Our community is filled with hard-working, high achieving entrepreneurs and creatives and so work-life 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.

Nikki Handley | Floral Designer

Starting my own business during the beginning of COVID I had time and the ability to say yes to everything. As my business started growing, while also caring for my family, I became stretched too thin. I started to make mistakes and felt that quality was more important than quantity. Over time I have learned to say no. I’ve learned to prioritize and learned that saying no doesn’t mean my business isn’t going to grow or do well. I am able to pour more into what I am doing in my business and still be 100% for my family. Read more>>

Lynnette Kile | Life Coach for Overwhelmed Moms

In my 20’s my motto was, “more money now.” My top priorities would be on only the activities that make me money. My motto in my 30’s turned into, “pause and love.” I had a sales career for all of my 20’s and most of my 30’s and it was ingrained in me to produce, focus, capitalize on opportunity, and never be complacent. Around 35 it hit me that money, work, and growing my sales career are not the most important things in life. It’s about connecting with other humans and nature, love, inner peace, and abundance (in all those areas, but also in happiness). A big contributor to this thought change was my yoga practice but simultaneously having kids. My heart shifted. Read more>>

Tressie Zellner | Photographer & Mom

Work/life balance hasn’t always felt like one of our strong suits, and while it can be hard for anyone to achieve, being the owner of a small business makes the task seem herculean in nature. Over time we’ve realized homeostasis isn’t obtained through a rigid schedule or routine, but through knowledge that somedays the scales might be tipped a little more in the other direction. Rather than beating ourselves up over having to let emails wait another day we enjoy where we are in the moment and commit to focusing when we can get back to it. Read more>>

Shona Luper | Mondel & Influencer

My work life balance has changed tremendously. A long time ago, I used to wake up, go to work, and come home to relax. Now that option is no longer available most days. There are certain days that I work an eight-hour shift and have to come home to get ready for a photo shoot or take care of business. Some days I feel like I have to slow down and not put so much on my plate, so I always make sure to put time for myself, such as improving my physical health and emotional state. Overall, everything has been spread out with the correct time management. Read more>>

Victor Neil | Husband, father, marketing and fundraising pro

Work life balance has definitely shifted in a major way for me. As someone who got married and had kids later in life it was always easy to let work consume me. Sometimes out of necessity but sometimes out of societal “norms” that can really skew toward the work side of things. After I got married things changed a little bit…but now as the father to 3 boys it’s shifted in a more extreme way toward the life part of the equation. My family is everything to me so tending to their needs while still managing my work goals and expectations isn’t always easy. Working for a great organization whose goal is to provide leadership skills to fatherless boys has helped me realize how important it really is to shift more of my time to the life side. Read more>>

Stefane’ Puckett | Clinical Pharmacist & Owner of Make Room, THE COLLECTION

Vogue has asked some very thoughtful and provocative questions regarding balance. Over the years of maturation, I have gained an understanding of balance in that it is an ongoing learning process being that balance shifts in each season of your life. Balance has given me a deep sense of equilibrium, especially with the new events in my life. For instance, embarking on this newfound journey of entrepreneurship has been one of the toughest challenges to balance while maintaining a full time-job, motherhood, and a fiancé. I had not grasped how time consuming maintaining a business would be and the effect it would have on things most important to me, my family and career. Now was my time to capitalize on missed opportunities due to many years of schooling; the opportunity to develop a routine that consisted of weekly lunch dates with my husband to be, evening strolls around the neighborhood with my son, along with brunching with my friends. Read more>>

Susannah Hutcheson | Copywriter & brand strategist

In all honesty, I don’t know that work/life balance truly exists — for better or for worse. However, that doesn’t mean that joy shouldn’t come right alongside it. Before I took the leap to start my business and leave my full-time job, I was working truly insane hours and was essentially miserable. I got up for work every day around 5, got back around 5, and then worked on my side hustle until close to midnight each night — and that was a lack of work/life balance that led to tons of anxiety and exhaustion. However, now that I work for myself full-time, I have a messy sense of work/life balance that also goes hand-in-hand with joy and a love for what I’m doing. There are definitely some nights and weekends that I’m up late working on projects, but it doesn’t seem exhausting or anxiety-inducing to me. Read more>>

