All work and no play: Striking a balance in your business

All work and no play: Striking a balance in your business

The events of the last couple of years have caused a lot of people to pause, take stock and re-evaluate their priorities when it comes to their lives and their businesses. 

More entrepreneurs are moving away from the traditional approach of scaling their business and building a team, instead focusing in on what personally motivates and fulfils them. The idea of work/life balance is often thrown around, but we are starting to see a growing trend of entrepreneurs who are using their businesses to facilitate their lifestyle and achieve the balance and freedom that comes with it.

A business that fits you

It is not necessary to maintain a 9 to 5 schedule or work exclusively from the office in order to be successful at business. 

While challenging the norm of what it means to be an entrepreneur can often come with criticism, at the centre of being a lifestyle entrepreneur is creating a business that you are truly passionate about. While many choose to build their lives around their career, this can often come at the cost of personal fulfilment if your heart is not 100 per cent in it. 

Choosing to build your career around your lifestyle gives you the freedom to manage your time and efforts in a way that contributes to your own personal happiness. Advances in technology and the predominance of the digital age has meant a wealth of opportunities for individuals looking to create streamlined businesses that allow you to focus on your core skills while granting the freedom to work whenever, and wherever you like.

Mindful entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs often go into business because they want to make a difference, and a business built around the life you lead offers enormous potential for personal growth. So many business owners feel the pressure to scale and grow in a way that traps them into a cycle of working long and gruelling schedules, or burdens them with extensive overheads or staff management, ultimately resulting in a loss of enthusiasm and passion for what they do.

Switching your metrics for success beyond scaling and growing in the traditional way gives you the opportunity to evaluate whether the path you are currently on is keeping you happy and motivated, while offering the flexibility to change tact and take on new challenges as you see fit.

A lifestyle business is essentially whatever you make of it, and with the right commitment and conviction for what you do, you can reap the rewards of each day being a new and exciting challenge, while still making money from doing what you genuinely love.

Focus on the bigger picture

Especially in the early stages of a business, it is often necessary to simply say yes to everything as you grow. However, as you begin to build your business around your lifestyle, it is important to consider how clients and projects you choose to take on fit into the bigger picture.

One of the most important things you can do in having a business that fits around you is to understand who you can help and what you can help them do. Your message and your services may not appeal to everyone, and that is completely okay. Instead, focus on finding clients and projects that are the right fit for you, and that you can take pleasure in helping and in partnering with. 

This is the key to delivering consistently high results that allow you to play to your strengths and serve your clients far more effectively, while maintaining the freedom to pick and choose the work that you know you will be truly passionate and motivated about.

Conclusion

While everyone will have a different definition of what inspires and motivates them when it comes to their business, ensuring your endeavours are built around what matters most to you is essential for personal happiness and fulfilment. In the words of Steve Jobs, Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Hyde
Tim Hyde
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