When Entrepreneurs need to call in sick.

As small business owners and entrepreneurs, we pour our hearts and souls into our business. We create the business plan and do all the things that keep the business operating. We make sacrifices of time, money, sleep, and meals to ensure success. It’s a well-oiled machine. Until it isn’t.

What happens when the solopreneur gets sick? A bonus to being self-employed is the ability to create our own schedule, but for most of us, that does not include sick time. When I worked in a corporation full-time, I had benefits like sick days and personal days. I was able to take days off when I was too sick to drive to work (before remote was an option) and still get paid for that time. Before I had these benefits, any sick time meant those were hours I was not getting paid. It was a battle to decide if I could pull myself together enough to keep working while battling an illness.

There is no time for getting sick as a self-employed business owner, especially one who is just getting started. What do we do? If it’s a minor illness like the common cold, it’s natural to work through the illness. I’m talking about a full-blown, can’t get out of bed, feel like dirt, illness. This was a question I was asking myself last week. I was too sick to sit upright and couldn’t use my voice. Thankfully, it was mostly a light week with few meetings. My brain was tired and foggy, but not enough to keep quiet about the list of things I needed to be working on. I realized that I had not planned sick days into my business plan.

As soon as I felt good enough to write, I came up with a strategy for planning sick time as an entrepreneur. I even created a free download to help you create your own plan. The three main points in this article are planning, asking for help, and prioritizing.

Step one is developing a plan before you get sick. In a 2023 Forbes article, Austin Andrukaitis recommends planning for sick days like you would for a vacation. He recommends saving money each month specifically to cover sick days. This way, you won’t have to worry about the lost income while you are bedridden. A second main point is not to leave any work until the last minute. You never know what will happen in life, so take advantage of the time when you are the most energized, motivated, and healthiest.

Another important way to plan for sick days (step two) is to keep yourself healthy. This includes eating well, exercising, and getting rest. Neglecting your health can lead to longer recovery times and an impact on your mental health. I struggle with anxiety and depression, as well as some chronic health conditions. They are overall being very well managed. However, when I became sick last week, I realized I was struggling to stay positive. I could feel some of my depressive tendencies (negative self-talk) causing me to think negatively about myself for rescheduling meetings and taking sick days. Since I have been working on maintaining my health in all aspects, I was easily able to recognize what was happening and focus on positive self-talk and recuperating. 

Natasha Khuller Relph’s article How to Handle Sick Days When You're Self-Employed reminded me to take the time I needed to recover. How many times have we sat at our computer with our heads in our hands, TRYING to work but not getting anything done? Natasha suggests that it’s better to go to bed, rest, then get up and try to tackle something. It isn’t productive to try to control being sick. Give yourself permission to rest. When you are feeling better, put in some extra time to help make up for the lost hours. Just be sure you’ve allowed yourself to fully recover, otherwise, you may end up with a relapse.

Now that you’ve created a plan for sick days, are working at staying healthy, and have given yourself permission to rest when you are sick. How do you handle the workload when the unexpected illness shows up? Ask for help! (Step 3)

Asking for help comes in many forms. This will be unique to you and your business. Perhaps you have a team that you work with. They could be employees or subcontractors. Who among them are individuals that you could delegate tasks to while you are sick? Make sure you have their contact information and have it as part of your planning for sick days. If you don’t have a team, perhaps you have associates. Others within your field that you network with could, in a pinch, fill in for you while you are sick. Ask them if they would be willing to assist you, and make sure you have their contact information included in your plan. Another great option is the help from a Virtual Assistant. VAs make it their business to assist small business owners. There are many tasks you can easily delegate to a VA while you are sick. Finally, utilize technology. Turn on your email’s automatic reply, schedule posts, record a message on your voicemail, and utilize project management software (something you might already be using if you have a team).

Above all, be sure to communicate with your clients. Let them know you are taking sick leave and explain what they should expect. Prioritize clients and delegate accordingly. For less pressing projects, reschedule what is currently on your calendar. For a higher priority client, assign a team member, associate, or VA to work with them during your illness to keep their project moving forward.