Even though you own a business you can take time off during the holidays. The holiday season is all about family and friends. The kids have a week or two off from school so why not spend it with them?

If your business is on autopilot you can still make money while you're on vacation. Autopilot is wonderful, but it will require some up front preparation. If you plan properly, you can make it work.

Here are the steps you can take to put your business on autopilot.

1. Blog

No matter if you blog once a week or once a day, you'll need to plan ahead of time. The holiday season is the perfect time to have guest bloggers. Find others that offer something encouraging to your target market. Make sure what they offer doesn't compete against what you offer. To make this most effective, every other post should be one from you. So what you'll need to do is write these blog posts ahead of time.

Once all the posts have been written you'll need to schedule them so they'll post automatically on a day and time of your choosing. This is effective because you'll put the content out there for your readers and you won't have to do anything after you schedule them.

2. Article marketing

If you have a ghostwriter write your articles for you, have her write them early so you can have your Virtual Assistant submit them while you're on vacation. Article marketing continues to work day after day and you do nothing but make sure your website stays up-to-date.

If this isn't something you do regularly you should consider it. This will help you grow your business just in time for the New Year. You should write at least one a week and have it submitted to a few of the directories that are visited regularly by your target market.

3. Email

Email can really pile up when you are not around to handle it on a daily basis. The best way to handle your email is to let your Virtual Assistant handle it. Give her a list of the types of emails that are junk and can be deleted right away. Also let her know what types of emails can wait until you return and what types of emails that you'll need to handle immediately or before you return.

Once she has gone through your emails you'll need a way she can let you know what needs to be taken care of immediately. There are a couple of ways to handle this. If you have a personal email address she can either forward them there or she can put them in a folder in your business email and then she can send you a text message or an email to your personal email address letting you know you have some there to review.

One last thing to remember with your email is an out of office reply. Put a message on your email that is sent out to everyone that sends you a message. Notify them of your vacation and note in the message that your assistant will be checking messages for you and she'll make sure any urgent matters are delivered to you right away. You should send a message out to your email list letting them know what is going on as well.

Once you have these three taken care of you'll be ready to take time off to be with your family. You'll be able to go shopping, bake, and have fun with the kids and not once feel guilty about it.

Taking time off during the holiday, no matter what holiday it is, shouldn't be a chore. It should be fun and something you should do on a regular basis. When you plan ahead, you'll feel so much better about it and you'll have more fun.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business. She enjoys helping others spend more time with their families while growing their business. Check out her website at http://www.virtualfreedom4you.com.