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?

Ashley Smith Ovrick | Makeup & Hair Artist

As a business owner for the past six years, my work-life balance has really shifted. When you’re running your own show, it’s easy to end up working non-stop, and the whole 9 to 5 thing goes out the window. I’m often asked if I miss having my weekends off, because I am often booked with brides now, but honestly, I don’t even feel like I’m working. When you love what you do, it’s more like living your passion every day, and weekends off just aren’t a big deal. Read more>>

Amber Hasberry | Lifestyle Content Creator

For me work life balance became a necessity once I had my daughter 3 years ago. I learned that my job wasn’t going to grant me maternity leave and that put a lot into perspective. A company I had given 13 years of my life to wasn’t willing to accommodate my life when I needed it most. Now, its my standard. I don’t accept any partnerships, deals, or work without first considering how it will effect my time with my family. At the end of the day, two of my favorite roles in life are being a wife and mom & they’re the ones who show me the most pure love, they’re the ones who have my back through everything, so they deserve that commitment from me in return. Also I think it’s super important to prioritize YOU so that you’re not pouring from an empty cup. Read more>>

Maira De Leon | Entrepreneur, Artist & Community Creator

Hi, my name is Maira De Leon, owner of Good Studio Company. GSC offers wedding, event, and branding photography and videography. We are based in North Georgia but travel the world yearly, capturing moments that last a lifetime. With about 10 years in business, we continue to hold the special connections with our clients as the most important part of what we do. Read more>>

Mauricio Botero Ruiz | 3D Animator and Visualization Artist

I believe that work-life balance is essential for any person that is actively engaged in a creative field at any capacity. When I started my education at my hometown (Bogota, Colombia) studying Audiovisual and Multimedia Communication at La Universidad de La Sabana, I didn’t knew what was work life balance. I didn’t put much effort in my education before college, but I was committed to change my habits and learn as much as I could in my higher education. After starting my college studies, I thought that to be able to be a successful visual effects artist I needed to spend uncountable hours in front of the computer and keep learning new skills until “I get there”. So for years that was exactly what I did without stopping to think that I needed to organize my schedule and reflect on my “work-time” and my “leisure-time”. I always thought it was either one of the other, until I took the risk of going to the United States to fulfill my dream and study 3D Animation as a master degree at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Read more>>

Kristina Sutton Lennon | bilingual Latiné Media Executive & Literary Agent

My work life balance changed tremendously when I became a mother. Putting my family first doesn’t align with the 24- hour media cycle haha There was definitely a learning curve and period of adjustment when both of my kids were born. I think about the balance now carefully in terms of time commitments, energy, financial rewards, and benefits for my family and community. For example, in addition to being a mother, wife, and the CEO of my business, I’m involved in community organizations, producing, managing clients’ artistic pursuits, and scouting new talent. So when a new opportunity presents itself in front of me, such as a potential new project or client, I weigh the benefits more before saying yes. Will this new collaboration improve my community in some way? Does it require me to spend too much time away from my children or can much of it be handled during hours they are a school? Is this going to help put food on the table soon or down the line? I’m just now starting to make it a priority to work out again as my physical fitness took a back burner to other things for a couple years. It’s a constant readjusting of the balance. Read more>>