Have you ever felt like if you looked away from your business for even a moment – it might fall apart or completely lose traction?

For an entrepreneur, it’s terrifying to think about putting on the brakes! But what do you do when you are desperate, exhausted and producing work that you know isn’t your best—well, if you are me, you might just decide to take a month off…

I know, it sounds absolutely backwards, but hear me out: I sat down with Reina Pomeroy & Christina Scalera of the Creative Empire Podcast to talk about how taking time off in my business and not burning myself out has actually been the key to building a better business + a better life.

Tune into the entire episode :

As many of you know each year I take July off completely as a month-long “sabbatical”. People ask me alot “what do you do on a sabbatical? Hang out by the pool?” and Yes I do that. But I also think a lot on how to improve things in my business. It’s a time OUT of my business to work ON my business. A time for reflection. The hardest part about taking time off is the fear of what you are missing out on. I’ve turned down big speaking engagements and big clients. But you know what? It’s always come back tenfold.

“When you give yourself space to do your job better, you get better. My best ideas come when I’m on sabbatical.” – Shanna Skidmore

In this episode :

• How and why I took my very first planned sabbatical.
• What to do on sabbatical.
• How to plan your first sabbatical.
• Why I believe sabbaticals are the best thing I do for my business, my marriage and my life!
• The unexpected byproduct of taking time off. (Hint : More clients + Higher Price-points)
• How to play the long game in your business and not chase after short term wins.

A few highlights include :

• How sabbaticals can help your business [0:04:23]
• The hardest part about taking time off [9:40]
• How to plan out your finances to help you schedule time off – “Money Date” [0:10:56]
• How to be a good entrepreneur [0:15:34]
• Try “all the things” for a year – then narrow it down [22:55]
• What a “10 year overnight success” looks like [0:25:55]
• How multiple streams of income can help your business [0:27:05]
• How speaking can become a diversified stream of revenue [0:30:55]
• What you can do to have confidence in your business [0:35:33]
• What Shanna would tell herself on Day One of her new business [41:55]