Vacation: What the Heck Is That?

I don’t want to come off as some kind of vacation pusher. I know you’re all busy, especially if you’re in startup mode or have only been operating for a few years.

It’s hard to step away from the business for any length of time. But not packing your bags and heading off for some R&R could leave you carrying some heavy baggage down the line, bringing you and your company down.

Amrita Sawhney, founder of Organized Health in Montclair, New Jersey, a medical records organizer for patients, pushed vacations aside for two years as she worked on creating her company, which launched in September 2008. “I had dedicated 24/7 to starting up this business, but it led to major stress. I wasn’t able to focus, and I was feeling burned out,” she says.

Indeed, if you don’t take time off “you can loose your creativity and productivity,” says Randy Kamen-Gredinger, a psychologist based in Wayland, Massachusetts, who works with many overburdened business owners. “It could have a negative impact on your business, your relationships, your health.”

Despite the risks of not relaxing, many of you are opting to bypass vacations this year because of economic conditions. A recent study from Discover Small Business Watch found that 56 percent of business owners were postponing or canceling vacation plans and that 61 percent of entrepreneurs polled said they work six to seven days a week.

This kind of pace can lead to burnout for the majority of entrepreneurs within just a few years, says Drew Stevens, a business-growth expert and author of the forthcoming book “Ultimate Business Bible — 12 Strategies for Million Dollar Revenues.”

Lenny Kharitonov, owner of Unlimited Furniture Group Inc. in Brooklyn, New York, was one of those seven-days-a-week entrepreneurs when he launched his business five years ago. He took no vacation the first year but soon decided it would be better for his business and his well-being to take time off.

Each year, he ramped up the number of weeks he could take away from the business as his firm grew and his employees were able to take on more responsibilities. This year, he expects to take a total of six weeks off, including the three weeks he enjoyed this past January in South America.

“When I’m at work I feel preoccupied with the daily minutia,” he says. “When I’m away I can think more globally about things that need to be done for my business. I come back better, refreshed.”

One of the keys for Kharitonov, whose business generates nearly $10 million annually, is his 20 employees. “I trust them. People are more empowered to make decisions when I’m not there,” he stresses. “And I have checks and balancing in place to stay on top of inventory and cash control.”

He does check in via e-mail often, and his workers typically know how to reach him if there’s an emergency. But even if something bad were to happen to his business because he wasn’t there, he maintains, “The risk and cost are worth it for me to enjoy my life.”

So how do you take that vacation — and still keep business going?

Pass the buck
“In small startups, the company can be very dependent on the founder to run the day-to-day operations,” says Clifford Holekamp, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. “It is smart for an entrepreneur to try to manage their business into greater operational independence.”

Make it short
“Take shorter vacations,” Holekamp says. “In my experience, there is a point where a longer vacation starts creating more stress because you get more worried about what is going on back in the office and you know that a longer and longer backlog of work is waiting for you when you return.”

Sawhney’s solution is something she calls micro-vacations. She recently took a weekend jaunt to Lake Wawayanda in New Jersey for some hiking. “I totally took a mental break from it all,” she explains. “It gave me peace of mind. I was able to focus again.”

I hope this summer you get to take a much-needed break and at least find time for some kind of micro-vacation.

Known online as Careerdiva.net, Eve Tahmincioglu is the author of “From the Sandbox to the Corner Office,” an in-depth look at top U.S. CEOs and the lessons they learned on how to succeed in business, as well as a career columnist for MSNBC.com.