By Leigh-Ann Athanasius
I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.
-Estée Lauder, entrepreneur and businesswoman
It’s a quote many entrepreneurs can resonate with. Running a business is demanding of your time, energy, resources and in extreme circumstances, your health. Running a business while also living a life and navigating major life changes adds a layer of complexity that few understand. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed trying to balance personal and professional responsibilities. The balance comes with prep work long before the life changes come to be. We know life can be unpredictable but with careful planning, it is possible to successfully manage both. Much like you would prepare for any business ventures and anomalies, you need to be prepared for your ‘life ventures’.
The first step is to acknowledge that both your personal and business life require your attention. It is easy to say that you should just leave your personal life at the door when you get to work and vice versa, but when you are the business owner, it is a lot harder to do that. Many times, your personal and business life will intertwine – and that’s okay. Major life events like marriage and parenthood can affect your professional role, but that isn’t to say that they can’t co-exist in harmony. Accepting that your personal and professional life will intermingle, is the first step to implement strategies to give both the personal and professional aspects the right attention without risking burn out.
Through this article, we will be talking about Emily, a CEO of an e-commerce company. She has grown her business over the last 10 years and is now facing a new challenge; balancing the arrival of her first child and running her business. Emily will give us an opportunity to highlight the key areas to consider to create the balance you’re looking for.
Time management and delegation
As much as you would like to, you can’t do it all – at least not all at once. Time is your greatest resource but if you manage it poorly, it will be your greatest stressor.
Prioritization is essential, but how do you go about it practically? First, identify the most important tasks in both your personal and professional life and see how they can be incorporated into your calendar. In Emily’s case, the balancing act began as soon as she knew she was pregnant. It was important for her to determine what responsibilities were critical to the business that she could not delegate or delay, while also acknowledging she was the only one who could attend her prenatal check-ups. From that point, she organised all her important deadlines, both personal and professional to work around that schedule.
Once you have that, it is easier to see what can be shifted over to other people to handle, primarily business responsibilities, but even tasks in your personal life where feasible. Delegation comes in for tasks that you don’t have to handle personally. Having been hands-on in the company for so long – from product development to marketing – Emily knew she would struggle with this at first, but things were changing whether she wanted to or not. She had to delegate tasks to her Operations Lead to oversee the running of the office and leveraged her Marketing Manager to lead the creative team. She had several meetings to discuss goals, priorities, and potential challenges with her leadership team, ensuring they had clear instructions on how to move forward.
For your business, building a team that you can trust will be the backbone of this balancing act you are trying to achieve while you transition through your life changes. Lean on your team to manage operations while you are away by identifying who will handle what and who can manage everyone else performing that task. Most importantly, trust them to do so. This not only gives you some peace of mind as you handle other aspects of your life, but also empowers your employees as they take on the extra responsibility knowing that you have faith in them to do it well.
While delegation felt strange for Emily at first – as it might for you as well – she realised that this was a necessary step to ensure that she was present in her personal life while ensuring that the business is taken care of. She trusted that her team was well equipped to rise to the challenge.
You can also choose to outsource certain tasks if you do not have the in-house capacity to manage them. For example, if you were typically the HR ‘department’ in your business you can hand that over to an outsourcing company so that you have the comfort of knowing things are being handled appropriately. This is especially true for small businesses (link to our small businesses article). Check out PPA’s outsourcing services if this is an option you are interested in.
Communication
Let all the relevant stakeholders know what is going on in your life and how these changes could temporarily affect your work. If your business partners and employees are in the loop, then they can set realistic expectations of you and won’t be surprised when you must split your attention and time or are completely unavailable at times. It could also help to communicate any timelines that you may have so that everyone is on the same page.
It is also essential to communicate with the ‘stakeholders’ in your personal life about how you intend to manage running your business as well as going through whichever transition is happening. Letting them know of any stressors at work keeps expectations realistic so that they can still feel like they are a priority even in moments when you would have to focus on the business.
Take advantage of remote work
As a business owner, you can likely manage your business from anywhere so leverage that. Use all the various tools that are at your disposal to make your remote work functional. Tying in with time management, even just taking away that commute to the office can save you enough time to then handle personal tasks while still getting the required work done. It also means that your team has access to you which might ease the delegation process as you know they can consult and check in whenever necessary.
This was vital as Emily balanced being a CEO and a new mother. She set clear rules with herself to allocate time for the business and home life. Her team was aware when she was on-call. Her support system at home would then take over caring for the baby in those moments because they understood that this was something important that she needed to deal with. Because all relevant parties knew of the situation, everyone was able to chip in to help Emily achieve the balance that she was looking for, with neither the business nor the family feeling neglected.
Dealing with a crisis
A few months into her maternity leave, Emily’s team faced a crisis. A key supplier for one of their top-selling products abruptly went out of business, throwing their inventory and supply schedule into disarray. Despite her reduced involvement, Emily jumped on a call with her team to brainstorm solutions. They landed on seeing this as an opportunity to improve upon the product as they sourced a new supplier.
At this point Emily needed to trust that her team would run with the idea and produce a product that was up to the standards of her company. It was definitely a challenge not being in the office and as involved as she usually would have been, but Emily was in the loop throughout the process and was able to approve the plans while taking care of her baby. The product launch was ultimately a success despite starting from a crisis.
Be flexible and just go with it
Even the most meticulous plans can have setbacks. Things happen beyond your control and plans need to change. The best thing is to accept this, recalibrate and move forward. And this should be applied to both the professional and personal changes that are happening. Dwelling too much on the setbacks could slow you down even further.
The supplier crisis taught Emily that, while she couldn’t always control every detail, her team could rise to the occasion when given the right support and direction. Her ability to delegate and adapt her leadership style allowed her business to not only survive but thrive during her time away. It also gave her team a chance to show that they are ready to take on added responsibility and can support Emily as she progresses through this new phase of life.
Most importantly, remember that you don’t have to do it all alone. Whether it’s leveraging flexible work options, seeking advice from other professionals, or communicating openly with your team, there are options available that can help you achieve balance.
Now, as Emily prepares to return to work full-time, she feels more confident in her ability to balance her dual roles as a business owner and a mother. She knows there will be more unexpected challenges ahead, but with a strong team and a flexible mindset, she’s ready for whatever comes next.
Life changes can be moments of growth for both you and your business – embrace them and watch yourself achieve more than you thought you could.