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Tag: WorkLife Balance

  • Why Work-Life Balance Is a Myth That’s Making Entrepreneurs Miserable | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    We’ve seen all the think pieces about work-life balance. We’ve heard plenty of opinions from burned-out employees and concerned health experts, and even seen travel blogs touting countries like New Zealand and South Africa to find the perfect utopia where ‘work to live, not live to work’ exists.

    But what if none of it is real? What if everything we’ve been led to believe about work-life balance is just a myth, and thinking we are failing in the mission leaves entrepreneurs miserable and unfulfilled?

    I remember feeling this way when I first started my company, BriteCo. I was plagued with the thought that I was not giving enough hours to my business or that I was not committed enough as a father and husband when I was at home, if I spent too many hours at the office. The ideology bogged me down until I shifted my perspective and began to think of this preconceived “work-life balance” as “work-life mastery” instead.

    Related: 10 Myths About Work-Life Balance and What to Do Instead

    It’s not one or the other — It’s both

    The breakthrough came when I stopped asking, “How do I separate work and life?” and started pivoting to “How do I make work worth integrating?”

    Everyone talks about work-life balance as two polar entities: You have your work life and your home life, and they’re completely separate, never to meet. But that belief is where burnout happens.

    Instead, learning to blend the two and finding ways to integrate and intersect is where there is real power and personal reward. This doesn’t mean you have to work 24/7/365. It means being intentional about what deserves your attention — and when.

    Related: Are You Overlooking the Mindset Shift That Transforms Good Leaders Into Great Ones?

    Making work meaningful

    First and foremost, you should enjoy your work. As entrepreneurs, this is pivotal. You’re going to invest many, many hours, especially in the beginning, so rather than begrudge it, embrace it.

    Having a strong passion for your business and the services or products you offer will help drive your success: It will help you solve problems and keep your curiosity firing. However, the other benefit is that when you enjoy what you do, the rules for structuring work are thrown out. You’ll soon realize you don’t have to gate work outside your life but can keep both doors open and accessible at all times.

    Finding time for personal time

    It should go without saying that you should absolutely schedule personal time — take days off, take vacations, show up for family time. But maybe taking a day off leaves an hour for a board meeting before you go. Maybe weekends also offer a chunk of time to catch up on menial tasks, so they don’t waste your attention during the work week.

    When I go home every night, I sit down and have dinner with my family. I’ll still throw the baseball with my son and make time to coach his baseball team. I’m not working during that time, but that doesn’t mean that whole evening or that whole Saturday is completely checked out. It doesn’t have to be a full workday, but the purpose is to be flexible with my time and optimize my efficiency.

    When I take vacations, I don’t completely shut off. I’ll still enjoy time away with my family, but I’ll check emails while we’re getting ready in our hotel and look for updates before going to bed. Doing so helps me stay even tangentially connected and offers a much smoother transition once I’m back to the office because I avoid the burnout of playing catch-up.

    Aligning business goals with personal growth

    What would shift if you viewed your business as part of your life’s purpose rather than something stealing from it? You’d probably have a whole new appreciation for what you do and the value it adds to your life.

    If accomplishing business goals doesn’t give you a rush of endorphins and a huge sense of personal accomplishment, you may want to reevaluate whether your current line of work is the best fit for you. If your work successes don’t also make you want to level up in the gym, at home or in your personal hobbies, then it’s time to start finding that inspiration and fusing it into your whole life.

    Whereas the old “work-life balance” model assumes work and life compete with each other and that you must escape one to enjoy or focus on the other, it’s time to flip the switch and invest in meaningful work that can energize your entire life.

    We’ve seen all the think pieces about work-life balance. We’ve heard plenty of opinions from burned-out employees and concerned health experts, and even seen travel blogs touting countries like New Zealand and South Africa to find the perfect utopia where ‘work to live, not live to work’ exists.

    But what if none of it is real? What if everything we’ve been led to believe about work-life balance is just a myth, and thinking we are failing in the mission leaves entrepreneurs miserable and unfulfilled?

    I remember feeling this way when I first started my company, BriteCo. I was plagued with the thought that I was not giving enough hours to my business or that I was not committed enough as a father and husband when I was at home, if I spent too many hours at the office. The ideology bogged me down until I shifted my perspective and began to think of this preconceived “work-life balance” as “work-life mastery” instead.

