Rachel Doughty, founder of One Design, talks to Gill South about taking a holiday while running a business.
I own and run a graphic design company called One Design. We're a small team of six, almost always extremely busy and I'm very much hands-on in both the management of the team and of the work we produce.
Our small and nimble size means our clients can deal directly with me, and being the main point of contact, I am available to them at all times. That does make it hard to switch off completely when I'm on holiday - I usually check in once or twice a day via email, on phone or iPad, to ensure there haven't been any issues (and for peace of mind) and to assist if there has been. I'm lucky enough to have an incredible team who hold the fort and do a remarkable job when I'm not around. I leave my senior designer and project manager in charge, and between them they usually cope with most business demands.
No holidays for the first five years
This was not always the case though. When I started the business 15 years ago, I very rarely escaped from work. It was just me, doing everything myself. For the first five years I was designing almost 24/7 - it was ghastly when I look back at it now. With no holidays, no wonder I was always stressed. In hindsight it would have helped to take on an extra pair of hands or two, earlier. But that felt like a huge and daunting step so I held off as long as I could, until there was just too much work for one person to handle.
Two breaks plus Christmas
Now I try and take at least two decent breaks during the year other than Christmas when we close down for two to three weeks. I try to go overseas for at least ten days each time if possible, usually somewhere tropical so I can really recharge the batteries.
