What you do about 'phoning in sick' when you're self employed?

[Sam_400º]

For the first time on Friday I was 'proper ill' and had to close after about 45 minutes as was dizzy and disoriented. In hindsight it was stupid of me to have gone to work. 

I've got staff that support me, but not staff that can run the business if I'm not there too. So on Friday it was a pack-up-and-go-home situation. 

I've taken extra drugs and can form a sentence today and wanted to ask you guys what you do about 'phoning in sick' when you're self employed or have a business that doesn't run itself without you?

[maxpete]

@Sam_400º first off, hope that you are feeling better! Being sick is never fun, on top of the added stress of having to run your own business.

I feel like @Pesso would have some really great insight here on calling in sick while being a business owner. I also wanted to tag some other members @mywinestop & @LukeNieuw 

[Pesso]

Oof, that's absolutely no fun and hope you're feeling better!

It's soooo hard when only you can run the business. 

Having some backups for you could be a good move -- training up a couple of your most trusted staff to know how to fully run the business for the day. You don't have to teach them EVERYTHING about running the entire business (backend and all) but at least that if something happens, they can run things for the day. It's great for when you get extra busy, have a big event, get sick, family emergency, or just even want to take some time off. It's a big next step for the business and can open things up to give you a lot more freedom and a lot less worry. 

At the ice cream shop, luckily we had employees for the front of the shop so if I was sick, we were able to call in someone else to cover the shift. In the beginning, we didn't train or trust anyone to fully run things, but we quickly realized that we had to, and it was great.I was the only one who made all of the ice cream, so I always planned for the worst case scenario, and always made extra to cover us in case I did get sick and couldn't make new stuff for a few days. 

When I was a fitness trainer and I had to miss a day or two, there was nothing I could do but call out sick and cancel my sessions. I always felt horrible doing it because I knew my clients were counting on me, and I was missing out on that income. 

And if any full sole proprietors without any staff are reading this -- I got to bar trivia/pub quiz every week, and the guy who runs it has a system in place where he sets up all of his questions up in advance, and has a couple of people who he trained to run things that he can call up in a pinch. Finding a friend or someone else who you can train to run things for you as a backup is a great plan. I wish I did that when I was a fitness trainer!

Would love to hear some other folks' ideas!

[mksavage]

I think all of this is exactly right @Pesso! It took me several years before I was able to even consider hiring/training managers who could run daily operations without me. And now it's taken a few more years to actually get the right people in those positions and train them. So, it doesn't address the immediate situation (so sorry you're sick @Sam_400º !), but long-term, it seems the only way to make the business sustainable. The managers still don't do everything exactly like I would, but having them there make it possible for me to not always be there, which has been a huge win. It's been a long process of writing out systems, simplifying operations, "operationalizing" decisions that are more gut-based (like when to give a discount, when to refund, etc.)... so, tons of up front work, but ultimately worth it, I think. (And still definitely a work in progress over here!). 

[LukeNieuw]

It was Critical for me to really train up a #2 and put the proper systems in place that made things as simple as possible. You need to be thinking about replacing yourself on a daily basis. If things can't run without you, you will always be at its mercy. And once you have that #2 you have them train up someone to do what they do in case they get sick.

Like @Pesso said, they don't need to now everything about your business but they should be able to handle the day to day without contacting you unless it's an absolute emergency like the place is on fire 🙂 

I've gone from working 80+ hours/week on the front line to some weeks in the single digits now. Letting go and using the tools you have to "keep an eye" on things is key! Without Square I would have never been able to make that transition. 

[mksavage]

@LukeNieuw Love this: "You need to be thinking about replacing yourself on a daily basis. If things can't run without you, you will always be at its mercy." So true! And I think it's super hard to get to that place, especially when part of how you've been successful is by doing it all yourself. At least, that was the case for us -- what it took to get where we are now is working 80+ hours a week, handling everything ourselves so we could guarantee quality. But at some point, us doing it all ourselves was what was holding us back. Tough transition though.

I'd love to hear some of the tools/systems you use to keep an eye on things while you're away. Single digits is inspiring!!

[Bronze_Palms]

Shoot! Hope you are feeling better. This is a tough spot to be in.

You should be able to take days off and know, with confidence, the business is still functioning without you. Are there opportunities to promote any promising current staff members? Once you get SoPs and tasks lists together, it becomes extremely manageable to delegate work. That is the most daunting part however - creating the SoPs, tasks lists, then reviewing them with staff, then doing them with staff, then stepping back and watching.

I am always available for staff - they know if I have my phone and you call, I am there. Between the documentation and calling me, they feel extremely supportive. Like you said, you have very capable staff; time to put them to the test!

[Lovewell]

@Sam_400º  This is so important to have someone who can cover for you when, if something like this happens or some other form of an emergency.

One thing we found that was important was having additional key holders. Making sure that someone else can open, run and arm the building is so important for your peace of mind.

Setting up your team for success and not everybody needs to know how to do everything but at least have someone or a couple people know how to keep the business going. 
we always say “did the shop burn down? No. Then you did just fine.”