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    Dustin Lemick

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  • How to Successfully Balance Family and Business | Entrepreneur

    How to Successfully Balance Family and Business | Entrepreneur

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    Along with professional dedication, entrepreneurship calls for personal sacrifice, especially when it comes to family life. For entrepreneurs, success on the home front hinges on clear communication, active family involvement and striking a balance between personal and professional commitments.

    By mastering these elements, founders can create the supportive home environment necessary for success in building businesses.

    Related: How to Build a Business and a Family at the Same Time

    The importance of clear communication

    Effective communication is vital for maintaining harmony between all the work that has to go into entrepreneurial pursuits and family life. If anything, entrepreneurs should deliberately over-communicate with their families about the demands and potential impacts of their busy schedules. By clearly outlining their tasks, commitments and the inherent uncertainties of entrepreneurship, they can manage expectations and reduce conflicts. This transparency ensures that family members are up-to-date on the entrepreneur’s availability and financial stability with the result of fostering a mutually supportive environment.

    My own experience starting Dynasty Financial Partners highlights the importance of this approach. Communicating at length with my wife Mary Ann, we set realistic expectations about the challenges ahead and the sacrifices our family would have to make. By mutually adopting a policy of under-promising and over-delivering, we aligned our family’s goals with those of the business, understanding that our collective efforts could help us realize our American Dream — while taking care not to glamorize the adversity we faced. This alignment and our commitment to ongoing frankness were critical as we faced nearly three years without a paycheck. This process, which continues to this day, reinforces the importance of being united as a couple and ready — really ready — for the ride ahead.

    Securing the buy-in from family members that’s so crucial to entrepreneurial success involves more than setting expectations. Involving family in the business can build an understanding of entrepreneurship and foster a sense of shared purpose. For example, I often bring my wife to final interview meetings with candidates and involve her in client events. Her insights and intuition contribute to our business decisions and strengthen our client relationships.

    Integrating family into business operations

    Another way to get buy-in from family is to involve your kids without pressuring them into it. As age-appropriate, allowing children to visit the office, ask questions and learn about business operations can demystify the entrepreneurial process and help children feel connected to their parent’s work. This connection should be developed without creating undue pressure for them to follow a related career path, allowing them to pursue their own passions while understanding and appreciating the family’s collective efforts.

    To this end, we sometimes frame our family as “Team Penney” to reinforce the idea that we share our achievements and challenges. This team mentality extends to naming our thoroughbred racehorse stable “Team Penney Racing,” emphasizing that outcomes for the stable were results for the whole family. Team building strengthens our family bond and highlights the importance of teamwork in recreational and professional contexts alike. I’ve found that celebrating family achievements and shared successes further reinforces the benefits of collective sacrifices and strengthens the family’s support system.

    “Team Penney” has helped us view our family as a cohesive unit that shares and learns from each other’s experiences. This mindset has brought us closer and established a structure for everyone in the family to contribute, learn and grow together. I recommend it, or something similar, as a way to help family feel connected to the business that, necessarily, takes up so much of your time.

    Related: 6 Productivity Hacks That Help Me Balance Multiple Companies and a Family

    Strategies for maintaining work-life balance

    Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is perhaps the most challenging part of being an entrepreneur. Setting clear boundaries around work and prioritizing family time are essential ingredients to professional and domestic success. I learned early that I can balance my commitments most effectively by treating my wife with the courtesy and respect I accord my very best clients and by showing up — fully present and attentive — for important family events. Taking family vacations and father-daughter trips provides opportunities to recharge and invest in our relationships, ensuring that quality time takes precedence over quantity.

    It’s also important to recognize the cumulative impacts of stress and the emotional toll of entrepreneurship. Being open about challenges and checking one’s “master of the universe” ego at the door can alleviate personal pressures and foster a more supportive family environment. To my mind, prioritizing personal and mental health, including involving family in activities like workouts and meditation, is crucial for long-term success and well-being.

