The Coronavirus has given many us an opportunity to pause and think about life, our purpose, and even the right work life balance. What’s your perspective and has it changed over time?

Antrell McLean | Filmmaker, Content Creator, Media Production Specialist

Work life balance is critical to overall mental health. Personally I have witness people dedicate their lives to a job, to only retire and pass away very soon after leaving said job. I feel keeping stress levels at a minimum is important for overall health, Typically spending time with the people by you care about the most is a good stress reliever, at least for me. My balance changed dramatically once I began full time entrepreneurship. It’s important to solidify a daily routine as an entrepreneur in order to stay productive. Read more>>

Catherine Nguyen | Interiors and Architecture Photographer

When I started my business in 2008, I worked all of the time. I would go on photoshoots during the day, come home, edit and continue after dinner well into the night. It was running me ragged. Over time, I learned to set some boundaries and stopped working after dinner. As business continued to grow, I realized I needed help, so have hired an assistant part time as well as work with several teams on post production. That has helped me to maintain a work-life balance that allows for time to decompress and reinvigorate the creative juices. Read more>>

Breanna Powell | Social Media Manager | Content Creator

Honestlyyy, I’m still not 100% sure that the balance actually exists! There will always be times when my business needs more of my attention and dinner with friends has to wait. But I think what I’ve learned over time, is that I will never be able to show up for myself and/or my community, if I am not intentional about putting systems in place to ensure that my business can still function when I need to pour into the other areas of my life. Read more>>

Marcey Rader | Productivity Speaker, Author, and Coach

As the owner of a health-powered productivity company, companies hire us to help create work-life balance in their companies. To me, what feels balanced to one person may feel very different to another. For many of my corporate clients who work regular Monday-Friday jobs, our goal is not to have them working in the evenings after their kids go to bed or on the weekends. They often say this is the only time they can work because they have so many meetings during the day. This isn’t balanced. For business-owning clients, balance is more about the flexibility of their days and times. Read more>>

Keisha Okafor | Illustrator

Over time I’ve been learning that it there isn’t a perfect formula for a work/life balance. I did learn in the past couple of years how easy it is for me to fully focus on work and that isn’t good for my well being in the long run. Since then, I have been working on setting boundaries like, no work after 6pm unless it is absolutely necessary, and no personal art making after 8:30pm to make sure I have time to wind down and get a good night’s rest. Another thing is that even though I have rules in place, I gave myself the grace to listen to what my body needs. That could mean stopping work early, taking a nap or even working a little longer because I’m “in the zone”, haha. Read more>>

Andrew McCook | Bakery Owner

This has been the most evolved part of my career in baking as I’ve gotten older. When I was younger and just starting out in the industry, I was always eager to work. I was excited to test the skills I learned in college, to gain new experience. I had a lot of debt I needed to pay off, and I wanted to prove that I was a valuable employee wherever I worked. I would hold several jobs at a time and only have the bare minimum free time for myself. In the years that passed I learned that my life doesn’t need to revolve around my job and that while paying off debt is important, enjoying life in the present is also something I needed to focus on. Read more>>

Camilla Sanders | Balloon Artist

Work life balance has been very challenging for me. Before I started my business I was working a full-time job and enrolled in school. And currently still is. Then I started a part-time job that will help me in my career once I graduate. I had to find balance that will help me continue to grow in the direction that I wanted go as far a my career and business. The balance hasn’t really changed for me at the moment. Everything is balanced and running great. Read more>>

Melitza Spies | Pastry Chef & Mama

Along with being the proud owner of Sugar Coat Baking Co., I am also a wife and mother of two young boys. Balancing these roles was such a challenge in my life. I had the demands of my business, in which I am THE only employee, so I do all my social media, photos, packaging, ordering, baking, decorating etc. I also had the demands of my home life which included running a household, school work, volunteering, spending time with my kids as well as coaching soccer two times a week and being part of a few committees. Needless to say, my mind is always busy with new ideas, to do lists, reminders-1000 tabs open all at once. In the past, I would just push through, taking every order I could along with all my other responsibilities in life. This led to major burnout by the end of each year. Read more>>

Chandler Couillard | Model and Character Actor

My work life balance is constantly changing. I go through periods where I am constantly working, and then my body will force me to slow down. It’s important to listen to what your body needs, and take care of yourself as best you can. Work life balance is different for everyone, but I think there has to be some leeway there – you can’t expect yourself to be constantly giving 100% or more and not burn out. Read more>>

Carlotta Harper | Entrepreneur & Educator

Work life balance has changed dramatically along with so many other things in this generation. We used to work more away from home to now many work from home. It has opened the door to flexibility for many. Being entrepreneur one of the first things you want is flexibility. You make your own hours, so now 9-5 jobs allow work from home. I balance more as i get older and wiser to have more fun. I love to travel so make sure, i take a trip as much as possible. Once i return i feel refreshed and ready for the next chapter. Work , family, personal, and most importantly SELF . You must take care of yourself, after while your unable to due being depleted . So balance is Key. Read more>>

