24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Junior investment bankers regularly work 80-90 hours a week. Many other high profile professions require the same level of commitment. Often those on the outside claim that working 80-90 hours a week is bad/wrong/terrible/silly/etc but we’ve spoken with so many folks who say working that much has been the best decision of their life – it allowed them to develop a deep and strong skill set far faster than would have been possible otherwise. In other words, by working 2x the hours, they were able to generate 5x or more the rewards. And depending on where you are in your career, investing heavily in your skills and competence can pay dividends for a long time.

Julie Evans | Child Advocate & CEO

Work-life-balance. I can see my younger self rolling my eyes as I hear those words. I was committed to my work. And given my professional role in protecting children, I felt my time was justified and frankly thought I should do more. Then, enter husband, then children and I learned in a whole new way what that phrase meant. It was a struggle. I felt guilt when I was working for not being with my family. I felt guilt at home knowing I could be knocking something out at work. I was burning out and something had to change. I quickly learned why work life balance had to become a priority. I lost my mother and my mother-in-law, both strong women of faith and great love for others, within about one year of each other. As I navigated the final weeks with both, I was encouraged to remember that I would never regret the time I spent by their side and with our family. I have kept this mantra with me. Read more>>

Angela Webb | Photographer

I have been working in the photography industry for 6 years. When I first started out, I can attest that as a photographer I tried to take on every gig that was offered to me. It was my way of putting my self out there, practicing my skills, and showing diversity in my portfolio. From wedding photography, headshots, portraits, food, interior, architecture etc. I did it all. It has only been the last two years that I have taken time to do the leg work to have consistency in my business. Defining my services, filtering my clientele, and providing a certain aesthetic with my work has all been a huge part in helping me find balance in my day to day work flow. When you run a business as a “one woman show” you play many hats. Administrator, CEO, assistant, project manager, editor, creative director, and the list goes on. Being able to discover the things I love to do with photography and build on that momentum has allowed me to grow as a business and as a person. Read more>>

Len Williams | E-Commerce & Real-Estate Entrepreneur

Looking back on when I first started The KJV Store, the idea of “Work Life Balance” was allegorical. “Work” was the elephant in the room, “life” was a skeleton in the closet, and “balance” was dust in the wind. As explained in my previous interview, I worked 100-hour weeks, and slept on my parent’s couch for an entire summer to save money, all to start my business for only $75.00 at age 22. 16 years and over 1 Million King James Bible & product sales later, I guess you could say it was a good decision that the Lord has blessed. But balance? That’s something that had to be both learned and earned. The first time I ever even thought about work life balance was in September 2009, a full five years of slaving away in my entrepreneurial journey, when I read the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss. I started putting serious thought into the terms “lifestyle design” and “mini-retirements”. Read more>>

Nikki Nuckols | Creative Director & Entrepreneur

I unintentionally started my first business, Doodle Dog Creative, back in 2008, while doing some freelance work for small businesses in my off-hours. I was fresh out of college, working long hours as an art director at a local ad agency, mostly in exchange for beer Fridays and the occasional catered meal. Luckily, my few freelance clients quickly turned into a few more, and eventually, one asked me to send them an invoice for accounting purposes. While putting together the invoice, I quickly “doodled” a dog’s face, added the name “Doodle Dog” to the top of the page, and sent it (as if that was how you were supposed to start a business). Two years later, my freelance turned into my full-time career. The business entity was legally established, Doodle Dog Creative brought on its first employee and we settled into a niche market, helping small businesses create their brand identity, website, and online experience. Read more>>

Justin Taylor | Taylor Media Photography

As business started to grow for me, I was booking any client that inquired about a photoshoot and now thinking about my personal health. I would always tell myself, “I’ll rest later”. It wasn’t until recently that I truly understood the concept of health is your wealth. I was at a point to where I was juggling my day job, doing photography, and not making any time for myself to just rest. I wasn’t taking the time out to enjoy life like I should’ve been doing. Now I’m fortunate enough to stop booking after a certain time. I make sure that I take a few days out of the month to do absolutely nothing so that I have a change to recharge and take on daily challenges. Read more>>

Conner Gildenblatt | Pizzeria Owner & Creative Ad Guy

Haha.. as if there is such a thing. I’m not sure if business owners truly get that luxury. When living life out of the business I’m always looking for ideas and thinking of new ways to help the business. Whether it’s inspiration from a conversation or seeing something as I’m driving by.. anything can spark an idea and I get right to work. We even talked about work at my grandfather’s funeral and I’m pretty positive he wouldn’t have had it any other way. We’re a family business so even at family dinners we talk shop.. it’s what we love to do. Read more>>

Giselle Baba | Companion Animal Nutritionist

Work-life balance is up to us. It has nothing to do with what we do for a living. Before, when I was an employee, I thought that by having my own business I was going to be able to the the time for whatever I wanted to do because I was not tied to a fixed schedule. I was wrong. Having your own business, if you take it seriously, is as time demanding as any job. You have no weekends, and the worry never goes away, is like a piece of you, an arm, a kid. The difference is that you can squeeze in your day time for things you need to do, and probably work until midnight. But work is literally 24/7, even on free days. So work-life balance is a choice. Organizing my day to have “me time” to recharge, workout, cook my meals, expend time with love ones or simply do nothing is up to me. Read more>>

Nikki Smith | Owner

I think work balance is the hardest thing I have had to balance being a mom and owning a business. When I started the business 5 years ago I let it consume me completely- on the weekends, at night and really just around the clock. I was lucky to have that kind of time because at the beginning of this journey that’s what it took! Now, 5 years later, I have a 1 year old boy and another on the way. I have had to be ok with working limited hours and allowing my employees to grow and take care of things so I can be a good mom. It’s been the biggest challenge with my business but it’s also made me grow the most! Read more>>