Our community is filled with hard-working, high achieving entrepreneurs and creatives and so work0life balance is a complicated, but highly relevant topic. We’ve shared some responses from the community about work life balance and how their views have evolved over time below.

Amanda Krahel | Co-founder, Athletique & Co.

Work life balance has a different meaning when you are the owner of the business. Monday through Friday, 9am to 5pm does not exist; business is always on. This is excessively challenging when you are a mother as well, which is also a 24/7 job. Honestly, what I have learned is that balance does not exist; perfection is a portrayal, not an attainable lifestyle. The endgame for me is to wake up each morning satisfied with myself and the world I have created thus far. Striving for want does not allow you to live in the moment and enjoy the daily. It ultimately places an invisible load of “do it all and do it all right” on a person, which is extremely debilitating. As a mother of young children and a business owner, I choose to replace the word “balance” with “happiness.” Read more>>

Mekisha & Evans McClure | Owners

The first 2.5 years we spent working from home out of our garage. We found ourselves working more often than not due to the accessibility of where we were running our business at the time. In reality the only breaks we seemed to take was when the kids were home from school. We would do homework, dinner together as a family, and once they went to bed find ourselves back out in the garage working again. In the summers we did find that the kids loved to come outside and help us “work”. I think we got less work done but neither of us would change the time spent with them and teaching them what we do! Over the past year we have outgrown our garage and we were were fortunate enough to be able to move our business to a new location. We currently have two warehouse spaces, one for woodworking and the other for our laser engraving. Read more>>

Breana Long | Lash Artist

When I first started lashing I was working 8am-8pm 5-6 days a week and would even at times stay late or come in earlier. All I wanted was to make my clients happy and meet their every wish, overtime as I grew it started to affect my personal life and that’s when I had to learn how to balance work & home. It definitely wasn’t easy and still today I want to get all my clients in but I have limited myself to have actual time off to think about everything else other than just work. I see the balance of my business like a relationship, it’s 50/50. You have to put in the same amount of effort into your personal life for that to succeed as you would want for your business! Read more>>