Small Business Owners Aren’t Taking Vacation, All Work, No Play

With summer wrapping up, have your been able take some down time to soak up the sun?  If the answer is no, you are actually in the same boat as almost half of small business owners polled in a recent study.

According to the study conducted by lender OnDeck, only 57% of small business owners plan on taking a vacation in 2014. Based on the study, only 9% will take 2 full weeks and 26% will take only a few days.

The study OnDeck study polled 200 business owners from a variety of industries. Small business owners are becoming increasingly immersed in work, and feel unable to break away for rest and relaxation.

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Inability to Unplug

Of the small business owners that take vacation, the quantity and quality of time off is questionable. The majority of this group only take 5 days off a year, which is only half of what most Americans take within a year.  And just because small business owners are out of the office, does not mean they are unplugged. Only 15% of these small business owners get off the grid, and are not checking emails or taking client calls. Given the fact that most entrepreneurs are working far outside of a standard 40 hour work week, downtime can seem almost non-existent.

Reluctance to Relax

So why are small business owners so reluctant to leave the office for R&R? Lack of resources and workaholic tendencies are likely to blame.  The Ondeck study shows that the larger the company, the more likely the owner will take vacation. 61% of owners that have 6-10 employees take vacation as opposed to 41% of owners with a one man operation. The less employees in the company, the more responsibilities may go unattended in the owner’s absence. Small business owners may also hesitant to give full control to their employees, enabling clients to become overly dependent on the owner instead of the supporting staff. For almost half of business owners, it will take almost a decade before they feel they can relax. Only 47% percent of owners that have been in business for less than 10 years take a break vs. 70% who have been in business 10 years plus.

The Solution

Small business owners need downtown like everyone else, to rejuvenate and avoid burnout. Vacation may give owners the mental rest they need to come back to work motivated and ready to tackle new challenges.

Having a trusted support team that proactively works to grow your business can give you the mental rest you deserve this year. At EmoryDay we provide the tools for your business to grow, and which can help move you into the percentage of owners that get a vacation in 2014.

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