While many might view a two-month European escape as the perfect chance to switch off, soak up the sun and forget about work entirely, that wasn’t the reality for Claire Styles. Instead, the trip became an unexpected catalyst – forcing her to rethink how she runs her firm.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Boutique Lawyers Show, Claire Styles, C Legal founder and principal, shared how her overseas trip unexpectedly pushed her to reassess how she runs her firm, how she balances her life, and where she wants to focus her professional energy moving forward.
Styles admitted that while she savoured two months soaking up the European sun, blending work with holidays brought unexpected lessons.
“Working while holidaying is tricky, and I think I did learn a lesson as much as I enjoyed the two months, but I didn’t need two months at the end of the day. I had travel fatigue by the end of it,” she said.
“That was partly because I was working as well as holidaying, and the work wasn’t in the growth stage.”
For boutique firm owners eager to take a well-deserved break, Styles advised that the focus should be on maintaining the business rather than trying to expand while away.
“When you’re planning these kinds of trips, if you are planning them as a boutique law firm owner, I think the thing to really focus on is sustaining what you’ve got and sustaining for that period of time, knowing as soon as you hit the ground again, that’s when you can start growing,” she said.
Despite the fatigue and challenges of balancing work and travel, Styles found that being in a new environment away from her daily routines offered unexpected clarity and a fresh perspective on her practice.
“On my trip it was, I was still working quite a lot, but then as the trip continued, I think what happened was it allowed me to step back a little bit and get that perspective as well,” she said.
“Just being in a different environment, you know, and not every day, the monotony sometimes of your everyday routine really helps give you that perspective.”
That shift in perspective, Styles shared, prompted her to critically examine which parts of her practice brought her the most satisfaction, and which were draining resources without delivering adequate returns.
“I really did reflect. I thought to myself, what am I really enjoying about the firm and the clients and what areas are taking too much energy and really not producing as much money or the result that I would want,” she said.
“So when I really took a stand backwards and looked at it, I thought, well, the area that I love working in is estate planning. So if I just home in on that and get rid of everything else, I’m quietening down the noise, and I’m able to produce better for the clients that I’ve got in that space.”
Taking time away as a boutique firm owner is never easy, since so much inevitably comes back to you. Still, Styles suggested that for those eager to travel, a working holiday can offer a practical balance.
“As a boutique law firm owner, it all comes back to you at the end of the day. So there is always that fear of the work, the cash flow, everything that, you know, you do have to manage,” she said.
“But if travel and a holiday are something that you need or want or desire, which I think most of us do, and most of us need a holiday, the working holiday will provide people with that opportunity.”
However, she cautioned that a working holiday cannot fully replace genuine rest, and carving out true downtime is still essential.
“But I would say you don’t get the relaxation of a holiday that we all need as well. I think if you can manage two weeks somewhere where you can really not be online, that’s a really good reset,” she said.
“When you’re on a working holiday for longer, you’re still able to have time away, see new places, but keep on the pulse of things going on. So when you get back, it doesn’t all crumble.”
