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.

Jessica Soderberg | Nutrition Consultant

As I began my career, I lived in San Francisco and work-life balance was all about how much I could fit into a day. In order to do that, I woke up early, very, very early. I fit in a solid workout, a long day at work and social obligations. It was fun, rewarding and simply exhausting! As I became more focused on my career, work-life balance, mostly included work. Lots of travel, being on the go and putting in long hours. I didn’t mind it at the time, and got great fulfillment from “feeling important” at work. At some point I decided that living a really fast-paced lifestyle was starting to wear on me. So, I left the big city of San Francisco and headed to a more mild-paced Colorado. Read more>>

Jessica Loving-Campos | Chief Creative Officer & Co-Founder

Work/life balance has shifted greatly from various stages throughout the growth of our business. During the startup period, my husband and I worked all hours — weekdays, weekends, holidays. All of it. We worked late into the night and rarely took a day off. Thankfully, after gaining a bit of traction with projects and clients — as well as the perspective that our schedule was far from sustainable (and in the fast lane to burnout) — we slowly adapted our schedule to allow for important personal time. Over the years, we’ve established a strict understanding that work exists within our posted studio hours; rarely do we offer up nights and weekends anymore. Once we made that commitment and chose to respect and uphold our boundaries (as well as clearly communicate this with our customers), our clients did the same. Read more>>

Ali Osterholz | Indie Yarn Dyer & National Parks Enthusiast

“HA! Balance?!?” was my first reaction to this question, and I’m sure it would have been my husband’s reaction as well. It has been just over a year since I took my business full time, and I can honestly say I am just now beginning to learn what work-life balance is. When I announced I would be taking EK+F full-time to friends and family I was met with concerned looks, quiet whispers about whether it was a ‘smart’ idea, and usually, a follow-up question that went something like “ok, but, what else are you going to do to make money?”. So, as you can imagine, I put a LOT of pressure on myself to succeed and prove everyone wrong. I worked harder than I ever have in this last year and I regret not one second of it. Balance is important, don’t get me wrong, but the love I have for my business and its success carried me through this last year like I never imagined it could. I proved to myself that I can do this, and now that I know it, I can breathe a little easier. Read more>>