By far the most common conversation we have with the folks we interview is about work-life balance.  Starting a business or pursuing a creative career makes finding work life balance really tough because there is no clear start and end to one’s work day.  We’ve shared some of our conversations on the topic below.

Antonio Becker | Co-Owner

Over time I have learned just how selfless it can be to take care of one’s self first to ensure the ability to take care of everything else. For the longest time i thought helping others meant putting everyone else’s needs before my own, but that quickly shows itself to not be sustainable. If you feel that it’s your responsibility to help others, you must have the ability to respond to their needs. Without proper care for one’s self that ability is SERIOUSLY compromised. Read more>

Kristin Shute | Winemaker & Partner

Finding a balance between work life and personal life is challenging for most small business owners. We oftentimes work 8 days a week, sacrificing significant milestones with our loved ones. My role here at Lechuza was presented to me by my workaholic father, giving me a practical window into the life of not only a business owner but a parent as well. My husband and I worked without staff for the first 4 years, learning all of the ins and outs of the business. Although it was hard to understand at the moment, we were being groomed to be better leaders for our growing business. In 2017 we unexpectedly lost my father, pulling the rug out from us all. Suddenly, I went from the role of the student to instantly the sole decision-maker. Over the next year, we had hard family discussions to which we needed to decide how we were going to thrive independently, without any outside investors. Read more>>

Tony Blauer | Safety Expert & Fear Management Trainer

This is the million-dollar question – everyone seems to talk about it and everybody has an idea for an opinion about it but the truth is I’m not sure there’s a rule or system that works across the board. When you’re starting out there isn’t really balance it’s go go go and if you need to work eight days a week you figure out how to find that if they. The real trick is to cultivate self-awareness so that when you feel you’re getting burned out, you can reset and recharge. Is your grind empowering you and those around you or are you neglecting people or yourself (health, fitness, etc.) I think everyone needs to find their own formula based on their personality and what their business is. Read more>>