You Can't Enjoy A Holiday If Your Business Can't Run Without You...Here's How to Fix It

93% of business owners check their email while on holiday. Not because they want to—because they feel like they have no choice.

They're lying on a beach somewhere, phone in hand, scrolling through invoices that need approving, payroll questions that can't wait, and supplier payments that someone forgot to schedule. Their family's right there, but they're not really there.

Sound familiar?

Here's the truth: you do have a choice. But that choice needs to be made now—not when you're boarding the plane in December.

Who's Running Your Business When Everyone's on Holiday?

It's the end of October. Your inbox is already filling up with leave requests. Sarah wants three weeks off over Christmas. Mike's taking the family to Queensland. And you're suddenly realising—who's actually running the business while everyone's gone?

If that thought just triggered a small panic, you're not alone.

The Hidden Risk of Holiday Season Business Continuity

Most businesses don't fail because of big strategic mistakes. They fail because someone forgot to chase an invoice, missed a supplier payment, or let payroll slip through the cracks. When your key people are on leave, those little cracks become gaping holes.

December shutdown isn't just about staff taking a break. It's about business continuity—and most small businesses don't have a plan for it.

The Single Point of Failure Problem

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if one person leaving for three weeks can bring your cash flow to a halt, you don't have a holiday problem. You have a systems problem.

Think about it. Who in your business is the only person who:

• Knows how to run payroll and process super payments?
• Chases overdue invoices and follows up with slow-paying customers?
• Handles supplier payments so vendors don't start chasing you in January?
• Manages your accounting software and keeps the books up to date?
• Monitors cash flow and flags problems before they become crises?

If your answer to any of those is "just one person," you've got a single point of failure. And December is when that failure happens.

What Actually Breaks During Holiday Shutdown

Let's get specific. Here's what I see fall apart every single year when businesses don't plan for holiday coverage:

Cash flow dries up because no one's chasing receivables. Your customers are on holiday too, and if you're not following up on those 30-day invoices, they're turning into 60-day problems.

Supplier relationships get damaged because payments slip. You come back in January to angry emails and threatened credit holds because no one paid the December invoices.

Payroll gets messy because leave loading calculations are wrong, super contributions are late, or someone just didn't process it at all.

Opportunities get missed because no one's monitoring enquiries or following up with warm leads. People are still buying in December—but if you're not responding, they're buying from someone else.

The Three Questions You Need to Answer This Week

Before December hits, you need clarity on three things:

1. What tasks absolutely must happen, even when people are away?

This isn't everything—it's the critical path. Invoicing, payroll, supplier payments, customer follow-ups, bank reconciliations. The stuff that, if it doesn't happen, creates a mess you'll spend January fixing.

2. Who's covering them—and do they actually know how?

"Sarah will show someone before she leaves" is not a plan. It's a hope. If the task is critical, the backup needs to be trained and tested now—not on 20 December when Sarah's already mentally checked out.

3. If the answer is "no one," what's your backup plan?

This is where most businesses freeze. They know there's a gap, but they don't know how to fill it. So they just cross their fingers and hope nothing breaks. Spoiler: something always breaks.

Why This Isn't Just About Hiring a VA

I'm not here to tell you to "just hire someone." That's lazy advice.

What you actually need is to map your risk first. Understand where your single points of failure are, what the cost of those failures would be, and then decide what level of coverage makes sense.

For some businesses, that's bringing in a finance VA to handle invoicing and payments. For others, it's a bookkeeper who can keep the books ticking over. For others still, it's setting up automation so critical tasks happen whether anyone's in the office or not.

But you can't make that call until you know what you're actually solving for.

What to Do Right Now

If you're looking at your December calendar and feeling that knot in your stomach, here's what I want you to do:

Map out your critical tasks. Write down every financial and administrative task that must happen between now and 6 January. Be specific.

Identify who owns each one. If more than 50% of those tasks are owned by the same person, you've got a dependency problem.

Ask yourself: what's the cost if this doesn't happen? Late invoices cost you cash flow. Missed payroll costs you staff trust. Ignored customer enquiries cost you revenue. Put a dollar figure on it if you can.

Then make a decision. Not in mid-December when it's too late. Now.

Let's Talk Before It's Too Late

I help business owners map out exactly where their risks are and put the right team in place before things fall apart. Not in January when you're already firefighting. Now, while you've still got time to get it right.

If you're ready to stop hoping and start planning, let's do a PROFIT POWER HOUR . We'll go through your business, identify your single points of failure, and map out exactly what coverage you need to get through December without the stress.

Because you deserve to actually enjoy your holiday—not spend it worrying about what's breaking back at the office.

For a limited time I am offer a special offer to book a PROFIT POWER HOUR for just $97 (normally $997)

Lianne Grove 
CFO | Profit Strategist | Founder, Virtual Team Connect 
Helping business owners build financial clarity and operational resilience