Running your own biz comes with a slew of top-notch perks. Career fulfillment? Check. Creative control? Check. Choosing your own hours? Check. That is, until the Chrissie period rolls around. For most folk, summer means holidays – for small-biz owners, the silly season means a silly amount of extra work. If you’re a sole trader, it can be hard to know when or how much – or even if you should – take time off over the Christmas period. We caught up with three of our favourite head honchos to get to the bottom of their summer plans so that you can craft your own.

ANNA BLANDFORD – DESIGNER AT ABLE AND GAME THE SUMMER WORKLOAD LOW-DOWN The lead up to Christmas has always been the busiest time of the year. We have big markets on, then we have a lot of wholesale orders as well as orders we send direct to customers. Last January, we expected things to slow down after Christmas, but the first week of January was busier than the first week of December.

PREPARE TO WORK ON WEEKENDS We’ll take Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off this year. We generally work Monday to Friday and during business hours with a few hours in the evening or on weekends, depending on how busy we are. Often any work at home is to catch up on things we didn’t get time to do due to making products and shipping orders.FIGURE OUT THE ESSENTIALS Because we have kids, we really just take the essential time off. From Christmas onwards, wholesale slows right down and we don’t have any markets, so it’s just online orders going out. We also try and just have one of us working, so that the kids are not in the office. There were days last summer when they did have to come in, but we try and make it so this isn’t very often. Last summer, we were really busy with online orders, but previous summers, when online sales were slower, we just worked limited hours. I feel like this summer will have some really busy periods with online orders and then slow right down by mid-January.

FLEXIBILITY COMES AT A COST We took time off the year before last and essentially shut down our online shop for the summer. So, unless you have employees, this comes at the expense of making money. The hardest thing about running a business over the holiday period is missing out on all the Christmas events. I’ve missed so many parties due to the December workload. There is a lot of flexibility with being a sole trader for 93 per cent of the time, but in December that feels like it all goes out the window and there isn’t any flexibility. The work increases and it all becomes a bit chaotic.

ROCHELLE OH – FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND ARTIST THE SUMMER WORKLOAD LOW-DOWN Throughout this year, I’m lucky that there have been great art markets in the ‘cute art and stationery’ niche my work sits in, which creates a somewhat sustained demand for my work. But in the lead up to Christmas, I definitely get more online orders and am restocking more often in stores.

SET BOUNDARIES My parents live overseas, so visiting them or them visiting me at the end of the year helps me set harder barriers with taking time off. All my friends who work full-time also have their forced leave over Christmas and New Year’s, so planning time off to align with their break is essential for spending time together! This year I’m taking three weeks off.

LEARN TO BALANCE PLATES Having a home studio and working for myself, it can be really hard to switch off. I find the main factor is whether or not I’ve put too much on my plate, which can sometimes be out of my control as deadlines get brought forward or project timelines end up coinciding. If I feel I have too much to do, I’m stressed, and if I’m stressed, it’s really hard to switch off because I want to solve the problem at hand or get ahead.CASH FLOW VS WORK FLOW I honestly don’t budget for days off or leave. All my work is on a project basis, so working more hours doesn’t necessarily mean I get paid more. The quality of the work, how I deliver it, and simply whether or not it is finished have far more impact on my income. Honestly, if I took more breaks my hourly rate would probably be better, because I’d work for shorter, more focused hours!

PRIORITISE INTENTIONS A good portion of my income comes from selling my art, so I do feel an added pressure in the holiday season. I know this is the most lucrative time for retail, so I sometimes feel like I have a little capitalist demon in the back of my head asking me what more, more, more I can do to sell my work. Sometimes he has good ideas, but I always have to balance those with the slower, more intentional way I want to lead my life and business.

WORK WITH YOUR CREATIVITY Trying to be at my desk from 9 to 5 is good for giving me structure, but some of my best work happens on an early Saturday morning, or late Thursday night. I deeply care about sustainably nurturing my creativity, so it’s nice to be able to work when the mood strikes, and stop when the well feels dry.

ISOBEL MURRAY – FOUNDER OF CLINGYTHE SUMMER WORKLOAD LOW-DOWN For Clingy, we are still finding our groove and don't have a fixed calendar year-to-year and find this period is as busy as you make it. This year, we locked into large-scale art markets and so the lead up to Christmas is the busiest yet. We've had five three-day markets in the last three months, which takes all of our time to make stock for. After my last market this weekend I'll be prepping for a final online drop for the year.

REST IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS My family lives in another state so I'll be spending two weeks with them over Christmas, then I'll spend a week in Bali with some friends. Being away means I can't sew or fulfill orders, but I generally find myself actively planning my next year or working on some projects or admin that I can do from my laptop. I do prioritise rest and spending time with family as I think it can be the most productive thing you can do for your business. I will also try to take some time off mid-year to recharge and draw inspiration for new designs.LEAVE WORK IN THE STUDIO I have implemented pretty strict boundaries over the last year. I don't generally do work at home or on the weekends. If I do, it's work that feels different and fun – like sketching or experimenting with different mediums. When I'm at the studio, I work hard and don't tend to procrastinate.

BUDGET SMARTER, NOT HARDER At this stage, I kind of just make it work during time off by spending from my drawings or savings. I will have my website open for preorders so if I make sales during this time, it definitely helps. I draw a fixed percentage from fortnightly revenue so that when I have good months, I try to accumulate it for the slow periods and not just spend it when it comes. Right now, when I pause, my business pauses. But I'm looking to build out systems so that it's not so dependent on me. I have to plan for these quiet periods but also make the most of them by recharging.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE I love everything about running my business. I feel so free working for myself and deciding how my day and year is going to go. I still try to create routines as I think discipline is really important – but in a way that works for you. For me, waking up with the sun rather than an alarm and having a slow morning routine helps me maintain my inspiration and energy. Also, taking time when you need to rest is important.

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