Life is Short, as they say. And so are Canadian summers.

Balancing the demands of your business, and the need to have vacation and time with family is a struggle for most business owners, especially during the summer months. Not only do you have your own vacation needs to manage, but you must also manage the vacation needs of your staff. That can add up to a lot of stress for business owners who might already be struggling to manage with limited resources and capacity.
This is such an important topic that affects your quality of life. If you can't spend time with your family enjoying the freedom of being self-employed, what's the point, right?
Here are some tips to help you manage the summer balance:
· Schedule your own vacation well in advance and stick to the plan.
· Have your employees schedule vacations well advance.
· Make sure everyone understands the importance of helping out while other staff members are away, just as people will help out while they're away.
· As the business owner, learn to delegate. It's too late to delegate in the last days before you leave for a vacation, if you hope to relax and trust that the 'bus' is running just fine without you.
· Don't be 'available' for constant communication with your staff while you're on vacation. Set up a timetable when you will check in and only deal with issues that are really necessary.
· Work hard, Play hard. Learn to make your summer hours really work for you. When you're busy and needed at work - be fully engaged during those times. When there is a slow down in the schedule - take the extra time off, leave early, come in late, and enjoy the time thoroughly. Don't spin your wheels for nothing. Work when you really need to and then spend the rest of the time away from work. Plan your away time so you have compelling reasons to leave the work behind when you're able to.
· Unless summer is a very busy time for your business, and you hire extra staff for this season, don't plan big launches, new products, or special summer deals if you won't have the staff to manage it or the energy to really do it well. Wait until the Fall when you'll be back to full staff and everyone is rejuvenated and ready to jump into a new project.

Prime vacation property throughout Canada is a hot item, especially with the Baby Boomer market.

Whether for summer, winter, or year-round use, a vacation property that you can call your own is a dream shared by many Canadians. Some people want access to recreational activities, such as skiing or golfing. Others simply want a relaxing environment where their family can meet, away from the stresses of day-to-day life. Some want to look at the opportunities to use it as an investment or rental property.
Whether for pleasure and lifestyle enjoyment, future retirement, rental revenue, or investment profit, buying a recreational property can be a potential minefield for many reasons, as there can be complex tax, legal, estate planning, insurance, and investment issues to consider.
There are ownership questions as well: Should I own it outright, or jointly buy the property with family, relatives or friends?
Will I want to buy an apartment or townhouse condo in a resort or recreational community - and own it outright, or share in it with others?
Maybe you already own recreational property?
Possibly the property has already been passed down through various family generations?

Whatever scenario above best describes your current circumstance or wishes, there are tax implications when it comes time to sell, transfer, or bequeath your recreational property. If you have not yet bought a property, you have some tax planning advantages, but either way you need to contact a tax professional. Please contact Steve for more information about getting the best tax advice regarding your vacation property.
Call 416-360-6505 Ext 236 or email steve@hartrellkirkham.com

Here are a few tips to stay healthy and safe this summer.

· Drink lots of water.
· Play. Have fun. Relax. Enjoy.
· Enjoy the bounty of local grown fruit and vegetables. Experiment with new recipes.
· Be active. Everyday. Walk, bike, swim, dance, garden, rollerblade, skateboard, etc., etc.
· Use sunscreen with SPF (sun protection factor) 15 or higher and UVA UVB protection.
· Wear sunglasses with UV (ultraviolet) protection.
· Keep an active watch on young children around all water sources.
· Avoid strenuous outdoor activity during heat and smog alerts, especially if you have asthma or other breathing problems.
· Protect yourself against mosquito bites. Wear light coloured clothing and cover up whenever possible. Eliminate standing water around your house. Use insect repellent containing 10% DEET or less, or approved alternatives, and follow product instructions.

Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win, by William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre

If you're looking for some business-inspiring reading over the summer months, this book is for you.
About "Mavericks at Work":
Business as usual is bust. In industry after industry, the old guard is cutting back and losing ground. Meanwhile, organizations and entrepreneurs that were once dismissed as upstarts, as wildcards-as mavericks-are making waves and growing fast.
There's a reason: In an age of hyper-competition and nonstop innovation, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to stand for something truly original.
Mavericks at Work offers exciting new answers to the timeless challenges facing organizations of every size and leaders in every field: how you make strategy, how you unleash ideas, how you connect with customers, how your best people achieve great results.
But this is more than just a how-to book. It is also a what-if book. Business needs a breath of fresh air. We are, at last, coming out of a dark period in our economy and society-an era of slow growth and dashed expectations, of criminal wrongdoing and ethical misconduct at some of the world's best-known companies. We've seen the face of business at its worst, and it hasn't been a pretty sight. It's time to rediscover the power of business at its best.
The strategies, tactics, and advice in Mavericks at Work grow out of in-depth access to a remarkable collection of forward-looking companies. From a culture-shaping television network with offices in sun- splashed Santa Monica, California, to a little-known office-furniture manufacturer rooted in the frozen tundra of Green Bay, Wisconsin, from glamorous fields such as advertising, fashion, and the Internet, to old-line industries such as construction, mining, and detergent, the organizations featured in Mavericks at Work are winning big at business by rethinking the logic of how business gets done.
They demonstrate that you can build successful organizations around high ideals and fierce competitive ambitions, that the most powerful way to create economic value is to embrace a set of values that go beyond just amassing power, and that business, at its best, is too exciting, too important, and too much fun to be left to the dead hand of business as usual.

-Snejana will enjoy spending her free time gardening and "fighting" with weeds - she has a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini ...- which means most of her free time will be in her back yard. She has plans to visit NY in August, but right now it's still just a plan.

-Steve and his wife are frantically trying to get the kids into summer camps to keep them out of trouble over the summer. They have also partnered on some rental cabins down in the Kingston area which they have been renovating over the last few months and hope to have them ready for rent soon (and be able to enjoy a little R&R of their own). Keep an eye out for their website at www.lazybearcabins.ca.

-As for Pat, Andre, and Bruno they're already busy with a variety of summer activities.

Hartrell & Kirkham Chartered Accountants
Hartrell & Kirkham© 2007

The firm does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of any statement or other information and materials provided in this newsletter. All articles and other information and materials in this newsletter are provided for general information purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal, accounting or tax advice or opinions on any specific matters.

email: steve@hartrellkirkham.ca

phone: 416-360-6505

web: http://www.hartrellkirkham.com