Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything seems to be going wrong? I had one of those recently when one of my team members had an unexpected emergency and was out of the office during a very busy time.
While I obviously was more worried about whether or not they were okay, the truth is I had a rough couple of days keeping up with everything myself. From customer service inquiries to deadlines for major campaigns, I had to remain calm in the midst of chaos. At first, it was hard as I felt the mounting pressure, but I survived it.
This will undoubtedly happen to every business owner at some point, so it’s important that we remain calm and organized. Here are some of the ways to do that when your team members have emergencies and you become a one-man show.
Accept what you cannot control.
The first step when team members have emergencies is to accept what you cannot control. It’s not your team member’s fault that they are out of the office. These things happen and it is what it is.
While it may seem counterintuitive, you have to let it go as a business owner. You also have to accept that some things may not get done when you want them to. You will also have to accept that you are going to have a lot of work for a couple of days.
Once you accept it and stop fighting it, it becomes easier to focus and complete all the tasks at hand.
Think of backup options for next time.
I’m the type of business owner who lives to have backups. When one of my team members had an emergency, it got me thinking about how much I rely on one person. It also got me thinking about how to improve that.
My next step is to find interns from my local university who want to learn about blogging and online marketing. This will help give me extra support when everything is running smoothly, but will especially come in handy when one of my team members is unexpectedly out of the office.
Rearrange some things.
Because of not having support for a few days while deadlines were looming, I found myself needing to rearrange several things in my schedule to account for it.
One of the best traits you can have as a business owner is flexibility. This is especially important when life throws curve balls and you find yourself needing to adjust.
Calendar systems can easily help you do this so that you focus on the most important tasks at hand. They can also help you find pockets of time you can use for the extra work you may have when team members are out of the office.
Final Thoughts
Emergencies that require your team members to be out of the office are not a matter of if, but when. As a business owner, it’s your job to make sure everything keeps running. By using these tips, you can do so without losing your mind.
Amanda Abella
Amanda is a best-selling author of "Make Money Your Honey", a book that helps freelancers and business owners understand their relationship with money and how to make it more productive. She's driven by helping others live the most productive and fruitful way possible.