EP 477: Take the sabbatical — why agency owners need to unplug with Louise Oliver

Nov 25, 2024

Louise Oliver, owner of Paratus, a PR firm in Alabama, discusses the transformative power of taking a sabbatical. She shares her personal journey of overcoming the fear of disconnecting from her agency. Louise highlights how completely unplugging allowed her team to grow and empowered her leadership. She emphasizes the importance of trust and a strong leadership team while stepping back. The conversation also touches on the unique challenges agency owners face, particularly during maternity leave, and the necessity of prioritizing self-care for better agency growth.

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ADVICE

Taking a Real Break

Acknowledge that taking extended breaks, like parental leave or sabbaticals, can be difficult for agency owners.
Demonstrate trust in your team by completely unplugging and allowing them to handle responsibilities.

INSIGHT

The Value of Stepping Back

Continuously working without breaks can hinder agency growth, limiting the owner's capacity to focus on high-level tasks.
Stepping back allows owners to assess team performance and identify areas for improvement and growth.

ANECDOTE

Louise's Transformation

Louise Oliver, initially resistant to unplugging, experienced several emotional stages during her sabbatical.
She transitioned from grief to realizing the benefits of the break and its impact on her firm's growth.

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This one is going to be hard for most agency owners to hear, but you need to take a sabbatical — or a vacation or any amount of time off where you completely unplug from the agency. No Slack, no email, no phone calls. Nothing.

Most of you just got really uncomfortable reading that statement, but it’s absolutely necessary if you want your agency to grow. In fact, not taking time off could be stifling agency growth more than you realize.

Every time you jump into a meeting with a client that your project manager or AE could be taking, or you need to sign off on a minor thing that your leadership team could handle, you’re making it harder for your team — and your agency — to grow.

Louise Oliver is going to share her story of how she was exactly like many of you, stressing over her maternity leave and avoiding deleting work apps off of her devices. And then she did it. She realized how much that time off helped her and her agency grow exponentially.

So, tune in and take the sabbatical.

A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Don’t be an agency owner who can’t imagine being involved in everything
Taking time off completely unplugged shows your team they trust you
The importance of having a strong leadership team to back you up
The stages of grief of unplugging during a sabbatical
The day and night difference Louise experienced after returning to work
Taking a sabbatical will give you the freedom to finally do the work you want to be doing
Letting your leadership put out fires while you’re away is the key to their growth
How stepping aside can help your team find weak spots in systems and processes
If a sabbatical or vacation feels impossible, that’s a good sign to look at how your team is structured
How taking time off can help you on a personal level outside of the agency