
What can you actually manage? If time is not available then posting daily to socials and running workshops is not going to work. The summer is definitely not the time to be launching a new product or service that requires a lot of time or energy. Instead, look to the possibility of print on demand items that can tick over in the background (but get them all set up well before the hols), create an online evergreen class that people can watch at anytime without you having to teach it.
Do you actually have time to deliver orders? Do you need to move delivery times to later in the day? Do you need to extend delivery windows to give you more time to get to the post office? The post office often offer pick up from your address when you use click and drop online. This can save you a lot of fuss and cut out the standing in lines.
Recycle
Have you got reels and carousels that have done well before? Repost them with new captions. Chances are, a lot of your audience didn’t see them anyway. This works really well with posts about ongoing print on demand products, online workshops and testimonial stories.
Cheat
Use apps like CapCut or use B-roll content to create quick reels. I have had most success with the reels that I have spent the least time making. If you have your messaging sorted and use early trending audios then you’re most of the way there.
By now, you should have a better idea of how you’re not only going to 'survive the summer holidays but thrive during them. Let me know in the comments which tips resonated with you.
If you need help getting this all organised then book a powerhouse with me and lets get you ready to enjoy your summer with your kids.
