Breaking Free: How To Take (Real) Vacations as a Party Business Owner
Intro
With a busy party business to run, do any of these sound familiar?
- Taking ‘half-vacations‘ (where you’re always on standby, ready to jump in whenever work calls) ⚠️
- Avoiding holidays altogether because it feels impossible (or simply not worth it) ⛔
- Facing conflict with loved ones who just don’t understand it’s easier said than done 💔
What if you could take inspiration from other industries and learn how they’ve overcome similar challenges?
And who better to inspire us than those in the travel industry? ✈️
Read on to discover how your business can thrive long-term because you’re taking regular, rejuvenating vacations—not in spite of them.
Spoiler: It all comes down to three essentials!
Our Inspiration
Cara is a self-employed personal travel advisor who’s built a thriving business helping others plan their dream trips—while making sure she still takes her own.
Let’s consider one of Cara’s action-packed itineraries (July, 2025):
- Part 1: Japan: A full week, with a morning-to-night schedule, across multiple cities and accommodations, in a small group of fellow travel advisors who were personally invited. The itinerary included a mix of city, mountain, and off-the-beaten-track experiences. With highlights including a private meeting with a Maiko (apprentice Geisha) 🎎, visits to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Kenroku-en Park in Kanazawa, and plenty of karaoke 🎤, of course.
(These trips help her experience destinations firsthand so she can offer genuine, informed advice to clients) - Part 2: Thailand: Personal time (travelling solo) in Thailand catching up with family and friends 🫂, including former colleagues from her years living there teaching English.
(Cara is half Thai and has been visiting Thailand countless times since childhood, including several years living there)
Not only does Cara generally prefer action-packed itineraries—they’re essential for her business. First-hand experience and knowledge are critical in her world, so she can confidently guide her clients toward the perfect trip.
But there’s another (fortunate) side-effect, that makes her the perfect case study: these jam-packed trips help her avoid falling into the trap of a half-holiday, half-working pattern that’s so easy for small business owners to slip into.
With schedules full of tours, connections, and long travel days, she can’t simply say, “If something comes up, I’ll just jump in from my sunbed.”
Instead, she has to plan properly, ensuring cover is in place, and any work she does while away is entirely voluntary and fits around her schedule—not the other way around.
Could you imagine trying to keep your business running smoothly alongside a trip like that?
Let’s explore what we can learn from how she’s achieved it.
How Cara Makes (Real) Vacations Happen
After exploring this question with Cara, it became clear that her ability to take regular or extended holidays—even action-packed ones—rests on a foundation of three critical building blocks 🧱. Together, these elements form a “triangle” that enables her to step away confidently, knowing her business will continue to run smoothly and her clients will remain supported.
🟩 Block 1 – Cover 🤝
Cara’s natural instinct is to handle everything herself. Like many business owners, she takes huge pride in the service she offers, and find it challenging to trust others when it comes to looking after her clients as she does.
That said, she’s built her business so that, if she needs or wants to, she has the option to step back. Before each trip, she decides how much she’ll stay involved and how much she’ll hand over. Sometimes she keeps a light touch from afar. Other times, she delegates more fully.
The key is that she’s built options enabling her to plan in advance, how much she’s going to work and when.
She’s developed strong relationships with fellow franchisees she trusts completely. They understand her business and her clients and can step in when she’s away. And she’s there to return the favour when they need it.
It’s not luck—it’s something she’s built intentionally, so she can have peace of mind knowing the choice is always there.
Takeaway: If you’re a business owner who finds it hard to let go, start by building relationships with people you trust 🤝. Even knowing you could delegate gives you more freedom and peace of mind—even if you choose not to (yet).
🟦 Block 2 – Systems 🖥️
Cara’s business runs on systems designed for sharing—not chaos. She’s not emailing endless spreadsheets or juggling scraps of paper and Post-it notes.
Instead, she uses digital platforms where everything—from client details and trip notes to bookings and itineraries—is stored centrally. The beauty of these systems is that she can grant temporary access to someone else when she’s away and then revoke it just as easily when she’s back.
