As a student of agriculture, I have come to understand that while farming, there is always room for “fallow” and the importance of this fallow is to leave the land inactive for some periods without farming, so the land can regain lost nutrients.
If fallow could be so effective on land, it would yield better produce afterwards. Then it could actually be more effective when practiced on human activities, too.
As a business owner, I have come to realize the impact of taking a gap year, at times it might not be up to a year, maybe months, but they are so much more effective when growing one’s business.
There was a time when I had a tough time trying to manage the business, I got broke financially, and my business was struggling. After much consideration, I decided to take some time to rest away from the business.
Everything went on hold, and I halted every ongoing deal. It remained inactive for about six months before I could resume. So I can actually take that as a gap year from my business. After the resumption there was actually a good turnout from it.
Just like it has happened academically, as students, there are times when schools will go on vacation, which is to give the children some time to rest, relax, and refresh their brains for the next school activities.
But there are always advantages and disadvantages to almost everything.
One of the disadvantages I realized can erupt from a gap year is the aspect of total shutdown. I have seen a lot of businesses collapse due to the fact that they decided to take a gap year. A year of leave or a few months away from the business might turn out to be disastrous for the business's growth.
As a business is built majorly on capital, and to run a business successfully, you need to have capital. The year's leave from business could take away the capital, and resurfacing the business might become a big problem. Thereby, in the end, the business collapses.
The Merit that comes from taking a gap year is that such a business has the potential to grow better, depending on how well the business owner takes a better turn. For some businesses, the gap year might sometimes be an advantage when the business owner takes those periods to strategize and make better plans that will further bring growth to the business.
It could be an opportunity to opt for business grants and loan support to enhance the growth of the business. And if it's for companies, it can serve the purpose of a leave for the workers so as to refresh their energy for resumption.
I will say there is surely more to benefit from taking a gap year, but we should also try as much as we can to avoid making it leave a negative impact on whatever we do. That way, we can get the best out of it.
This is my response to the HIVE LEARNERS weekly prompt in the hive-learners community for the Week 176 Edition 3, and the topic to be discussed is GAP YEAR.
