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Taking Time Off As A Business Owner: How to Plan Ahead

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You would never expect your employees to work without having any days off, so why expect the same for yourself? Taking time off (and not just a sick day) is not only important for your own health and wellness, but for your business as well. 

After-hours, weekends and vacations can sometimes look less like time off, and more like working from a different spot. 

As a business owner, taking a vacation can seem impossible. However, planning ahead of time will allow you to actually relax and give you confidence that your business will be okay. 

Here are a few tips to help you plan for some downtime:

Predict Slow Times

Taking time off during your peak months will most likely prevent you from having a stress-free vacation. Even if you aren’t working, you’ll likely be thinking of work. Scheduling your time off during a known slow period will allow you to enjoy the moments and not have to worry about there being a thousand tasks and projects that are waiting for you when you return.

Have a Second in Command

Appointing a manager or top team member to take on any urgent matters is crucial to being able to step away. This should be someone you can trust. Maybe they’re already your go-to or the team member with the most experience. Whoever it is, make sure you provide them with any necessary information that they may need and don’t already have while you are away, this way they only have to reach out to you if it is an emergency. 

Give Your Clients Plenty of Notice

You have done the planning on when you are going to take time off, and who will be running the show while you’re relaxing, now it’s time to let your clients know. We suggest sending out an email to clients a few weeks before, letting them know that you will be out of the office, as well as introducing them to who will be taking care of them during that time. Including a reminder of your time away in your email signature is also a great way of reminding your clients leading up to your time away. Setting up an automated email saying that you are on vacation will help you put work on the backburner and not feel guilty about not responding to your clients. 

We know that stepping away can be a hard decision for any business owner, but it is important to be able to take time to relax. Whether it is a day or a week, there can be many benefits that can come from taking time off, such as reduced stress, clearer thinking, increase in productivity when returning to work, creative flow and most importantly, can also prevent burnout. If you plan ahead, the only thing you’ll be thinking of is why you didn’t do this sooner. 

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4 Content Prompts to Get Out of Your Social Media Funk

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Social Media is a great tool to use to help promote and build your business, but having to come up with new content can be a drag. Here are 4 content prompts you can use for the next time you’re stuck in a creative rut. 

Testimonials

“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.”-Muhammad Ali 

Posting testimonials from your clients is a great way to directly show your clients and potential clients that not only are you good at what you do, but you’re great! When others see testimonials on a regular basis, it can help instill confidence in them that you are the right person for the job! 

Social Media Stories (Quick, Yet Important Content)

Sharing content on your social media stories is a fun way to interact with your audience in a different way than you would normally do. Try snapping a behind the scenes photo or video on the project you are working on or of your work space- don’t forget to hashtag #bts (Behind The Scenes) to get a further reach! 

Stories are also an amazing way to learn about what your audience wants to see from you. Posting interactive stories like “This or That” or asking a question can allow your audience to engage with you on a more personal level. 

Announcements

Do you have some exciting news you would like to share? It could be a new product that is launching soon or a special sale that you want to offer your customers! Use Announcement as an opportunity to add a flair of excitement to your content! 

Images/ Videos (The Content That Keeps Giving)

What would Social Media be without pictures and videos? Sometimes it’s hard to get new, unique and original content. Share yourself or your team. Make it human, make a connection and show who is behind your social account and your company. We find that showcasing pictures of yourself and your team has a positive outcome with increased engagement on social media. 

If you can, hire a photographer and/or videographer to follow you around for the day, or bring them to an event you are working on. You can get a ton of images/videos that you otherwise wouldn’t normally be able to capture. You can then use these photos and videos for any of the content that we talked about earlier! 

Having to be constantly creative can be hard, but with these content prompts, you can be prepared for the next time you need content- or contact us! Rosewood offers a range of marketing services that can fit every business owner’s needs, from professional photography and videography to social media marketing and account management. Contact us today to see what services are right for you. 

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Get the Most Out of Stock Photos With These Three Tips

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Whether you are using stock photos for social media, your blog posts or your website, knowing these tips to get the most out of your search will help make your content more original. Here are 3 things to keep in mind when searching through stock photos: 

Pay Attention to Trends In Stock Photos 

Trends are constantly changing, whether it’s fashion, social media, or even the phone we use, these trends can sometimes be easily identifiable in photos. When using stock photos, you want to be careful that the image doesn’t showcase an out of date trend, unless of course that’s what you would like to show. It’s critical to review the date of the stock photo and ensure it doesn’t look dated. A stock photo that was taken in 2010 will likely look very different from an image that was taken in 2020. For more trendy stock photo, we like to use Unsplash.com. This is a free stock image website that provides 2021 quality images.

Not All Images Need To Have Faces

Landscapes, everyday objects and images that don’t show the model’s face are great substitutes for when you aren’t able to take your own professional brand photography. We love and recommend using stock photos for social media stories. For example, if you want to share some responses from a question you asked on social media, you can use stock images of the answer topic for the background. This is a really easy way to get great visuals! 

Get Very Specific With Your Search 

Getting extremely specific with your search on websites such as 123rf.com or Adobe Stock help you get the images you need and want, and limits the time spent sifting through images that aren’t reflecting your vision. When getting specific, try describing the people you would like to see, or the action that they will be doing. Another great reason to get specific is that you are more likely to find unique images, which will allow you and your content to stand out! 


The next time you need content and are looking to use Stock Images, try these tips! If you need help stepping up your social media game, book a discovery call with us!

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