She always knows exactly who can see what. No lost files, no panicked searches, no worrying if confidential details are floating around where they shouldn’t be.
Takeaway: Invest in systems that:
- Keep everything organised and centralised
- Allow you to grant and remove access easily
- Make it quick and smooth to hand over tasks
These systems are what turn the idea of taking time off into a practical reality.
🟨 Block 3 – Mindset 💡
The final piece of the puzzle is Cara’s mindset.
She’s in this for the long haul (no travel pun intented) – a business for life. She knows there’s no way that could be the case if it meant not being able to regularly head away. Running a business at full throttle, 365 days a year, simply isn’t sustainable, or healthy.
She’s seen how taking proper time away:
- Helps her recharge mentally
- Keeps her passion for the job alive
- Makes her even better at serving her clients
She doesn’t see holidays as a guilty indulgence. She sees them as essential for the health of both herself and her business (not to mention her loved ones).
And when you have this mindset, you do what it takes, however challenging it may appear, to make it possible to take time away.
Takeaway: Time away is crucial—not optional. It:
- Helps protect your mental health
- Makes you more effective when you’re back
- Reminds you why you started your business in the first place
Your business (and your clients) deserves the best version of you—and that only happens when you give yourself the time and space to recharge.
Why It Matters
So why does Cara go to all this effort to make holidays happen—even when it can feel so challenging to make the time, plan the cover, and put trust into another human? It’s not just for the travel itself (and of course, she enjoys every minute of it).
Here’s why it matters so much for her:
✅ Something to Strive For
Cara loves having trips on the calendar. It gives her something positive to work toward—a reason to push through the busy seasons, knowing there’s a reward at the end.
✅ Natural Way to Divide the Year
She uses her trips to break the year into “sprints.” Each holiday becomes a milestone, helping her set clear business goals, hit targets, and then take time to reset before the next phase.
✅ She Comes Back Energised
Stepping away gives Cara space to recharge mentally and physically. She comes back with fresh ideas, sharper focus, and renewed passion for her work. It’s often on these breaks that the best business ideas pop into her head.
✅ A Business Benefit in Her Case
Of course, in Cara’s world, holidays aren’t just personal time. Every trip fuels her business with:
- fresh social media content
- firsthand knowledge of destinations, hotels, and experiences
- new stories to share with clients
It’s one of the ways she stays ahead and adds extra value for her clients.
For Cara, taking holidays isn’t just time off. It’s a powerful tool for staying energised, focused, and successful for her as an ambitious, small business owner.
A Personal Note from Adam (PPM Co-Founder)
If (like me) you’re in North West England, you might want to skip the stress of planning your next getaway (especially if complex, luxury or long-haul).
Cara, the inspiration for this article, also happens to be my better half. Having worked from home together for several years, each running our own businesses, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand just how dedicated she is to ensuring every client has the best possible holiday, perfectly suited to their individual needs.
Self-qualifying questions:
Are you…
- Based in the North West England?
- Looking for more than a price-matching service? 💼
- Open to exploring in depth, your holiday needs, goals and preferences, to ensure you’re booking the ‘right’ holiday for you? ✈️
If the answer to all three questions is ‘yes’, then don’t hesitate to reach out to Cara via her Facebook page. She’ll be delighted to help you plan a holiday that’s perfectly tailored to your needs, ensuring every detail is just right. 🌟
Recap: How To Take (Real) Vacations (aka Holidays!)
- Find trusted cover so you can step away confidently
- Introduce systems that make it easy to share your workload 🖥️
- Embrace the mindset that time off fuels long-term success 💡
- Consider action-packed holidays, to help avoid the half-holiday trap
- And consider a professional travel advisor, to take the stress out planning Remember, If you’re in the North West UK… we know an excellent one 😉
We hope this article has helped to show, that taking time-off is not only possible, but essential, for you, your family, and your business – especially if you plan to grow old, doing exactly what you’re doing right now, bringing joy to children and families near you
