For Michelle and Jon Richard, 2008 saw the culmination of a long-time goal. The couple spent seven months circling the globe, stopping at 22 countries along the way. They swam with manta rays in Australia, toured Vietnam on motorbike, and took a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai.
Just a few short years after establishing Coalesce, a Wisconsin-based marketing and design firm, Michelle saw the trip as an opportunity to take a break from the demands of business ownership and recharge-both creatively and emotionally. For her husband Jon, it became the first step to a new career in financial planning. Michelle negotiated an extended leave with her business partner and delegated responsibility to existing team members. Jon, an account manager in the technology industry, left his job behind knowing that he wouldn’t return.
“The forced separation from his job was a good thing,” said Michelle, reflecting on her husband’s break. “Otherwise it would have been easy for him to stay where he was at and not make the leap. As for Michelle, the trip provided invaluable perspective into her company and her team. “As the owner of a business, it’s really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details and operation and feel like you need to be on hand for every decision,” she said.
By stepping away, she learned to rely on her staff. Now that she’s back in the office, delegating is easier-leaving her more time to focus on company growth.As proof Michelle’s hiatus didn’t damage company prospects, the SBA recently recognized Coalesce as Wisconsin’s Emerging Small Business of the Year for 2009. And if that doesn’t say ‘go sabbatical’ we don’t know what does.
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