For a business that relies on face-to-face (or face-to-camera) clients and in-person transactions, you would think, as a headshot and branding photographer, I would not be able leave my photography business area and take two months off to experience living in a new city and exploring the Colorado wilderness.

But that’s exactly what I did for July and August of this year. Although I hesitated to take the risk of not being available as a photographer for my regular and potential clients, I value life experiences as much as I value my business. So, I warned my clients of my absence, packed up my laptop along the bare minimum of camera and video equipment and got in the car with my husband for the 3 day drive to Fort Collins, CO, leaving our house and our dog in the capable hands of our adult children (who were happy to have the house to themselves for the summer).

And I can report that it was a success! First of all I absolutely loved our AirBnB which was in the heart of the city, adjacent to bike trails, coffee shops, and breweries (I guess you can’t go more than a block or so before you hit a coffee shop or brewpub in Ft. Collins). Live music could be found almost every evening of the week, and festivals, food trucks and close access to foothills trails created a routine where we could work in the morning and play later in the afternoon into evening. My new “office” was the private deck outside our condo, or a coffee shop in town – and I could sit outside all day without a mosquito to be felt – which is quite different than the backyard of our house in Vienna.

Of course I couldn’t photograph clients out in Colorado, although if I am able to be out again for an extended period of time, I would start marketing my business out there and hopefully line up a few clients. But even as a photographer, I am still an entrepreneur and CEO of my business and there is plenty work that can be done remotely. It even gave me a good opportunity to be forced to face those “other activities” that I am continually pushing off when I’m at home and busy photographing.

If you think you want the ability to work remote for a month or so, I highly encourage you to do it – here are some things I learned:

1. Set up your “portable office” ahead of time. For me, it was my laptop with a removable hard drive that I could also plug into my desktop at home to easily transfer files and photos. Make sure all necessary programs are downloaded – or if they are in the cloud like many software is these days, DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR PASSWORDS!
2. Plan the right time for your business to leave town. My slow period is the summer, when the bugs and the heat prevent most outdoor sessions, and many of my headshot clients are on vacation as well. That is fortunate for me, but I’m sure there is a time of year for most businesses where you know it will be relatively slow, or optimal to leave the local area.
3. Set Client Expectations! Let your clients know that you will be out of touch if there is a period of time when you cannot even respond to an email. I worked my butt off to get the last of my senior sessions completed before I left and I made sure the one or two clients that were still left somewhat incomplete knew the time I would be gone and were OK with any lag. Customer service is so important to me and should be number one in every business.
4. Make a list ahead of time for activities that you CAN do while not interfacing with clients. For me it was planning out content, looking at my website for potential redo (that project is yet to be completed) and social media scheduling. I also was able to have client meetings and schedule clients for fall and winter which was so great!

Invest in and use business management software. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having a system for client contacts, scheduling, invoicing, etc. I use 17Hats, which has worked out well for me. It’s so nice to have workflows set up and automatic contracts and invoicing – it’s definitely worth the investment and setup time to have a system that can keep the ball rolling smoothly while you are in a different time zone – for me I was even out of cell and wifi for a period of time and my business was able to keep rolling!

Now get out there and have fun! Work Life balance is so important.

Oh and if you want to know anything about the Cirque of the Towers in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, I would be happy to share! Such an amazing area to explore!