Online shops - how do you manage bank holidays/holidays

fluffpot

Hi everyone

I'm posting about my husbands business - he runs an on line shop.

I just wondered how other people cope with bank holidays and taking holidays.

Customers of course still order on a bank holiday/Christmas Day etc, so it means that he has twice as much work to do the next day. Not so bad as it's not too often, but if we want to have a proper holiday then there's a mountain of work waiting for him when he get's back and it's hard for him to enjoy the holiday then. We've only managed 1 week away since he started up (three years) and I don't think this is enough as we both work really hard!

If we go away for a long weekend say, he has put a notice on the shop to say that orders won't be sent out until he's back, so I guess a few customers will go elsewhere but he has a pretty loyal customer base (which is obviously great!)

The business doesn't make enough money to employ someone else.

I'd be interested to know how other people manage or any tips/suggestions.

Thanks

Al1x

I still get orders ready on bank holidays so they are ready to send out the next working day. I don't normally check orders/emails on christmas day.. it doesn't take long to catch up again. as for holidays I have always made sure i had internet connection where we were going and took the laptop with me. I guess when you run your own business and not employ anyone then you have to understand that sometimes you will be crazy busy and have to work late into the night.

texranger

As a self employed businessman with several online businesses and only me to run them, i know what you mean, but running your own business now especially retail it is a 24/7/365 commitment. i have 3 online retail stores and a web hosting business.on bank holidays i will still check orders and prepare them ready for delivery or with the site that i use a dropship i will still place the orders with my dropshipper.
christmas day i usually get online about 6pm and will check orders etc. but for my web hosting clients i use WHMCS and have their mobile app, so i can check on support tickets anytime i receive any as server problems can happen even on xmas day.

paulwf

I think with any small business it is hard to take holidays and it is more of a case of minibreaks and "microbreaks". Leaving earlier one afternoon to get away and having the next day off should be possible.

Sometime you are going to have to bite the bullet and take a cold hard look at the business. If you have only had 1 week away in 3 years you need to find a way to increase profits to afford some part time or temp staff, not many people can go on working like that forever. Are you sure you can't afford to get a part timer in once a week? Put your prices up 5% and go through the books to find some cost savings and splash out on some staff, they only cost £6 per hour and just get them in for a few hours now and then, even if it is just to blast out back orders after you've been on holiday.

texranger

Also regarding staff, if you are willing to train someone then their is newdeal and other government training agencies that will supply you with a trainee and you get paid.
I recently had 1 trainee that worked 2 days a week

fluffpot

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I'm self employed too, so know what it's like to run your own business - you're never really not working!

He does use the online shop system/email to check orders and deal with problems if they arise.

God advice, about the mini breaks - that's what we've been doing so far, but as you say that's not really enough in the end! At the moment the business is run from home and probably likely to stay that way so don't think we'd be happy leaving someone here, but good idea to get an extra pair of hands in to clear the backlog. How easy is it to find casual part time workers?
Tex - thanks for that idea about trainees - will get him to look into it

fluffpot

One other thing - I have suggested he could 'shut' the shop if we wanted to go away for say 2 weeks (bit like a bricks and mortar shop) but he thinks that this would damage his business too much.

Has anyone done this and found this to be the case?

Thanks again

texranger

fluffpot wrote: »

One other thing - I have suggested he could 'shut' the shop if we wanted to go away for say 2 weeks (bit like a bricks and mortar shop) but he thinks that this would damage his business too much.

Has anyone done this and found this to be the case?

Thanks again

trouble with that is yes you could just change the index page to a holding page saying you are on holiday for 2 weeks, but this will make purchasers go elsewhere, but as removing the whole site will be impossible as the ime to reinstall it changing the index page will still not stop anyone that knows direct product links from ordering products

Savvy_Sue

Changing the home page to say you're shut could also advertise the fact that you're away to burglars. I don't know how much of a problem that would be, but you must have your address somewhere on the site, I assume!

Staff: I'd start with word of mouth if you just wanted casual catch up staff. Friends, friends of friends, teenage children of friends and friends of friends ... However, I'd still take up references (at least by phone) and have a written agreement: £x per hour, minimum of y hours, possibility of extending this but only casual. Give them payslips, keep records, talk to HMRC about registering as an employer (is not as complicated as it sounds in this situation). Then you get to suss out who works hard, who you trust, and maybe in a few months you can get a break!

paulwf

College students make good part time staff...especially this year as EMA is being wound down and tuition fees are going up for uni. At my local college they only seem to be there half the day so are flexible and if they have the drive to do A-levels they seem to have the drive to do some work...much more so than the average teenager that isn't in education. This is a generalisation and there are exceptions (I have a very good teenage full timer) but college students are a good place to look as they don't need too many hours.

As to taking 2 weeks off I don't think this will really work but you could easily close for a week over Christmas...especially if you get one of those years with all the extra bank holidays.

texranger

Also with an online business if you want to take a week off, you have to decide when is best. like i sell toys and i know that i dare not take any break from Oct. to Dec. 25 as i work 29 hrs a day 8 days a week running up to xmas day, but from boxing day i get a rest and take several minibreaks for 3 weeks.