Episode 35: Mary McDonald’s Tech-Free (well almost…) Vacation

August 24, 2007

I like to tell people that the best vacation my husband, Rick, and I ever had was last summer at Dale Hollow Lake. We rented a houseboat for 4 days and stayed out on the lake without cellphone or Internet service the whole time. Internet services wouldn’t have mattered anyway because I left the laptop at home. We fished, cooked and ate what we caught, laid out in the sun and just relaxed. Rick took his acoustic guitar (he takes his guitar everywhere) and I took the little djembe drum my father-in-law, Karl, bought for me at a yard sale and we sat around on the deck of the boat at night playing for passersby and whatever night critters could stand us. I still smile when I think about it…

Mary, on the other hand, just returned from a 17-day Mediterranean cruise with her 16-year old daughter, Karen. It was a 16th birthday gift to the two of them from a friend…a girl’s cruise. I was curious to know how Mary prepared for being gone from The McDonald Consulting Group, her thriving performance consulting business and what tech tools she just HAD to take with her. I was also curious about what Karen took along and what she could do withou. Teens today are much more immersed in technology that I was at their age. Since Mary and I are about the same age, the vacation experiences she had in her youth are probably similar to mine. No, I’m not going to tell you when we were teenagers but if you keep up with this blog, you’ll know I just celebrated a milestone birthday in 2007 (hint, hint).

Not surprisingly, Mary began preparing for her vacation many weeks before the actual vacation and made sure her business e-mail was in the capable hands of her assistant, Russ, and that he knew what was important and what could wait. Her clients knew well in advance that she would be gone and who to contact while she was away if something came up. She took advantage of Internet cafes at various ports-of-call and used Skype to call home and report on the trip to her husband and son. She did have her laptop with her and you might be surprised why she took it. I’ll let you listen to the podcast and hear that story for yourself. She was prepared for energy conversions in the European Union as well.

Mary and Karen had a wonderful time and were involved in so many activities that neither had much of a chance to wonder who was sending them e-mail. Karen met new friends who kept her busy on board ship and her sole tech toy was her video iPod. Mary’s most used technology tool during the vacation was her digital camera. I know she used it a lot because I have over 400 photos to peruse!

Having been a “solopreneur” for some time, Mary has been on working vacations since she didn’t have a Russ back at home to back her up. You’ll be interested in hearing how she melded the work and vacation parts together. She also has some great advice for other small businesses who have to be very careful about planning vacations. Is it possible to take care of business and enjoy a relaxing vacation with your family? Sure it is, but it takes some planning.

I got the chipmunk effect worked out so enjoy the discussion with Mary. A big thanks to Fritz, Mom and The Blog Queen (thanks for prompting me with great questions, Kim!) for being on-hand and lending me their support. OK, enough of this typing. Put your headphones on, lean back, and learn how to have a satisfying vacation by taking the right tech tools with you and leaving the right ones home!

Posted in Views From The Coop