Tim Bursch

Tim, This post has been tremendously helpful. I am writing a response (as part of my follow up to my #antwipod experiment).

I will post my response here shortly.

Tim, you raise an excellent question; one that has run through my work-addled mind many a time. As a business owner, it's very hard to unplug during the best of times, especially if your work is mainly client-facing. I often wonder if I take that too seriously. My clients take vacations and it's not like I can't do my work without them. Nonetheless, letting go of control whether by choice or by condition (getting sick, family emergency, etc) is a huge issue and entering into a relationship of trust with others to help "mind the store" is very appealing. Whereas the idea in concept resonates deeply, in practice I know it takes a lot of work to get to a place where that trust can be practiced. Creating community, trust, support, backup, requires a commitment of time, a willingness to be vulnerable, and a desire to break out of often entrenched "I can do it all" habits. Thanks for bringing this up. Hope we can continue the conversation.

Nicole,
You're right on here. Trust. I wonder if people in similar businesses would ever consider covering for each other. A recruiter. A web designer. A writer. What about competition? And unique value you bring to the client relationships.

Maybe this is not a direct back-up, but helping each other indirectly. Bartering? Trading? And encouraging breaks and recharging.

Seems like the first step is building community and trust. Let's keep thinking...