Entrepreneurship tends to go hand-in-hand with the struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance. As one recent survey reported, “when entrepreneurs aren’t working, they’re thinking about working.” But, entrepreneurs also struggle with a host of related issues, such as anxiety, depression, and high levels of stress.
So, if you’ve chosen to build your own business, you may be wondering if it’s even possible to be successful, yet still have time for family, friends, and yourself. Is this seeming lack of balance just the price of admission? Can you truly have it all?
The answer is you can… but it will take some commitment. To get there you need to be in touch with your needs and the needs of those around you while striking a balance between staying true to your chosen priorities and being flexible.
While this may seem idealistic and a lot of work, it’s possible to get there. In the end, your efforts will pay for themselves many times over in the form of a balanced workload that allows you to focus on the things that truly matter– in business and in life.
Why is Work-Life Balance as an Entrepreneur So Darn Hard?
Starting your own business is always going to throw your schedule and priorities off- especially at the beginning as you go about building your product or service along with your brand and your customer pipeline. Getting your venture off the ground will generally require dedication, logging in long hours and working at unusual times of the day– all while swallowing a whole lot of uncertainty. But, there are a few reasons why it has been getting harder and harder lately to keep your head above the water.
Technology Good and Bad
Let’s start with the fact that entrepreneurship has significantly changed over the past 25 years or so. The rise and evolution of the Internet and mobile technology, for example, means that practically anyone anywhere can start an online business. Even if they have little to no business experience, aspiring entrepreneurs can more easily get the knowledge and training they need (often for free or low-cost) and connect to others who have the expertise they are lacking. They can also make use of sophisticated tools and platforms that can automatically take care of the drudge work (like data entry) more accurately and for less money than hiring someone to do it.
While this may sound great, it has some downsides.
For one, almost every industry is experiencing a surge in competition as an increasing number of businesses and independent service providers located throughout the world crowd the markets.
Plus, the fallout of the “always-on” environment in which we now live and work is that the lines between what is considered personal time and work time have been significantly blurred. This is happening on the job, but it’s multiplied many times over when you are working for yourself– especially if you are starting a consulting type business that can sometimes revolve around other people’s schedules.
Aside from these factors, we can’t ignore the prevailing attitude that if you’re not working crazy hours, it means you’re not working at all. In fact, there is a bizarre glorification of being overworked, unsocial, under-slept, and often malnourished. The bigger the circles under your eyes, the more it’s seen as some kind of badge of honor.
On the other hand, friends and family may not get what you are trying to do. They may not even think you are working a “real job,” and some may even be secretly jealous of your decision to start your own venture. Needless to say, their attitude can make a tough job, tougher.
How Do You Keep Sane in Your Life and Your Business?
This article is not about quick tips and hacks to increase your productivity or what apps and devices you should be using to achieve the work-life balance of your dreams. In fact, you may feel like there are more questions here than answers. The reason for this is that everyone and every situation is unique. The goal is to find the right balance for you, in your life, with your goals and needs, and for the type of business, you are trying to build. Once you’ve done that you can see more clearly what needs to be changed and then go about finding the best way to make those changes happen.
So the very first step to achieving the work-life balance you want as an entrepreneur is to narrow in on the things that are going well while simultaneously paying close attention to the things that are going off and thus require change. In other words, you need to do a kind of work-life audit. This audit is going to be in three parts: your business, your relationships with family and friends, and your personal time.
The Work Audit
Before considering how you are building and running your business, you need to remind yourself of your “why.” It’s very easy to get so focused on building and growing your business that you can forget the reason why you began this journey in the first place. Your why is your anchor, a point of reference you can use to help keep yourself in line and ensure that the work you are doing is bringing you closer to your goals.
Now, look at areas in your workday that seem out of balance. Which areas of building and running your business are bringing you the most stress, anxiety, anger, or fear? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Are you earning enough money given the amount of time you are putting into the business? Are you struggling to bring in new customers?
- How do you feel about your customers? How much time and energy do you spend generating leads? Do you feel that your customers value or understand what you have to offer?
- How are you at setting boundaries? Are you taking on too many responsibilities? Be sure to make it clear what is included in your fee and what is not and then sticking to it?
- Is your career fulfilling your deepest desire to achieve your goals? Are you happy with the quality of clients and the work you are doing?
- Is your business model working for you? What would you change about your business if you could?
- What business activities do you dread or dislike the most?
The Relationships Audit
Now you need to consider if you are spending enough quality time with your spouse, children, friends, and other relatives. Having the time for gatherings, important events, outings, and trips can make a big positive difference to your sense of work-life balance. If you are chronically not giving your loved ones the time and attention they deserve, then everyone will suffer, and you will constantly feel like you are under pressure.
Realize that without enough contact from those outside your business circle, you will begin to feel like you’ve never left work. Even if you enjoy what you are doing, after a while, it will begin to drain your resources. We all need a change of pace to be effective, and one such change is spending time with the people you care about.
The Personal Audit
Now you need to consider if you growing as a person. Entrepreneurs who take care of themselves and who do work on themselves, become better at helping those around them. So, are you taking the time to learn new things, improve your character, or enhance your skills? Are you taking good care of your body? Do you make it a priority to get some exercise each week, eat some nourishing food, and get adequate sleep when you can?
Are you paying attention to your state of mind? Do you understand what your behavior and moods are telling you? Since you’re the only one who really knows how you feel and what you need, pay attention to the direct and subconscious signs. These come from within letting you know if you are on the right path in life.
Making a Plan and Making Changes Happen
Now that you have a clearer picture of where things are unbalanced, make a commitment to get past the mere idea of balance. It’s so easy to pay lip-service to the concept of work-life balance. This becomes an excuse for staying at work after hours and doing things that clearly have nothing to do with building your business.
You need to get back to your why and to those non-business priorities in life. Then take decisive action:
- Develop your brand so you can charge more
- Change who you are targeting and how you target them.
- Learn how to say “no” to particular jobs or clients.
- Outsource certain business tasks and responsibilities to others.
- Work with your own business coach or enlist the help of friends or family to hold you accountable.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that this is a process. There will be a natural ebb and flow to your schedule. No matter how hard you try, there will be periods where you may need more time with your business. Sometimes things will pop up and a late night at your desk is unavoidable. There will be days when you can’t do any of the things you wanted to because of appointments or other work.
But if you are making a real effort to keep those days to a minimum, then it’s okay. Resist the urge to throw out your entire plan just because you had a hard month of working more hours than you wanted to. Simply realign yourself when you can and return to your more balanced schedule. You owe it to your business, your loved ones, and yourself.
No responses yet