    Outsourcing less important tasks at work and learning to delegate responsibilities to colleagues can also free up valuable time for family and personal pursuits. Surrounding yourself with competent advisors and leveraging their expertise helps entrepreneurs focus on high-priority areas, both in business and at home.

    Fostering family unity for entrepreneurial success

    Reflecting on our entrepreneurial journey, it becomes evident that success in business is intertwined with the support system at home. Again, enjoying wins as a family, whether small achievements or significant milestones, is a powerful reminder to loved ones of the benefits of shared sacrifice. These celebrations reinforce the collective effort and underscore the importance of family unity in achieving entrepreneurial goals.

    For many, the entrepreneurial journey is fused with family life. By “over” communicating, involving family in the business, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and celebrating shared successes, entrepreneurs can set the stage for a supportive and understanding home environment. This holistic approach not only ensures personal fulfillment but also lays the foundation for sustained professional success. It is through this balance of personal and professional commitments that entrepreneurs can thrive, both at home and in their business ventures.

    Related: 15 Ways to Better Manage Your Work-Life Balance as a Parent and Entrepreneur

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    Shirl Penney

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  • How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business | Entrepreneur

    How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    A few years ago, my friend Sabah turned her passion for cooking into a chef-on-demand business. She started off serving her local Cleveland area, quickly grew to cover other major Ohio cities and plans to expand even further. She is just one of the many people I know who have turned their passion project into a successful business.

    We all have our passion projects. We do them because they’re fun, or we like the challenge, or they’re our way of doing some good in the world. From time to time, though, our niche interests and hobbies lead us to marketable ideas. For many, that’s as far as it goes; they don’t know how to take the next step.

    Sabah had a shortcut — she’s married to my friend and business partner, who knew not only the next step to take but all the steps after that. If you’re not lucky enough to have a spouse or friend who can help, here’s how to turn your passion project into a successful business.

    Related: Ten Tips To Turn Your Passion Project Into A Business

    Hobbies that make great side hustles

    So you have a niche hobby, and you’re wondering: How can I make some money from this? It’s important to remember that not all hobbies are created equal, financially speaking. And a niche interest that might have driven profits 20 years ago (collecting Beanie Babies, say) could be a financial sinkhole today.

    By keeping a pulse on the zeitgeist, you can anticipate trends and hobbies gaining public interest — and capitalize on those trends. Some, like the following, are side hustle ideas you could start at any time.

    Photography

    Senior portraits, weddings, special events, professional headshots — quality and affordable photography never lacks in demand. With a website highlighting your work, you can book clients and start earning money from your passion.

    Coding

    From bug bounty programs to website design, freelance coding offers major earning opportunities. A background in HTML, Python, Java, C++ or a myriad of other coding languages can be a financial boon.

    Home design

    If you designed your home to belong in an issue of Architectural Digest, others will take notice. Consult on color palettes, furniture selections, room layouts and lighting — and bring your curated aesthetic to the masses with a home design business.

    Video and audio production

    Whether promoting a brand on social media or starting a podcast, freelance producers can bring a marketing campaign to life. Sell yourself with past work, and mention your experience with programs in the Adobe Creative Suite or Pro Tools.

    Gardening

    Your green thumb could put some green in your pocket. The landscaping and gardening industry was valued at more than $250 billion in 2024, according to Mordor Intelligence, and if your own garden is thriving, you can fill a niche in your own (proverbial) backyard.

    Writing

    Can you construct clear and concise copy for a variety of clients? If so, the opportunities are as vast as your vocabulary. Wordsmiths can serve as speechwriters, copywriters, technical writers and ghostwriters, as well as assist with any editing needs.

    Baking

    Your beautiful cakes, cookies and baked goods could be more than delicious treats; they could be a source of income. Many entrepreneurs found success with home baking during the pandemic, and with proper planning and consistent clients, you can join them.

    Vetting if your hobby could be a business

    Before you make any hard commitments or major financial decisions, consider if your niche hobby can earn consistent money. Who is the target client? How much are current practitioners charging? How much money do you have saved? How much do you expect to make?

    It’s crucial to be clear-eyed about expectations before investing your own money into your venture. The following steps can help you assess whether or not to turn your passion project into a side hustle — or even a career.

