Taking the show on the road, family style

This is the first “vacation” I’ve taken in over two years. But… there are those cute little quote marks around the word vacation back there.

It’s almost a cliche that business owners say they never really take a vacation. It’s sort of true. I mean, you might transport your body to some location that’s not your office, but your mind and heart are still in your business.

Naomi of IttyBiz wrote something the other day about the idea that separating your business and your “life” is kind of bogus. I wish I could remember where she wrote it, but my laptop battery is dying and I’m madly trying to get these thoughts down. Ask her. I agreed, I remember that much.

Update: I admit to lameness right now. I just spent most of yesterday trying to find the place where I read Naomi’s one sentence that was so important that I referred to it in this post. Searched e-mail, Twitter, her blog. No dice. But it was really good.

So on Wednesday (mechanic willing) the whole family is piling in our 1986 Volvo wagon (speaking of cliches) and heading down I-5 towards Phoenix. For the kids, it’s a vacation. For me and Jenni, it’s working away from home.

• There’s this workshop I’m leading on November 5th.
• There are those clients who can’t afford to put their lives and businesses on hold so I can see the Presidio.
• There are the meetups in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

The funny thing is, this doesn’t feel like “work” work. It feels like fun. I like being in touch with my clients. I like meeting people I’ve connected with on the internet. I like giving workshops.

So my vacation isn’t in the form of decompression with a fruity drink by a breezy Miami pool.

There may be breezes. There may be fruity drinks beer. There may even be a pool.

But I’ll be working with my client people. And I’ll still get to hang with my family people, which is the best part about running my own business.

Everybody in the car!