Two good friends who also happen to be the two co-founders of a creative consultancy for designers, Gail Doby and Erin Weir share how their long and enduring friendship impacts the way they inspire each other and work through whatever life and business challenges come their way. In their own honest musings, and also in their open conversations with speakers, authors, and influencers, they further their own journey as friends and founders, causing us to further our own journeys, too.
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Two good friends who also happen to be the two co-founders of a creative consultancy for designers, Gail Doby and Erin Weir share how their long and enduring friendship impacts the way they inspire each other and work through whatever life and business challenges come their way. In their own honest musings, and also in their open conversations with speakers, authors, and influencers, they further their own journey as friends and founders, causing us to further our own journeys, too.
Believe That You Can Take a Break (Gail Doby and Erin Weir)
Creative Genius Podcast
51 minutes 1 second
5 months ago
Believe That You Can Take a Break (Gail Doby and Erin Weir)
What if the best thing you could do for your business... was to step away from it?
In this special episode of the Creative Genius Podcast, Erin Weir sits down with Pearl Collective co-founder Gail Doby to explore the empowering experience of taking a sabbatical. Gail has taken multiple sabbaticals over the past five years, and in this episode, she shares why this practice is essential for visionary leaders—and how it became one of the most strategic decisions she made as a business owner.
Gail defines a sabbatical as “an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job,” and breaks down the origins and misconceptions of the practice. For her, sabbaticals have ranged from deep reading and writing to moving homes and diving back into hands-on interior design. While each one looked different, every sabbatical provided a much-needed reset that sparked creativity, shifted her mindset, and empowered her team.
In this episode, you'll learn how Gail prepared for her first sabbatical nearly a year in advance, setting up systems and handing over responsibilities to her team. She reflects on how her absence pushed the leadership team to grow: “YI wanted you all to step up and show me what you have.” The experience helped her realize how critical it is to let go of control in order to grow both leaders and the business itself.
This episode also highlights:
How to prepare your team and clients for your absence
Why reading fuels Gail’s creativity (she read 21 books on her first sabbatical!)
The unexpected gift of sabbaticals: faster team development and long-term succession planning
Practical advice for business owners who think they’re “too busy” to step away
Gail encourages all leaders—especially those in the interior design industry—to find ways to recharge creatively, whether through a long weekend away, a solo retreat, or a multi-week break. As she puts it, “Your time is now. Go do it.”
If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s13e7-shownotes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNRGClIvxKk
Episode Transcript
Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors.
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Well, Gail, it is great to finally get to podcast together again. It's been a minute for our listeners since we've been on together.
Well, we both had a lot of things going on in 24 and now it's 25 and it's a new year and a new face. You're leading the podcast this year, which is great. So it's fun to be a guest for a change.
All right, well, I love it. And we've got you all set up in your new office setting. And so I'm loving your background. I'm still sticking to my very plain vanilla background for the moment, but you are inspiring me to switch up my background.
just a paint can. Oh, thank you. Yeah, they're
I will buy you a can of
I love it. love it. Okay, so let's, I want to talk today on the topic of sabbaticals. The idea of sabbaticals, how you know when it's time, what it does for you as the business owner. I just think it's such an interesting topic to uncover. And since you have done sabbaticals for a couple of years now, you're the perfect person to talk to about this.
Yeah, it's an annual event now and it's actually gonna be twice this year and maybe.
From now on, you never know.
my gosh, well,
Creative Genius Podcast
Two good friends who also happen to be the two co-founders of a creative consultancy for designers, Gail Doby and Erin Weir share how their long and enduring friendship impacts the way they inspire each other and work through whatever life and business challenges come their way. In their own honest musings, and also in their open conversations with speakers, authors, and influencers, they further their own journey as friends and founders, causing us to further our own journeys, too.
