Have you ever dreamed of taking an entire summer off—six full weeks away from your business—without everything falling apart? I know I have. That’s exactly why I invited my friend Megan Blacksmith to join me on today’s episode of the Nourish CEO Podcast.
Megan has been creating this kind of freedom in her life and business for nearly a decade, and she’s here to pull back the curtain on how she made it possible—not by waiting until everything was perfect, but by intentionally designing her business and her beliefs to support the life she wanted.
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How to Take the Summer Off Without Your Business Falling Apart: A Guide for Health Entrepreneurs and Coaches
Imagine taking six full weeks off every summer—completely unplugged from your business—without everything falling apart.
For so many health entrepreneurs, coaches, and wellness practitioners, this sounds like a fantasy.
The idea of stepping away from your business for an extended period feels impossible when you’re the one responsible for serving clients, creating content, and keeping everything running.
But here’s the truth: You can design your business to allow you to take the summer off, enjoy true time freedom, and come back more energized and inspired than ever before.
If you’ve been craving more time freedom in your life and business, this is for you.
Why Taking the Summer Off Matters—Especially for Health Entrepreneurs
As health entrepreneurs and wellness practitioners, we’re in the business of helping others feel their best.
But how often do we give ourselves that same care and space to recharge?
The reality is that many coaches and practitioners build businesses that require them to be “on” 24/7.
There’s a constant push to produce content, serve clients, and grow—often at the expense of personal well-being, family time, and creativity.
Taking the summer off isn’t just about luxury—it’s about sustainability.
It’s about creating a business that supports the life you want, not one that runs you into the ground.
And as Megan shared in our conversation, this freedom doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with intentional design.
How Megan Blacksmith Took the Summer Off—Even Before It Made Sense
When Megan first started her business, she made a bold declaration to her business partner: “I want to have summers with my children. This is a non-negotiable.”
At the time, there was no logical reason why this should work. She didn’t have the income or the systems in place to justify stepping away for six weeks.
But she committed to the vision first—and built her business around that decision.
“I was just stating, ‘I am taking this time off.’ And because I did it from the beginning, no matter what, it stuck,” Megan said.
This is a powerful lesson for any coach or practitioner: Freedom is rarely something you find once you hit a magical income level.
It’s something you create by setting the intention and building your business to support that vision.
✅ Key Takeaway: If you want to take the summer off, declaring it as your goal—even if it doesn’t feel “logical” right now.
The Beliefs That Hold You Back from Taking Time Off
One of the biggest reasons most entrepreneurs never take the summer off (or even a week off) is because of deeply rooted beliefs about productivity and worth.
Megan shared that one of the most significant mindset shifts she had to make was around the belief that “my productivity equals my worth.”
Sound familiar?
Many of us have internalized the idea that the more we do, the more valuable we are.
But when you’re constantly in motion, there’s no space to step back, rest, or receive inspiration.
Megan explained:
“What happens if I’m just not doing anything? Can I still feel worthy? Can I still feel enough?”
Shifting this belief is the first step to creating space in your calendar—and your mind—to actually take the summer off.
✅ Action Step: Journal on this question: “What would I make it mean about myself if I stopped working for six weeks?” Identify any limiting beliefs that come up.
Why Time Off Leads to Greater Creativity and Business Growth
One of the biggest fears that holds entrepreneurs back from taking time off is the belief that their business will fall apart without them.
But Megan has found the exact opposite to be true.
Every time she returns from her six-week summer sabbatical, she’s more creative, more excited to work, and more productive.
The time away actually fuels her next level of growth.
“I know every time I actually go and leave and go to the lake, when I come back, I am so fired up to work,” Megan said.
This is something I’ve experienced too—especially after stepping away for maternity leave.
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Taking real time off forces you to evaluate what’s truly essential in your business, eliminate busywork, and come back with fresh eyes and new ideas.
✅ Key Takeaway: Rest is a business strategy. Taking the summer off can actually help you grow faster and more sustainably.
