As a business owner it’s easy to feel like your work is never done – because no matter how much you do, there is always more that could theoretically be done. Many business owners we’ve spoken with also feel that they have a responsibility to be available to their team and that if they step away they are putting an undue burden on their team. So, we wanted to hear from a broad range of business owners on whether they take vacations and we’ve shared some of their responses below.

Lisa Hsieh

I make sure now I take family vacations, weekend getaways, date nights with my husband and lunch dates with my friends. I even pre-schedule them onto my calendar because they are just as important as any other task I do for my business. If I am not in a good mental space, which means taking care of myself and putting my family’s happiness first, my business will eventually suffer because I can’t perform at my best. Read more>>

Sabs Katz

Rest is not something to be earned; as humans, we need rest in order to function. For so long we’ve been told that we need to keep working and that any time you have to yourself should be ‘productive’. I am continuously inspired by The Nap Ministry, a movement led by Tricia Hersey that recognizes rest as a radical act. In a world that drives us into the ground by tying our value to our output, we will continue to exhaust ourselves with things that need to get done. Read more>>

Kimberly Downey

I would like to say I do ~ or rather, try to take them. I have a hard time breaking away mostly because when my kids are out and free to travel with me, it’s usually the time of the year we are the busiest at work. In terms of taking vacation and a break my advice would be 1. learn to do it – you need it. 2. preparation, preparation, preparation. Have a plan, then a back-up plan, then a back-up plan to your back-up plan Read more>>