sabbatical. The shop (Sagmeister Inc.) is closed. Ideas generated during the sabbatical year fuel the creative genius and the firm’s bottom line grows substantially during the next six years - all a result of the one-year sabbatical.

Sagmeister is  on his second sabbatical.

Stefan Sagmeister

Our company, yourSABBATICAL.com, couldn’t make up a more compelling business case for sabbaticals. Since our mission is to make certain that EVERY PERSON has sabbatical opportunities as part of their career, we’re happy to let Stefan talk on and on.  And we couldn’t ask for a better looking spokesperson.  He’s rugged-looking cute.

It would be surprising if you haven’t seen his presentation, The Power of Time Off, at the 2009  TED conference.  Afterwards, the blog world lit up as Sagmeister’s novel logic – “take your retirement years and intersperse them into your work life”– inspired and surpised many.  My post about “taking a Sagmeister” was one of a gazillion.

Two months later when Sagmeister should have been doomed to Susan Boyle’s current status (Where is she? Who was she?), here comes another slew of blogs -including one on Oct. 7, 2009 on the yourSABBATICAL blog -Sagmeister on Sabbaticals. All with more tweets and enormous gushing once again at this very “smart and unique” idea.

Before Sagmeister’s given saint status, let’s set the record straight. He’s not the only person who steps out of a successful career for a year long experience away from work.  There are many successful people who employ the same strategy and you may not ever know of them.

So let me introduce  two people who stepped away from successful careers for a year out. Both are in the first quarter of their sabbatical.

First there’s Eve Beglarian, composer and collaborator, who put her bright red kayak into the Mississippi River’s headwateron Aug. 1, 2009. She’ll glide the river until late November then head back upstream by car. With a small ensemble, she’ll travel and perform new works for and with residents in the very communities along the river that inspirted them.  She’ll pick up the river and complete her year doing a long mosey til the end.

Why wasn’t she treated to tweets heard round the world after an article about her appeared in the New York Times?  Lack of dollars in her bank account? Not as pretty as Sagmeister?

Another person  is 27-year-old Manhattan resident Joseph Quaderer – an NYU MBA student and Director at Morgan Stanley.  Why take a year away from a six-figure salary, a posh lifestyle with access to the best NYC clubs and restaurants, a luxury apartment, a Hampton’s summerhouse, a network of family and friends, a six-figure salary ?

Why, pray tell, in the middle of the worst economic crisis would he take a year out to wander the heart of Africa to work with disadvantaged Ugandan students? The pay doesn’t sound good, and I’m curious about the accommodations.

Good for all of us is the news that Joseph will be telling his story on this website so all of us can learn about his experience, his motivations and his day-to-day challenges.  And look for a hint of regret, perhaps.

Watch for his blog posts soon. Meanwhile, don’t scoff at one-year sabbaticals and definitely don’t credit the idea as one lived out only by the rich and famous.

Could that be you in a red kayak or sporting a lion-claw necklace next year?  Interesting thought.

“When I was planning, the word sabbatical never came out of my mouth,” he said. “But looking back almost 10 years, it really kind of was.”

Dave took his trip seven years after the company started. By that time, he said, the business was well established and he was confident he could take time away. While he was gone, a staff member stepped into his sales manager role. The ‘interim’ sales manager did so well, Dave was able to hand over that aspect of his job when he returned.

“I was able to come back and realize I should be working less in the business and more on the business,” he said. Today, he spends nearly all his time on strategy and big picture management. He said he’ll definitely take another sabbatical or two in the future. “These are the things small business owners set themselves up to be able to do.”

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.