Lynn Winter | Time Management Strategist & Accountability Coach

I truly do not believe in work life balance. It’s a myth that exists. I adhere to the theory of work/life alignment. Its where your work life and home life align so that they can co-exist in harmony. Balance is tricky because it assumes you should always have equal weight in each bucket, and we all know that is a myth. For me, becoming a mother and still working a demanding and stressful full-time lawyer job required me to see that sometimes one will come before the other and that is ok. Read more>>

Colton Newkirk | Portrait Photographer

Boundaries and time management are key! When I first started as a photographer, I felt as if I had to shoot everything and everyone I possibly could. I knew that experience is key and I wanted to get as much of it in as little time as possible. This lead to me blowing off friends, family and other parts of my life that are needed to maintain that healthy balance. Fast forward to today and I’ve gained some of that experience and I’m secure in my skill and style. I have more responsibilities and I don’t accept every job or project brought my way because I’ve learned that I don’t enjoy shooting some things. I think about the balance in two parts: availability and efficiency. Both of these require a good amount of preparation and communication, which in the end benefits my work and the client’s experience. Read more>>

Dominique Maxwell | Accountability Trainer/Coach

My work life balance has changed tremendously. My mother instilled a strong work ethic so I was used to working 10-14hr days at a full job just to finish all of my tasks. Now as a part-time entrepreneur I have to manage my time closer than I used too. I work my 8-hr shift at my full time and then I leave work AT work. I wrap things up and immediately go into my pre-scheduled sessions and consults. I have to manage my social media account on IG with time management instead of entertainment purposes. I like to wake up everyday and write down my schedule with tasks from both my full time and part time jobs. I have to set goals and actually pick different times of the day in order to accomplish them. I have made sacrifices with my personal time on the weekends with brainstorming, new recipes, new content, or performing the different services my business has to offer. At first, the time adjustments were overwhelming but after making a few changes I am able to really enjoy my craft as well as enjoy some well deserved naps. Read more>>

Joshua Wilborn | Podcaster

It’s gotten better. As of April 1st, I quit my Full Time Job to work at my Part Time Job now Full Time. The Main Podcast I was doing the Uncool Urban Podcast has now disbanded and I’m focusing more on Music Mpulse and my other side podcast Shad Vs Smilez. I’m learning in real time how to find the balance because I want to workout more, read more, podcast more, spend more time on my relationships with Family, Friends and Loved Ones. Read more>>

Kimberly Sylvan | Entrepreneur, Inspirational Coach, Mentor & Master Hairstylist

I would not be who I’m today without work life balance. I call it Business vs Personal, Its sounds simple but really difficult. Life balancing has to be mastered in order to be successful in business, I didn’t understand that earlier in my career because my personal life/business was all jumbled up like one big pot of gumbo. I was a single mother with a full time job and a part-time hair stylist on the evening/weekends. It was very difficult for me to manage my business with everything that I had on my plate, I was emotionally, physically and mentally a drained. When my daughter turned 5 I began to have somewhat of a routine/schedule, then I figured it was time do the same for my business. I kept pushing, pushing with a lot of bumps in the road but with hard work ,consistency and dedication I never gave up. Currently now I’m a Wife, mother and business owner now Life Balancing is a smooth ride for me. Read more>>

Jelani Brooks | Musician/Saxophonist/Producer

Time is a very important part of balance in my life. My balance has changed from focusing from trying to Mainly tour and play Live music to getting licensing deals and placements. I believe this is an important part of balance because if/when the licensing deals go through I have time to focus on the live aspect of producing, writing, performing live music. Which is a very time consuming aspect of music. Read more>>