While taking a short break (or a mini-retirement, as mentioned by The 4-hour Workweek’s Tim Ferriss) is nice, as not many entrepreneurs have the privilege to take days off from their businesses, I don’t believe that any entrepreneurs can shut themselves out from entrepreneurship.
Your mobile phones and any other communication equipments can be turned off, but you can’t simply turn off your creative mind. Here’s something that I do while on vacation – Start a business.
Why starting a business while vacationing is good
Trust me – You need an outlet for your creative juice to flow freely. Vacations can present you with therapeutic activities that can help you becoming more creative and optimistic as a business owner.
Vacations are great, as you are relaxed and focus on things you enjoy. This might be the best time to start a business, as you are not distracted by any issues your business have (assuming you keep your communication equipments shut.)
Unless your idea for vacationing is city-hopping, where free time is rather limited, you are definitely having much free time – Ideal for business idea brainstorming.
How to start a business while vacationing
So, ready your note pad (the paper-based one is the best) to take note things that interest you, including any business ideas that come up out of nowhere.
I remember doing this while on a long bus trip to another city. While sightseeing, I cannot help seeing interesting people doing interesting things that, in my entrepreneurial mind, can be translated into money making opportunities. I take note and write mini business plans to see whether things can be a legitimate business idea (legitimate means a lot of potential to grow and can make considerable return on investment.)
You can also visit a local business you are interested in to learn more about their business processes and to know whether the business concept is feasible to be implemented in your local area. Purchase a product or two will let you inquire with some probing questions – Just remember to do this as subtle as you can.
Another idea is to directly visit local Chamber of Commerce in you free time, to see whether a business link is possible between the place you visit and the place where you live. Obviously, you would want to consider this if you are interested in International business trading.
Ivan Widjaya
Starting a business