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.

Shelby Smeltzer

Yes, of course I take vacations! Work-life balance is incredibly important to me. Having freedom to travel and work remotely is one of the primary reasons I wanted to work for myself.In 2019 my husband and I took a 3 week long road trip from Wisconsin to San Fransisco and back. We have a converted cargo trailer camper that we’ve taken road tripping to Colorado and camped in Estes Park. This summer we’ll be spending 3 weeks traveling France, Italy, and Greece. Read more>>

Miranda Reyes

Absolutely, this is my release. Getting away, being able to take breaks, stepping away from the end of a season or mid-season. Everyone should have their own escapism and this is definitely mine! Read more>>

Talia Haller

As someone who works a lot, I love vacations. They are critical to my creativity, well-being, and productivity. I am a big advocate of “work smarter, not harder” and one of the ways I bring that into my life is by understanding when I need a break from my routine day-to-day. By avoiding ruts and staying at maximum productivity, I feel like the overall quality of my work is better, I am happier, and I get to take advantage of cool opportunities to see and explore the world. Read more>>

Bethany Lord

Yes! Vacations and rest periods are so important to take to help stop the feeling of being burnt out. They revive me and help me feel inspired to create more work. Read more>>

Ruby Sandoval

Absolutely! When I first started my photography business, I told myself that I didn’t want my job to control my calendar. It wasn’t easy at first, but now I am happy to share that my business works around my personal and family calendar, not the other way around. I also take ALL of December off to have my full focus on my family during the magical holiday season. Read more>>

Madelyn Morell

This is the one topic that is constantly brought up to me by my family, friends, and loved ones. What a lot of people don’t understand is that some of us really do love to work and do what we do instead of taking time off. I think once you get into the grooves of working and trying to make all your goals happen its hard for you to allow a small or even big vacation happen. Read more>>

Niki Trentacosta

YES! Vacations are key to maintained sanity in small business. It is easy to tell yourself that you “must stay at work because you have too much to do”, but really, it’s usually not helping. Staying at the office/desk leads to fogginess and burn out. Our brains need the time to decompress. Sometimes that means a night at a hotel and sometimes it’s a 10 day excursion in France. What is important is to let your brain relax for a brief moment so you can give your best again. I recommend scheduling vacations like oil changes in your car, about every 6 months or 5,000 miles. Getting an oil change? Time for vacation! Read more>>

Rosieta Williams

Yes, I love taking vacations even though it may be hard to do so as a business owner. I believe that it is very important to take vacations, because as a business owner, we forget about self care. We are just important as the business/businesses that we own. Read more>>

Brooke Modifica

One of the greatest joys of being a photographer is getting to be a part of and documenting such special memories for my clients. I have gotten to be there for proposals, weddings, births, vacations, family reunions, birthdays, and more. But, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in documenting and preserving such special moments for others, that I have often forgotten to take time off of work, go on vacations, and make the time to make memories of my own. Read more>>