Why You Need to Step Away From Your Business

When life circumstances made us realize we wanted a business that didn’t need us constantly involved, we had to come up with processes and systems to get to that goal. One of the things we figured out is taking trips away with no contact with the team showed us exactly where the systems were broken, incomplete, or inefficient. We’ve been taking 4 weeks away every year for the past 5 years, and we’ve learned that stepping away is one of the most powerful growth tools you can use.

We call it a stress test, and we’d love to show you what we do, why we do it, and the results we’ve experienced. Don’t worry, we know it’s a shock to your system and a little scary that we suggest you leave your business and turn off your phone and laptop, but it’s changed our lives and our business, and we know it will change yours too. Take a deep breath, and let’s dive in!

Why We Started Taking Long Vacations

Early on, even taking a week off was stressful. We’d scramble to “front-load” work before leaving, then return to an inbox full of fires to put out. It never felt relaxing.

Our first breakthrough came when we booked a cruise. Back then, onboard Wi-Fi was scarce and expensive, so we were forced to unplug. No quick check-ins. No “just this one email.”

That first trip revealed more than we expected:

• Where we were bottlenecking our own company
  
  
• Which systems weren’t actually systems at all
  
  
• How much our team could rise when we weren’t in the room
  
  

We realized stepping away wasn’t just about us recharging. It was about making the business stronger.

From One Week to Four: Building the Muscle

We didn’t jump straight to a month-long absence. We started with two weeks, which at the time felt like a huge leap. The rules were simple: no texts, no emails, no calls unless there was an absolute emergency.

That meant that if the team did reach out, we took note—because that was a sign of a gap. Either someone wasn’t empowered to make a decision, or a process didn’t exist to handle it without us. Over time, our businesses matured. In one of our companies, we now step away for four weeks with no contact, and it runs smoothly. But it wasn’t magic—it took preparation.

How We Prepare Our Businesses to Run Without Us

When we leave, we don’t cancel important things. We set the team up to handle them. For example: we lead a monthly leadership meeting. While we were gone, the meeting still happened—just without us.

Here’s how we delegated it:

• One leader presented the financials for the month.
  
  
• Another led the educational portion of the meeting.
  
  
• Another facilitated the meeting overall.
  
  
• Another took notes and sent them to the team.
  
  

By giving away those responsibilities intentionally, we discovered new leadership strengths—and sometimes, our team liked the new flow better without us hovering. When you step away the right way, you’re not abandoning your team. You’re empowering them. You’re saying, “I trust you to make the call.” And in that space, they grow in ways they simply can’t when you’re always there.

Start Your Own Stress Test

Don’t jump to four weeks right away. Start with two. Stay home if you need to, but disconnect from your phone, laptop, whatever you usually use for work. Watch what happens. Take notes on the gaps you discover. Fix them when you get back to work. Then do it again, for longer.

The whole point is to see that your business shouldn’t just survive without you. It should get stronger.

Ready to try it?
We’ll show you how to design your first two-week stress test and help you walk through the process of building a business that thrives without you.

👉 LevelUp2Lead.com/business