What’s the right balance between work and non-work time? The traditional 9-5 has slowly disappeared with the emails and zoom and texting going far beyond traditional business hours. We asked members of our community to share with us how they think about work-life balance.

Isabella + Jose Echeverry | Florida + Destination Wedding Photographer & Videographer

Everyone says it must so nice to be a business owner and make your own schedule and go on vacation whenever. At least everyone who happens to NOT be a business owner says that. But real talk, I feel like in the 4 almost 5 years of being in the wedding photography business it wasn’t until we had our daughter that we really separated and balanced our work life. We went from having face time calls at 8 pm sometimes 10 pm to make sure we have phone calls that don’t pass 6 pm. It wasn’t until we had our daughter that we implemented a balance. We were slaves to our own profession. Read more>>

Ashley Marand Iwanicki | Founder of The Collective Studios

I actually don’t believe in the concept of balance. Balance by definition means that all things are equal or that everything receives the same weight. Many people strive towards balance because it’s what we are told we should do and what will make our lives feel content. We try to give everything in our lives equal attention and are let down and feel like failures when we can’t. The reality is that there are always going to be different areas of our lives that take priority and more importantly, different areas of our lives that we choose to give weight and attention. These priorities are unique to each of us and will shift in different phases of our lives. Read more>>

Karen H. Salup | Professional Abstract Mixed Media Artist

When I stared out actually calling myself and artist, in 1977 I was a baby, looking to grasp and swim in the Art World I started married with no children by the time 1980 came around, I had three beautiful daughters to share may talent with. I had trusted babysitters and a wonderful husband that new that I would go about succeeding in my desire, to become the person I am today. Read more>>

Kellie Williams | Writer, Editor, and Content Manager

Work-life balance is one of the most important aspects of life. I find that it is common for people to fall into the trap of more work, and less play as they seek success and financial gain as their source of happiness. But true happiness comes with prioritizing those around you, having humble moments, and setting strict work hours to achieve your goals. Read more>>

Kaylah Clark | Teacher and Baker

Over time, priorities have shifted in my life. With this, I have had to change the way I balance the various responsibilities in my life. Rather than trying to do a million things at once, I focus on accomplishing daily and weekly small goals. Some days I have to put more effort into my job, while other days I strictly focus on my baking business. I used to beat myself up for not checking everything off my to-do list, but now I try and give myself more grace. Read more>>

Natalia & Joel Garcia | Digital Artists

Over time as business owners, priorities change from normal work or hustle to dedicating yourself to creating something bigger out of your business. For us, we really dedicated ourselves to some big changes around May of 2021. Natalia worked full time for a magazine from 10 am to 6 pm; to her home office to stay up late shooting or editing images for clients. Eventually it became too draining to keep up with such a rough schedule along with life outside of work. She had to make a change and talked to her boss about switching her schedule and thankfully he agreed to her terms and trusted her enough to do her job remotely. Read more>>

Haili Murch | Podcast Expert & Singer Songwriter

I have been doing my business for 4 years now and I have learned that there’s no perfect routine or schedule to keep yourself completely balanced, but learning to be flexible is key. If you are able to accept that different times and seasons of your life will have different things that will call for your attention, you will feel more prepared and things will feel less chaotic. My kids have changed a lot in the last 4 years and so every few months, or when we are in school or out of school, I notice we have to adjust. I would say the two biggest things that have helped me find some balance has been learning how to time block and being more present. Read more>>

Rosalyn Di Cesare | Bookkeeper & College Professor

This is something I still have not mastered after 9 years of running my own business. Unfortunately, it is very easy to get caught up with client emails, texts and phone calls even after “business” hours. Having a home office always makes it very tricky to stop working. However, over time, I have made more of an effort to respond to clients during business hours and leave things that can be dealt with until the next morning or next business day. Read more>>

Maylani Medkiff | Full time Baker , Full Time Patient Access Representative

While working a full time job and being a full time baker , it is very difficult to balance work and normal life activities, I have learned to manage my time enough to where I am not over working myself at both jobs and making sure I take the time to really give myself that breather so that i am able to give my business 100% that it deserves. A healthy work-life balance can improve your physical, emotional and mental health which is very important when it comes to be successful Read more>>