    Run it by friends

    When we have that eureka moment, it sometimes blinds us to flaws in our logic. To get a quick check, run your idea by a few trusted friends. They might be able to point out roadblocks you didn’t think of or know a way to bring your idea to life. For Sabah, that meant asking other chefs for input. Avoid relying solely on one or two peoples’ opinions, but do gauge your friends’ enthusiasm. After all, close confidantes have your best interests in mind.

    Analyze the market

    Chances are, others have had your idea. Sabah wasn’t the first to think of a chef-on-demand service, but when she analyzed the market, she realized her idea could still work. Market analysis requires thoroughly researching consumer trends and expectations, market size and the demand for your offering.

    To truly excel, you must conduct a thorough analysis of your rivals. Although they might offer a comparable product, your goal is to surpass them. Analyze their customer feedback to identify gaps. When you look hard at similar businesses, you might find opportunities to fill the gaps they’re leaving.

    Network

    Networking with others who have launched their business or product can be invaluable. They’re ahead of you on the journey and can help you avoid costly missteps. If you’re lucky, you might find someone with similar experience and a willingness to mentor you. A good mentor can help you find the path forward when you hit a roadblock. Keep the lines of communication with your network and your mentor open. They know the twists and turns and can save you headaches and expenses.

    Devise a business plan

    Don’t invest significant money into a project before creating a detailed business plan. Prior steps, such as analyzing the market, will help you write this document, and you’ll want to come away with clear financial expectations. Do the math — calculate your startup and overhead costs, insurance, marketing budget, earnings expectations and taxes. This will give you some base-level expectations and a roadmap to funding, if necessary.

    Getting your side business off the ground

    You’ve done your research. You’ve talked to friends and other entrepreneurs. You’ve analyzed the market and built a business plan. Now it’s time to take the first big step: getting your side business off the ground.

    Turning passion into profit takes work. Don’t be discouraged. There may be moments of doubt and anxiety as your business slowly ramps up. Lean on mentors, and consult your business plan. Like Sabah, if you’ve done the proper pre-launch work, you can keep your head down and follow the roadmap. The following steps can position you for success when turning your niche hobby into a business.

    Build an MVP

    In the software development world, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a way to test your idea with a small group of early adopters. It’s essentially an early product version with just a few core features. For Sabah, the MVP was a limited menu with a select set of chefs — and she was one of them. Once she proved her idea would work, she hired more chefs and added more meals to the menu based on the feedback she got from her customers. Early and genuine feedback is the goal of an MVP. After all, it’s easier and less expensive to make changes at the beginning of the development cycle than in the middle of it.

    Related: 5 Tips for Solidifying MVP, and Why It’s the Most Important Aspect of Building a Startup

    Set achievable goals

    Be realistic about your first-year financial expectations. In fact, it’s common for new businesses to lose money in their first year of business as they pay back initial investments and build consistent customer bases. Sabah set goals — both financial and personal — that she could reasonably achieve. But don’t mistake this for easy goals. You should be ambitious but practical when planning to achieve your goals.

    Get help

    Sabah didn’t build her business alone. She knew she needed help building the web applications her fledgling company needed and outsourced that work. Trying to do everything leads to stress, burnout and costly mistakes. It also takes you longer to get to market and could mean competitors beat you to the finish line. Engage freelance help or outsource product development to a team with the knowledge and bandwidth to quickly build a high-quality product.

    Knowing when to get help involves recognizing your strengths and weaknesses. Maybe you can build the product but need help with market analysis. Or maybe you need help with building a brand identity and marketing the product. Outsourcing some of the work frees you up to focus on what you’re good at and can take stress off your shoulders.

    Related: Asking For Help Is Good For You and Your Business

    Keep your finger on the pulse

    Markets and trends can shift rapidly, so it’s essential to keep tabs on competitors and monitor your customers’ needs. The last thing you want is a product that’s outdated by the time it launches or a business plan built around last year’s “it” thing. By staying up-to-date on market and cultural trends, you can be ready to shift priorities when the time is right.

    It’s been a joy to watch my friend’s business grow. She’s met challenges with grace and never lets setbacks slow her down. And that, too, is key to turning your passion project into a successful business: believing in your vision enough to stick with it, no matter what.

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    Bidhan Baruah

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