This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Glenn Stephenson, 32, who lives successful Belfast, UK. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.
I joined PwC aft graduating pinch a business grade successful 2016, and I knew the hyper-competitive situation would push me. Seven years in, I wanted to push myself again, truthful I requested a sabbatical.
My occupation had fixed maine restitution and agency, but erstwhile I looked ahead, a system profession way successful a corporate environment didn't really excite me. Becoming a partner seemed for illustration a very all-consuming role.
I felt drawn to building thing wholly new, but I didn't really person the headspace astatine PwC to deliberation astir what I wanted to do adjacent successful my career. I hoped a break would thief maine fig that retired while scratching my itch to travel.
The 5 months that followed were a springboard for building a business pinch my friend, which I yet pivoted to full-time.
Not taking a break felt for illustration the bigger risk
On evenings and weekends while I was astatine PwC, a bully friend and I started moving connected an app to thief group create healthier surface clip and attraction habits. My friend was besides keen to get immoderate abstraction from the firm world, truthful we locked successful our profession breaks astatine the aforesaid clip and planned to travel successful South America for astir 5 months.
Had I not stepped distant from my job, I don't deliberation we would person achieved what we have.Glenn StephensonI wasn't paid during the sabbatical, but I had saved consistently complete astir 3 years, which made the financial consequence consciousness manageable. I felt rather assured that I would support my occupation if I were to return, but I did wonderment whether stepping distant would slow my progress. I've ever placed a premium connected adventure, experimentation, and individual growth, truthful not taking a break and regretting it would person been the bigger risk.
We visited cool places while building our business
During the career break, it was important for america to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt readying epic things, for illustration visiting immoderate of the coolest cities and beaches successful South America, and besides holding each different accountable and committing clip to the business.
What started arsenic a small spot of activity pinch much of a attraction connected recreation developed into moving connected the business full-time and enjoying weekends abroad. By the five-month mark, we'd gained immoderate traction pinch our business, Fluid Focus, including creating our minimum viable product. Just earlier we returned location successful July 2024, we were accepted onto an accelerator programme successful Belfast, which gave america an agency abstraction to activity from.
I extended my sabbatical astatine PwC because our business wasn't generating revenue, and I wanted occupation security. In April 2025, I resigned to spell each in. We completed a £640,000 backing information past summer, and we're hoping to raise much money truthful we tin modulation from a startup to a scale-up.
A sabbatical is simply a awesome measurement to research earlier going each in
If your life circumstances let for it, a sabbatical is simply a superb measurement to find the headspace to research pinch a business without going each successful earlier you're ready. It provides an in-between play to get validation, and build assurance and a prototype. Now that AI helps founders prototype quickly and trial ideas pinch minimal upfront spend, that experimentation shape is faster and cheaper than ever.
Read much profession break stories
Had I not stepped distant from my job, I don't deliberation we would person achieved what we person pinch the business. It's a clip thing. I retrieve days erstwhile we'd put successful 10 hours of activity connected a Sunday, but thing compares to being capable to activity connected your business each time of the week.
Life moves quickly. When a profession break pulls you retired of the rhythm of chasing the promotion aliases progression and you climb Patagonia, you recognize there's a batch of exploring still to do.
PwC declined to remark successful consequence to a petition from Business Insider.
Have you taken a profession break and would for illustration to stock your communicative pinch Business Insider? Contact this reporter: [email protected]
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Business Insider tells the stories you want to cognize astir the world of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you want to cognize astir the world of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you want to cognize astir the world of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you want to cognize astir the world of business, technology, and finance
Business Insider tells the stories you want to cognize astir the world of business, technology, and finance
Charissa Cheong is simply a elder first-person newsman connected Business Insider's Business Contributors and Freelance team, based successful London. She covers: How visa pathways effect careers, what it’s for illustration moving astatine the world’s biggest companies aliases alongside its astir prominent leaders, really the AI revolution is affecting professionals, and more. Charissa’s activity spans a wide scope of topics, but the unifying thread is first-person storytelling — sharing people’s unsocial profession and life experiences successful their ain voice, pinch their ain words. She writes successful Business Insider’s signature “As-told-to” format, which is designed to item powerful perspectives successful a conversational way. She besides commissions and edits personal essays from freelance writers and contributors. Charissa joined Business Insider successful 2022 connected the integer civilization desk, covering family vlogging, online harassment, and influencer culture. She moved to the contributors and freelance squad successful 2024.She graduated from the University of Cambridge pinch a BA successful English and holds a golden modular NCTJ Level 5 publicity diploma.If you person an acquisition you would for illustration to stock successful a first-person communicative for Business Insider, get successful touch pinch Charissa via email astatine [email protected] aliases Signal astatine charissacheong.63ExpertiseFirst-person publicity focused connected careers, Big Tech, employment visas, and immigration. Selected stories
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- Inside India’s “Silicon Valley”: a metropolis straining nether pressure
- I called myself 'James' connected my résumé and yet sewage a job. Here's why I've started utilizing my commencement sanction again astatine work.
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