Can Entrepreneurs Take a Vacation?

It’s one of the biggest dilemmas people who work for themselves face:

Can entrepreneurs take a vacation?

Especially during the summer months, when images abound of families frolicking at the shore or boating on a lake, that pang to get away for a few days and totally let go can get pretty strong.

For folks who have jobs, vacations are a no-brainer — they are simply told when they can and cannot have time off (as well as how many vacation days they are allotted per year) and thus build their one or two week getaways faithfully each year into their calendars.

It’s not as easy for us entrepreneurs (and in all fairness, we LIKE it that way).

First, there is the urban legend floating about that entrepreneurs just never know WHEN to stop working, and in fact, may be incapable of not working at all.

And indeed, many entrepreneurs honestly LIKE working and don’t see long hours day after day, week after week, as a problem.

But even if you are a super high-charged Type A personality, taking some time off once in awhile is imperative for long-term health and prosperity.

As was made famous by Jack Nicholson in that classic horror movie “The Shining” — “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

The plain and simple truth of it is, vacations are a must for people who log countless hours in front of their computers, on their Smart Phones, in personal development seminars, and making sales.

But working TOO much can actually have a negative effect on a business’s bottom line. Thus, here are 7 reasons entrepreneurs MUST take a vacation, at least every six months:

1. Vacations can stimulate the creative spark that has dulled since your last getaway. Let’s be honest: the stress and pressures of the day-to-day responsibilities an entrepreneur has can wear down even the most creative of people.
2. Getting out of the house and away from everything “plugged in” is downright good for your health, not to mention your attitude. Too much screen time dulls the blade. Need I say more?
3. You are in a rut. A change of scenery is good for the soul and can foster a breakthrough you could not have experienced had you stayed at home and continued to work.
4. You never know who you might meet on vacation. Standing at the Craps table in Vegas, lounging by the pool in Cabo, waiting to go Parasailing in Key West…or riding the elevator back to your room after a night of dancing…you cannot predict who you might meet and how they might impact your business moving forward. One woman in my business met a very influential gentlemen in an elevator at her hotel who simply asked her where she was from. One thing led to another and the next thing she knew, he signed up in her business. And with golf now considered the universal language of business, booking a tee time could turn out to be profitable.
5. You can’t remember the last time you spent quality time with your significant other. If the person you promised to love honor and cherish seems like a stranger lately, best to book a flight and pack your bags for a getaway together…before he or she gets away with someone else!
6. Vacations can remind you of why you work so hard and log such long hours. You can only work for so long before the money comes in. From time to time it’s just nice to celebrate what you have worked for in a place that isn’t the same address as your mortgage or other bills come to.
7. Vacations are fun! Enough said!

Do you struggle with taking a vacation? Or have you reached the enlightened point of being an entrepreneur and know you need to get away once in awhile? What do you do to recharge while you are gone? Share your vacation tales with us here or add some other great reasons entrepreneurs MUST take a vacation!

I Raise My Umbrella Drink to You!