24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Junior investment bankers regularly work 80-90 hours a week. Many other high profile professions require the same level of commitment. Often those on the outside claim that working 80-90 hours a week is bad/wrong/terrible/silly/etc but we’ve spoken with so many folks who say working that much has been the best decision of their life – it allowed them to develop a deep and strong skill set far faster than would have been possible otherwise. In other words, by working 2x the hours, they were able to generate 5x or more the rewards. And depending on where you are in your career, investing heavily in your skills and competence can pay dividends for a long time.

Mahogany Underwood | Mahogany

Being new business owners our balance has changed significantly. We both have full time jobs and both have one year old babies so we have to balance everything very precisely. It’s not easy but it’s very rewarding and we love what we do. Read more>>

Angela Butler-Hackett | Recreation Therapist, Yoga & Fitness for Older Adults, Bodyworker

Since my business is Aging Is Not 4 Sissies, the balancing act between work and life has evolved into basically listening to what my body can handle. I am wellness & fitness focused and have been most of my life. As a Recreation Therapist, I make sure that I incorporate all 7 of the wellness dimensions in my life. Those wellness dimensions are physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, vocational, social, & environmental. So thinking about balance, my week needs to have a little bit of activities from all those aspects. Read more>>

Tacora Jackson | Founder of Corashamale

Being an entrepreneur has been a stretch in my life and it’s pushed me in ways I couldn’t imagine. Most people believe it’s an easy journey but it’s quite the opposite. It takes hard work, dedication, and balance for sure! My balance has changed over time because Corashamale is my baby. I have to nature it and put in many hours in order to reach a certain level of consistency for my supporters. I sit and think about ways I can be creative to push my content in front of viewers. In the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, Read more>>

Paris | Lipgloss Collection

School life balance: My balance has changed because I mainly focus on my business on weekends and my school work during the week. If there are orders that need to be filled during the week, my mother helps me by filling those orders. Read more>>

Lauren Cousin | Content creator | Entrepreneur | College student

Overtime my work life balance has shifted drastically. I often found myself only focusing on my business and college. This caused me to have burnout and have zero focus on my own self care. Hitting rock bottom and running on fumes caused me to reevaluate my priorities. Simply because if I’m not taking care of myself I can’t show up as my best self for myself. I started implementing time for me to recharge, such as alone time. The best ways that I’ve created balance in my life is by reading and working out. Read more>>

Alexis Jacobs | Photographer & Author

Once I believed work-life balance was this divine equilibrium achieved when you’ve reached adulthood, like a rite of passage that declared you officially had your life together. When my photography business was in its prototype phase, I had much more time set aside for life than work because I was in my junior year of high school; I didn’t have as many clients as I do now, and I was focused on college and scholarship applications. Read more>>