Elizabeth Shanahan | Artist

When I first started my business, I thought that work-life balance was something I would achieve when I was making steady money. That is completely backwards! I have a genetic connective tissue disorder. It wasn’t diagnosed until I was 27 so for a long time I really believed that I was just lazy and weak, and everyone had the same pain and fatigue I did. I thought if I just pushed through I would get stronger. When I finally made the change and began prioritizing my well being above my business, both my health and my business were vastly improved. I would encourage any young entrepreneur to take care of themselves first, and trust that your business will be better for it. Read more>>

Amara Nicole | Brow Artist | Licensed Esthetician | Network Event Host

As an entrepreneur, you’re continuously fighting and pursuing a dream that 9x out of 10 nobody can see but you. You can easily lose yourself in performing any kind of work that will take your business to the next level. I am married to my husband of 9+ years with our 2 beautiful children and a puppy. I have found that when I fully engage myself into work, I can end up missing out on little moments that mean the most to me. My family IS my reason for doing all that I do. And since realizing this, I have started to incorporate them more into my world. I don’t want to be the “Mom is busy, Mom is always working” kind of mom. They know I always have a lot to do, but it fills my cup when they want to do it with me. Wearing my brand, telling their friends and family members. Read more>>

LeJuane El’Ja” Bowens | Poet

This is a very difficult question. I feel like there is so much more work I do now compared to when I started sixteen years ago. I do so much more these days. Performing, hosting, curating, and having meetings to make things happen are almost an everyday things. And yet, I’ve been able to also find the time to relax, take trips with my family, talk with my sons, and just do absolutely nothing as well. So, I guess with all that being said, I’d say that the balance has been a good one as long as it remains just that; balanced. Read more>>

Ginger Cherry | Fiber Artisan

I am in a really interesting season in my life. My studio is in my garage, so I am home most days, and both of my sons are in college, which means my husband and I are experiencing an empty nest. Did I say it is also a lovely season in my life? Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed raising my kind, intelligent, funny boys, and especially the last few years, they are very easy to have in the house. They cook and care for themselves, but true to “mom” form, when they are home, they take up a lot of brain space. I want to make sure there is enough food in the house and myriads of other concerns that plague a mother’s brain. Read more>>

Jasmin Sturla | Apparel / Accessory Designer, Artist, and Creative Consultant

Work life balance? What’s that? No, I’m totally kidding. The thing about doing what you love is that work can very easily creep into your personal and social time if you’re having fun doing it. I have always had a strong work ethic, even before starting my own design business, so I was used to working above and beyond the typical working schedule. Now that I am the sole person responsible for making an income and providing a service to others, I am thinking about the next thing on my list constantly and how I can improve. I always say though, I can’t pour from an empty cup. I can’t service others (or myself!) without taking time away from my work. Read more>>

Bryan Smith | Writer

I love this question and for several reasons. When you think about all the success stories you’ve ever heard about, there is so much that has gone into their journeys. Sometimes you hear about the hardships of their upbringing, you hear about the struggles they endured financially or physically. We are often wow’d with how they were able to overcome. But there are also times where you won’t hear about this struggles and those individuals make it seem like it was an easy road to stardom and there are times where that may be the case. In my journey it has not. Being a husband and a father of 3 (3,6,12) you can imagine the hurdles that are thrown my way. Trying to manage everyone’s particular needs while not forgetting what you intended to do for yourself. Read more>>

Amber Johnson | Visual Artist

Before I started my artistry business, I was a teacher. My work life balance was terrible. I have 2 kids, a husband, and pets, so my home life is demanding. Teaching is not a career that lends itself to a healthy work life balance, and I was honestly completely burned out. I was not sure how I was going to continue to keep up, especially as my kids got older and involved in after school activities! My husband encouraged me to leave teaching to pursue my own artistry business, and it was the best decision I’ve made in my career so far! While I still loved teaching with my whole heart, I knew my husband was right, and it was time to leave it in the rearview mirror. Read more>>

Payton Matthews | Photographer

When I started Payton Herring Photography I had graduated high school and starting a college. In the early days I would go to class all week and then travel home to do sessions on the weekends and sometimes weekdays to fit more in as I got busier. Since then I am now married to my high school sweetheart of 3 years and we have a 1 year old. I have found myself shifting gears in my business to be more of a mom, but I definitely juggle both and they are both so rewarding! Read more>>

Rick DeMattos | Founder

As Bulletproof grew through the success of the sauces, I was out of whack with my work life balance. I became more mindful of my personal time this year. I took a weekend a month for myself whether it was a weekend getaway or doing something around town. It’s very all consuming, researching product prices, label design, marketing, etc. Read more>>

Lia McManaman | Mom of 3 and Entrepreneur

Since starting Kidstruction Zone LLC I have learned that having time for myself is really important. Being a stay-at-home mom and primary caretaker for my littles is one the most rewarding things in life, but I feel like it is really easy to lose a sense of identity outside of being a mom. Running this business and spending time doing deliveries and rental pick ups has been a great break from my regular day-to-day. I love seeing something that I created from the ground up become successful. For me, Kidstruction Zone gives me just enough work time to make my family time more precious. Read more>>