As an entrepreneur, balancing your work and life is extremely difficult. How can you balance the two when the success of your business seems to make or break your life?
In order to have a balance between the two, entrepreneurs need to find ways to integrate their lives with their business. This means finding ways to focus on the parts of your business that you enjoy working on.
As an example, on a recent vacation sailing Croatia, I took photos with my two product focused businesses, Cork Supply Co and Yes Man Watches. This week long sailing trip enabled me to relax while getting new photos of my products in a unique location.
Though a vacation might not fit your schedule, the thought of integrating business with out of the office activities should make sense.
Finding a solid work-life balance is one of the hardest aspects of entrepreneurship. Follow these three keys to get started on the right foot:
1. Focus on enjoyment.
My favorite part of being a entrepreneur is getting to control what work I do. If there is a aspect of my business that I don't like working on, I usually end up outsourcing it. As a founder you can focus your efforts on the aspects that you enjoy while hiring out the rest.
Related: In Defense of Work-Life Balance
At Sourcify, a startup that helps entrepreneurs find the right manufacturer, I enjoy the sourcing side of the business and put my time into finding our clients the best manufacturers. I don't always enjoy the marketing side of the business so hired a new team member who thrives with this type of work.
2. Take a vacation.
Making your own schedule is one of the most amazing feelings of being a entrepreneur. The internet now enables you to work from anywhere in the world and if you're feeling constrained by work in your current location, a vacation will free you of those boundaries.
One trip I recommend entrepreneurs taking is sailing through Croatia. Though it may seem like a odd vacation at first, sailing with a group like Sail Croatia can be one of the most fun filled weeks of your life. You'll get to have a unique experience while exploring some untouched beaches.
3. Create a rock-solid team.
Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and if you don't develop a strong team, you'll probably end up carrying all the slack. This can be overwhelming, as the success of your business will start to rely on you.
Finding a balance between your work and life stems from a rock solid team, as you'll be able to rely on others. For Will Caldwell of Dizzle, a startup developing white-label mobile real estate apps, creating a team he could rely on made him more relaxed in the office and enabled him to take time off when he wanted.
Entrepreneurship will soak up your life if you let it. There will be times when it seems your business controls your life, but by establishing a work-life balance early on in the formation of your startup, you'll be able to have a smoother startup process. If you're feeling overwhelmed by entrepreneurship, it's time to find balance in your life.
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