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.

Breonna Queen | Full-time Beauty blogger

As a (pregnant) full-time blogger, balance has looked a lot differently these past few months. I no longer have the energy levels I had prior to pregnancy and I know that once I have my baby, my energy levels and time will look even more different. Read more>>

David Smith | Photographer

As a photographer, my schedule is never a set or uniform thing. I photograph weddings, portraits, events, and concerts. Weddings tend to happen on the weekends, the others can happen at any time during the week. Some years, I might have nearly every weekend booked, other years might be different. Read more>>

Callie Cooke | CrossFit 11:24 Co-Owner, Coach

When we first opened the gym, boundaries were not in place at all! Which contributed to a very minimal amount of work/life balance! Very aware that the lack of balance was all self inflicted, but not much balance nonetheless! Over time, especially in the last year with the birth of my 2nd child, I have been slowly creating some boundaries which has allowed my work/life balance to slowly get better! Still a work in progress! Read more>>

Malissa Clark | Associate Professor and Author

As someone who identifies as a recovering workaholic, I’ve definitely struggled with work-life balance. I do think my work-life balance—which I define as my satisfaction with the amount of time and effort I spend in my work vs. my personal life—is much better today than it used to be. I had both of my kids when I was in graduate school, and during that time my work-life balance was basically non-existent. Since becoming a professor, I am able to have a pretty flexible schedule which has really helped me to have more of a balance. For example, I can arrange my class times and meetings so that I can pick up the kids from school most days. This may mean I am doing some catch-up work later in the evenings after they go to bed, but I really value that time with them after school, so it works for me. I still struggle with keeping my work in check and have a bad habit of checking work email at every hour of the day and on weekends. I guess you could say I’m a work in progress. Read more>>

Alexia Boukou | Marketing Consultant/ CEO and Founder of Lexi Nails & Beauty

Over time, as a business owner and mom, my priorities evolved. I had to navigate the delicate balance by figuring out what works best for me. In my experience, achieving work-life balance isn’t a fixed formula; it’s about taking each day as it comes and adapting to the demands of both roles. Read more>>

Rayonna Rutland | Entrepreneur

When I first started my business and even years in, every family/friend activity also including me working. Now I take days off and enjoy the one thing that I can’t make more of. Time Read more>>

Carlton Brown | Owner of a Catering Company and a Gourmet Condiment line

Wheh…This is a tough one. My company (Occasional Occasions by Carlton Catering) is celebrating 30 years of business this year, 2024. For the majority of those 30 years, I was a solopreneur, meaning I wore all of the hats and tried to grow my business as a solo business owner. It is very hard to grow your business while in the trenches daily, trying to meet the demands of the business. Read more>>

Rob Malloy | Father, Entrepreneur, Dating Coach, Actor, Voice Over Artist, Philanthropist

Many don’t know this, but I have been an active parent for most of my life. I was a young father. By the time I was 18 years old, I had two children. My youngest child was born when I was 29 years old and she is 19 now. So because of choices I made as a young man, I didn’t allow myself to follow my dreams. I focused my time on making sure I could provide for my kids. I didn’t really have a good work-life balance at all until much later in life. Mainly because I didn’t understand what it meant to create a work-life balance. Don’t get me wrong, my children are blessings and I wouldn’t change having them for anything in the world. I do have to admit that I had 3 children before my brain had really finished developing as a man. Read more>>

Sheng Ly | Sheng Ly | Event Specialist & Floral Designer

My journey has its season of lessons and rewards within the balance of work and life.

One lesson of work life balance that I’ve learned overtime is that you cannot grow your business alone. It takes a village to grow, impact, and thrive! I’m grateful for every connection, vendors, and community thus far to uplift the position, status, and platform I have today. Read more>>