Taking a holiday when you’re self-employed, without losing clients
When you’re self-employed, every week off is a week with no income. How to pay for a holiday in advance, when to take it, what to tell clients and how to come back to a full calendar.
In short
- Four weeks off means earning 52 weeks of income in 48: set money aside or build it into your price.
- Tell clients at least a month ahead and open the times after your return.
- Clients don’t leave because you rest, they leave when they don’t know about it.
Contents 8 parts
Nobody pays for your holiday
An employee's holiday is paid. For a self-employed master, every week off is a week with no income.And then there's the fear: “If I'm gone for two weeks, clients will find someone else.”
That's why many masters go years without a real holiday, until their body takes one for them. This article covers how to pay for a holiday in advance, when to take it, what to tell clients and how to come back to a full calendar.
Your holiday belongs in your price
If you want four weeks off a year, you have to earn 52 weeks' income in 48 weeks. There are two ways to do that: set a little aside every week, or build the holiday into your price.
Work it out
How much to set aside for a holiday
Type in how many weeks a year you want off and how much you earn in an average week.
Income missed a year
€2,400
Set aside each working week
€50
Or raise prices by
8.3%
Both roads lead to the same place: the holiday is paid for, and you don’t have to worry about money while you’re away.
The numbers update as you type. Nothing is saved or sent.
How to work out a price that covers every cost and your pay is in How much to charge for a treatment: work out your price.
When to take a holiday
- In your quietest months. Look at last year's calendar to see which weeks were emptiest.
- Not before the holidays. The weeks before Christmas and midsummer are usually the busiest.
- Around public holidays. Long weekends let you rest longer while losing fewer working days.
Look at last year's bookings to see which weeks were quietest. How to read your numbers is in Which numbers to check every month.
What to tell clients, and when
Announce it at least a month ahead. Clients don't disappear because their master takes a break. They disappear when they don't know about it and can't book.
Ready-to-use message
Holiday messages
Replace the parts in brackets with your own.
Before you go
Check yourself
Holiday checklist
Do you need someone to cover
If you work alone and the holiday is two or three weeks, cover usually isn't needed: clients will wait. If the holiday is longer or clients have a fixed rhythm, such as lash fills every three weeks, you can agree with a colleague to take urgent cases.
In that case, only pass on client contact details with the client's knowledge. More in Client data and GDPR.
Rest is part of the work
Steady hands, good eyesight and patience with clients are your working tools. A holiday maintains them, just like cleaning your instruments. How to protect yourself day to day is in How many appointments a day is too many?.
How it works in RINDIQ
- Mark your holiday as time off. Clients can't book online on those days.
- If there are already bookings in that time, the system lists them, and you can keep each one, cancel it, or cancel it and invite the client to pick another time.
- Times after your holiday can be opened in advance, so clients can book while you're away.
- On Business, clients can join a waitlist, and freed times are offered to them automatically.
Try RINDIQ free for 14 days
No card needed. You can set up your booking page and deposits in about 5 minutes.
Read next
All articlesHow much to charge for a treatment: work out your price
How to work out a price that covers materials, costs, taxes and your pay, instead of copying others.
How many appointments a day is too many? A daily limit against burnout
How to find your limit, work out your real working day and set a cap that protects you from burnout.
Rebook before they leave
The simplest way to fill your calendar: the next visit, before the client leaves.