How Taking Time Off and Staying Connected Transformed My Entrepreneurial Approach In an Entrepreneur UK interview, Lewis Crompton - CEO and founder at STARTrading, shares how holiday traditions, community, and resilience have shaped his business philosophy and success.

In an Entrepreneur UK interview, Lewis Crompton - CEO and founder at STARTrading, a Rotherwas based trading education platform, shares how holiday traditions, community, and resilience have shaped his business philosophy and success. Amid the festive season, many entrepreneurs are reflecting on the past year while balancing the demands of commerce and connection. For this business owner, stepping away from distractions, nurturing his community, and embracing hard lessons have been key to maintaining clarity and growth—no matter the challenges or the season.

What's a holiday tradition—personal or professional—that has shaped your entrepreneurial philosophy?
One of my holiday traditions is to take myself off for a day, phone off, no emails, no distractions. Personally I like to go to a coffee shop, get myself a peppermint tea and a chocolate tiffin (they are to die for!). I spend the day with pen, paper, post-it notes, and review my year. I think about the things I loved and that I want to do more of. I think about the hard stuff that happened and what I learned from it. I think about the stuff I hated doing or no longer brings me joy and aim to do less of it. I then use my post-it notes to create a focus on the areas of my life I want to see changes in or have goals in. I then narrow it down to my 3 core areas. I take those 3 core areas and create 3 core goals within each area. I find this gives me insane clarity, excitement, hope and thankfulness for what the next year is going to bring me.

Related: How Can Entrepreneurs Scale While Balancing Work and Life?

For many, the festive season highlights the tension between commerce and community—how does your business navigate this balance?
My business is a community, so for us, holidays are a fantastic time of year with very little strain. I'm very conscious of the fact not everybody has a place to belong, a family, or loved ones to spend time with and my community has become their place of belonging. As a result, during the holidays I open up a Zoom room for at least 30mins so that nobody has to feel alone. It's the tiniest of things, but helps those who attend feel loved and connected. For me, there is no tension, I wouldnt have a business without my community and I love how supportive they all are of one another.

What is the most important lesson your business has taught you this year?
Don't take it personally, from death threats to betrayal, it's been a year of some fairly painful experiences. I've learned to not take it personally, well, I'm still learning. The volume of the emotions that come with those types of experiences is way less now and I still feel peace and kindness towards those individuals. And yes, it has also taught me on a practical level to protect yourself and so we have implemented greater legal protections for our business.

If you could give one piece of advice to other entrepreneurs about surviving and thriving through the holiday season, what would it be?
One piece of advice, don't slow down at holiday time but innovate. Don't buy into the lie that nobody is spending money at this time of year. People love to spend money at this time of year, you just need to find what works for them, and for you, and offer them that. December doesnt have to be a low revenue month. You can use the holiday season to refresh your marketing, your offers and reconnect with your clients.

Related: Mastering the Holiday Season: Strategies for Reflection, Resilience, and Recharge in Business