Do you have a sabbatical story? Sign up and draft your own story to share with the yourSABBATICAL.com community.
Sabbatical Lessons for a Small Business Owner
Dave Withbroe is one of two active owners in Dental City, a dental supply firm. In 2000, he took a one-month break from the business to tour Europe with his girlfriend. “It was the trip of a lifetime,” he said. “I got to check a whole bunch of boxes.” (Like running with the bulls in [...]
Cultural Exposure Brings Career & Personal Benefits
Claudia Patton of Edelman took a five week paid sabbatical to the Himalayas, visiting China, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. “I have much deeper relationships with my colleagues in India now that I have shown some interest in their government, culture and way of doing business,” she says. Patton encourages her team members to take a similar break to step outside their own experiences. “Immerse yourself in another world and bring that awareness back to Edelman. In doing so you become a more fully 360 degree employee.”
A Sabbatical Sparks Loyalty
Christi Dixon would be lying if she didn’t admit her company’s sabbatical program has kept her on the job. A vice president at Standing Partnership in St. Louis, Dixon has been recruited by headhunters and business acquaintances, but never gave the offers real consideration.
Standing Partnership’s 24 staff members are eligible for a two month paid [...]
Break for a Business Owner
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, [...]
Getting Some "Experience Education" On Sabbatical
Jeff and Eileen Schoenfeldt are in the throes of planning for a year+ sabbatical, scheduled to start in mid February 2010. The Madison-based professionals have put their home on the market, listed their belongings on Craig’s List, and are planning a worldwide trip, scheduling stops in at least 25 countries and all seven continents.
Due to [...]
Noni Allgood Takes a Sabbatical to Renew
In January 2009, Noni Allwood left her employer of 13 years to take a career break. An executive with a major Fortune 500 company, Allwood’s time was consumed with all matter of corporate and community responsibilities including speaking engagements, boards, councils, and task forces. Walking away from all of that, Allwood describes the initial stage [...]
An Adoption Project
During a one month hiatus from his partnership position at the marketing firm Imaginasium, Joe Bergner traveled to Kazakhstan to adopt his second child.
In preparation for the trip, Joe began grooming other staff members to take on greater responsibility. “I had a number of staffers that I was able to elevate to manage big projects [...]