Why I Prioritize Vacations as a Creative Business Owner

Getting back into the swing of things after my recent trip to Kauai sparked the topic idea for today’s blog post. Maybe it was the lush scenery, “island time” or the local fresh food I enjoyed, but either way I felt so rejuvenated returning to the studio. Being back in the “zone” now after a few weeks, allowed me to have time to reflect on my trip and give myself gratitude for being able to take a true vacation while being a solopreneur / creative business owner / brand website designer. I wanted to share a few reasons on why I prioritize vacations as a creative business owner, which will hopefully give you the inspiration to carve out time for yourself too.

One.

Ability to Disconnect

In the world we live in today, we’re constantly checking our emails, Slack, social media accounts, you name it–so having some time to truly disconnect felt so refreshing. Now, as a creative business owner who is a solopreneur, it took a bit of prep in order to truly disconnect. A few reminders on how to streamline your process while you’re “offline”:

Add time into any current projects: for any projects I had booked during this vacation, I added “padding” week(s) to ensure the project would still run smoothly, but allow for me to be completely disconnected during that time. So if my typical branding project is 6 weeks, and I took a 2 week vacation, I planned for that project to be 8 weeks.
As a solopreneur, I don’t have any employees or contractors. I do though have a few white label projects with other design studios. In these cases, again, I communicated with them well in advance so we could add in that padding/time off without any timelines happening while I was out. If you have any employees, work with other studios, or have retainer clients setting clear expectations on what’s to happen while you're out will help with headache down the line.
Setting up out of office or responders: Simple enough, but something that can get overlooked, especially if you’re gearing up for your trip. In my out of office responder, I include when I’ll be back, and a link for potential clients to book discovery calls. This way, inquiries still feel cared for, and can get a spot on the books–not much time lost at all!

two.

Opportunity to Simplify

I run a lean, simple studio and am always looking for ways to streamline and simplify. Gearing up for a vacation is always a great reminder on what really needs to be done. Do I really need to be on social media X hours a week? Is there a way to simplify my onboarding process further to create clarity? Can I automate any tasks? Re-evaluating how your business works is a great way to ensure a smooth client experience, as well as simplify tasks as a solopreneur.

three.

Gain Inspiration

And of course, gaining inspiration from new surroundings and experiences is what fills up my cup the most during vacation. Adventuring to a new beach to enjoy a beautiful sun-filled day or trying a new restaurant (or food truck) to enjoy the local food and drink–those little experiences are what sticks with me long after the trip is done.

Gathering inspiration from travel is such a beautiful thing. A few places I love seeking out inspiration from when traveling:

Landscapes/nature: in this case, I got to experience several different beaches in Kauai, ranging from the South and North shore.
Shops/Restaurants/Local Businesses: enjoying some beautiful, fresh meals, a lovely glass of wine on the patio or window shopping–there’s always something that catches my eye for design inspiration
Architecture: you can’t go wrong just walking down the streets when you travel. Maybe it’s the color of a building, or a unique door, I find that architecture is such a great way to get inspired for almost any type of project.

What lights you up when you travel as a creative business owner? Looking ahead, I would love to potentially plan a solo trip or even explore a small trip with a few other like-minded creative business owners–almost a mini retreat. We’ll see if either of these come to fruition in 2024.