Our experience with small business owners leads us to believe that a large percentage of entrepreneurs think that making their business their whole life—24/7/365—is the only avenue to success.
Not to burst any bubbles, but nobody cares how many hours you spend on the job. Your clients or customers only care about what your business does for them.
If you spend 120 hours a week on your business—a striking number that we’ve encountered too often—there are only 48 hours left every week to eat, sleep, spend time with the family, and decompress.
Many entrepreneurs appear so anxious that any time off will harm their business, that they sacrifice spouse time, kids’ time, and what we refer to as “me time” — when you golf, fish, read a book, hang out with friends, or do anything else that you enjoy that has nothing to do with work.
Statistics indicate that businesses fail. About half of the businesses started today won’t be around five years from now.
Perhaps there won’t be adequate operating capital, or maybe the product or service just isn’t right for the market. Or, maybe the business owner will suffer fatigue—burnout—from the stress of being a workaholic entrepreneur.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t for everyone. You’re constantly concerned with staffing, payroll, vendors, equipment issues, marketing, public relations, debt service, customer service, cash flow . . . the list seems endless.
If one of your repeat or regular customers ever asks, “Don’t you ever go home?” You know you have a problem.
But the answer isn’t a mystery: you need a vacation.
Why?
Increase your creativity.
How many great ideas have you had while you’re deep in the fog of the everyday stress of running a small business?
Getting away from work and focusing on other things can get the creative juices flowing. In fact, a study by The Harvard Business Review has proven that vacationing can improve your creativity.
Increase your productivity.
Similarly, you get less done when you are in a continual “go mode” at work. It’s why most large companies have annual paid vacation benefits . . . and why many of them insist you take time off.
It may seem counter intuitive to stop being productive for a week in order to become more productive, but it works. Vacationing has proven to increase productivity.
Improve your health.
Along with the obvious mental strain, working long hours can also take a physical toll on your body. Taking time off relieves the emotional pressure and diminishes the wear and tear on the body.
Less stress and greater relaxation provide an uplifting emotional charge that helps resist burnout. Happier and healthier business owners tend to work smarter and bring renewed positive energy to their team.
In conclusion.
We’re convinced that business owners who take five to seven-day vacations two or three times a year have a greater chance of success—long-term—than those entrepreneurs who never take a break from the daily grind.
