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.

Bre Chiero | Founder & Creative Director, Hungry Hipsters

As someone who has been a self-employed entrepreneur for the last 6 years, I can’t say that I’ve mastered work-life balance- not even close. Early on in my career, I lived & breathed work. My business was who I was. The pressures I put on myself to achieve milestones monopolized any bit of down time, the ability to take a vacation or pursuing personal hobbies. Read more>>

Brandy Taliafero | Creative. Poet. Entrepreneur

Being a first time full time mom, juggling a full-time career outside of creative endeavors, my work load is always o0n overload! So im really grateful for my partner, Saint and his patience. He is definitely the better half of me. Read more>>

Yuki He | LiveMe Founder & Single Mom

– Entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs, have a particularly challenging life-family-work balance. me too. I am the only child in my family and a single mother with a ten-year-old child. I live with my mother and son. There are often choices in the allocation of time. Read more>>

Anwar Karim | Emcee, Entrepreneur

I love this question. This has been heavy on my mind in the last few years. As someone who just graduated from high school, I’m transitioning from a child depending on their parents, to a young adult sufficing on their own. As high school progressed, I had less time to create. Read more>>

camille solari | International Comedian + Writer + Director

Some of my friends who have made it as big time celebrity artists, athletes, and personalities have done it by being completely self-centered. I don’t mean that in a bad way, it has been said over and over again in the media, by fellow artists etc that ‘the only way to make it is to look out for yourself.” Read more>>

Carmen Piper | Character Designer & Concept Artist

It’s changed a lot over the years. During college, my class time and free time were one in the same: art. I was able to grow a lot in technical skill, as well as being able to find my own voice in terms of style and content, but I had no other outlets for creativity- or stress for that matter. Read more>>

Tyler Porteous | Project Manager, Real Estate Development | Artist

I hold a high value to my life outside of the office. For one, this is where I tap into my creative outlets; outlets that I use to maintain a healthy lifestyle – mentally, physically and socially. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is something that I am consistently working towards. Read more>>

Hani Anis | Founder and CEO

Work life balance is something that has been a conscious battle for me. When I first started both companies I thought owning a business meant you were working, all the time. I worked 7 days a week and eventually burnt myself out. Read more>>

Suyu Chen | Jeweler & Artist

Fortunately, most of the struggles I faced in school were just assignments and my own artwork. After my student days were over, I had to figure out a way to maintain the time as well as motivation to keep creating work. Read more>>

Zachary Smith | Photographer at BK Headshots

During my apprenticeship with Bjoern, I wanted to overcome my learning curve as fast as possible, so I would work with him, shoot my own clients, have artistic shoots with friends in the evenings, and then study as much cinema and other concepts as possible that I would bring into my sessions. Read more>>

Allison Riegel | Somatic Psychotherapist + Artist

I have to admit I’ve always been kind of obsessed with maintaining some sense of work-life balance. One of the reasons I worked in the restaurant industry for so long was that it gave me incredible flexibility to do all the other things I wanted to spend time doing in my life. Read more>>

Stephany Camacho | Music Artist & Marketing Manager

Balance is the even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. While there are so many responsibilities that call our attention in our daily lives, balance is found within each persons priorities. Read more>>