The Practical Side: How to Set Up Your Business to Take the Summer Off
Of course, mindset alone isn’t enough. You also need practical systems in place to take the summer off without everything grinding to a halt.
Here are some of the key systems Megan put in place:
1. Automate and Batch Content
Megan pre-records podcasts, writes social media posts, and batches content well in advance so that her online presence continues even while she’s away.
✅ Tip: Start small by batching 2–3 weeks of content, then work your way up to batching for longer periods.
2. Build a Reliable Team
She relies on her team—virtual assistants, coaches, and other support staff—to keep things running.
✅ Tip: If you don’t have a team yet, consider starting with a part-time VA who can handle simple but time-consuming tasks.
3. Create Boundaries with Clients
Megan clearly communicates with her clients that she doesn’t coach in July. And the amazing thing? No one has ever pushed back.
✅ Tip: Set clear boundaries with your clients about when you’re available. Most clients will respect this—and it can even inspire them to create more freedom for themselves.
4. Evaluate What Actually Matters
Taking the summer off forces you to examine which parts of your business are truly essential. Megan shared how she realized that some activities (like weekly newsletters) were not as impactful as she thought.
✅ Tip: Look at your revenue and results. Where is the majority of your income coming from? Focus on what moves the needle.
What If It Doesn’t Feel Like the Right Time to Take the Summer Off?
Many health coaches and wellness entrepreneurs tell themselves a familiar story:
“I’ll take time off when the business makes more money.”
“I’ll take time off when my kids are older.”
“I’ll take time off once this big project is done.”
Megan calls this out as the trap it is.
She shared how even after her husband retired (freeing up her time significantly), she still wasn’t doing some of the things she had said she would “once she had more time.”
The real obstacle wasn’t time or money—it was belief.
✅ Key Takeaway: Waiting until everything is “perfect” before you take time off is a trap. Start designing for freedom now, not someday.
The Deeper Work: Identity Shifts and Quantum Leaps
One of the most fascinating insights Megan shared is that when you take a big leap—like buying a lake house, taking six weeks off, or hitting a new income level—your identity sometimes lags behind your new reality.
This can trigger chaos, self-sabotage, or discomfort until you fully “own” the new version of yourself.
As Megan put it:
“There was a gap between the identity I was and the identity of the person who has all these amazing things and takes time off and really owns it.”
This is why deep subconscious work—like the NLP trainings Megan teaches—is so powerful. It helps you shift your identity to align with the life and business you’re stepping into.
✅ Action Step: Reflect on where you’re living from an old identity that no longer matches the business and freedom you’re creating.
How Values Drive Your Choices Around Time Freedom
Another big takeaway from our conversation was the importance of values. Your values determine what you’re willing to prioritize.
For Megan, freedom and family time were high values—so she made the decision to take summers off even when it wasn’t “easy.”
For others, adventure or career achievement might rank higher. Neither is right or wrong, but it’s essential to know your values so you can design a business that aligns.
✅ Journal Prompt: What are my top 5 values in this season of life? How does my business reflect those values?
Your Next Step Toward Taking the Summer Off
If you’re feeling inspired by Megan’s story and you want to create this kind of freedom in your own business, the first step is to work on both your beliefs and your systems.
And if you’re ready to dive deep into mastering the subconscious work that makes this kind of freedom possible, I highly recommend checking out the Transformation Accelerator Foundations Training that Megan and her partner Alex are running this October.
I attended this training last fall, and it was honestly one of the most transformative personal and professional experiences I’ve ever had. If you move on to Level 2, I’ll be there this January too!
Use code LAURA to save $2,000 off the full price. The link to sign up is right here: Transformation Accelerator Foundations Training
Final Thoughts: You Deserve to Take the Summer Off
Taking the summer off is not reserved for “lucky” people or for those who’ve already hit a certain milestone.
It’s something you can design into your business—starting now.
It starts by believing it’s possible.
It grows by building the systems to support it.
And it’s sustained by remembering that your worth is not tied to your productivity.
Your future self—and your family—will thank you.
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