When the Kids Are Right: Why Every Family Business Owner Needs to Switch Off

[Photo: Santandria Beach, Minorca — first evening]

I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to go.

Not because I don’t love a holiday — of course I do. But because there’s always something. A call to return, a decision to make, an email that really can’t wait. When you run a business, or you’ve spent a lifetime building something, the idea of stepping away can feel almost irresponsible.

The work doesn’t stop just because you do.

But my kids had other ideas.

They’d been saying it for months, with that particular brand of gentle insistence that only your own children can deploy without it feeling like nagging. “You need a break.” “You’re not stopping.” “Just go.” And eventually — reluctantly, if I’m honest — we listened. Minorca it was.

And within about twenty minutes of arriving at Santandria Beach on that first evening, I knew they were absolutely right.
Cala Santandria sits on the west coast of Minorca, just four kilometres from the ancient town of Ciutadella, sheltered by cliffs and rocky edges — and it is, quite simply, one of the most peaceful places I have ever stood.

The light that first evening was something else. Golden, soft, unhurried. The kind of light that seems to exist specifically to remind you that the world is bigger than your inbox.

Legend has it the name Santandria comes from Sancte Andrea — a Christian captive of the Moors who baptised a captain’s daughter on this very shore before being mortally wounded. Even the history here whispers of courage, sacrifice, and things that truly matter. Standing on that sand, watching the sun dip behind the bay, I felt something loosen in my chest that I hadn’t even realised was tight.

Here’s what I’ve come to understand about family business owners — and I include myself in this completely. We are brilliant at pushing through. It’s in our DNA. The graft, the commitment, the refusal to let things slide. These are the qualities that built what we’ve built. But they are also, if we’re not careful, the very things that quietly grind us down.

Rest isn’t a reward for finishing the work.

The work never finishes. Rest is a discipline. A decision. And sometimes — often — it takes the people who love us most to make us see that.

My kids saw it before I did.

They watched me running on empty and said, clearly and kindly: enough. Go and fill back up.
So we did.

And Minorca delivered in every possible way. The beach is calm, the water shallow and clear, the evenings unhurried. No agenda. No notifications that couldn’t wait. Just family, food, sunshine, and the particular joy of doing absolutely nothing particularly well.

I came back sharper, warmer, and more grateful than I’d been in months.

Listen to your kids. They’re watching more closely than you think — and sometimes, they’re the wisest people in the room. 
 

HERITAGE SPEAKS 💬

 
“The most important thing you’ll ever build needs you rested, not running on empty. Even the strongest foundations need time to settle.”