• Swindon & Wiltshire Experts
• Wednesday March 22 2023
• Author Name: Danielle Holmes

Tips on maintaining a healthy work-life balance

Is maintaining a work-life balance harder when you have your own business to run? Danielle Holmes of Black Nova Designs reckons it is – and has some tips for other business owners to finding and maintaining your balance.

Do you sometimes feel as though you are trying and failing to maintain that illustrious balance of having your personal and life business in order?

You wouldn’t be alone. Many of us face the same struggles.

Back when I was employed getting a better balance seemed more attainable but, now I’m a director of Black Nova Designs and my role is more varied, it seems to slip through my fingers more often.

During this time where the cost of living is crippling so many, wages aren’t rising in line with inflation and social and digital pressures impact how we live and view our lives, I wanted to share some quick tips I use for managing this balance and manifesting a ‘can do’ attitude so that you can continue to do what you do best:

Establish your personal priorities above everything

For me it’s the kids, and so my working hours and expectations are set around their needs. When I was a single parent, I had a corporate job and I paid for childcare, but I really don’t want to do that again.

I work a short day (9am-2pm) now, which means I have to be clear about how much I can realistically achieve in a day. And that’s why we hire people – so the business can continue to operate even if I am not available, bringing me on to point two.

Employ a team or outsource where you can

Employing a team of people you trust or outsourcing to someone you trust is vital. A ‘parent’ tip is to let go of control so that if a client needs you, but you’re not around, they are still going to be looked after.

We also schedule our social media posts using ‘Later’ so that we’re always ahead. Ensure clients understand from the outset that you are part of a team so that they don’t have the expectation that it will be ‘you’ on the end of a phone all of the time.

Be clear about your working hours and dates

I can go on the school run without a hat, coat or gloves but my kids will be dressed as if they are going skiing – as parents we often forget to look after ourselves.

Part of good self-care is to not take on too much and be clear about when you are available. For example, we use Outlook Assist for clients, so that even if we write emails at 11pm at night, they won’t be sent till 9am the next day. They get the message that we only work within working hours – even if we sometimes don’t. We protect our time that way.

Find a helpful tool to schedule both work and family life

I use my Outlook calendar to schedule everything all year round – family and work commitments. Absolutely everything is in the calendar, and I honestly think I’d be a lost without it.

Build and maintain your support network

I’d say it’s crucial to have this in place before you start your own business, whether it’s your partner, your mum, your friend or all three.

Be firm about your boundaries, it doesn’t make you less of a person

If you’re a female boss, being firm, confident in your experience, and enforcing boundaries doesn’t make you any less feminine. Asserting authority as a boss, leader or expert doesn’t need to come across as aggressive. However, there is still sometimes a stereotype that women in business are too soft to lead.

Listen to your body

In recent years, through close encounters with burnout and battles with low mood, I’ve learned that listening to your body is powerful. Your body is fantastic at giving you clues that you need to pay attention to something. Those days where your hormones are raging, tune into that – maybe reduce the workload for a few days. It’s okay to allow yourself to feel those menstrual pains or the stresses and strains of balancing everything.

Invest in your future

We didn’t have enough money in the bank to pay the first person we hired, but without the help we couldn’t grow. In fact, I think we had -£70. We needed the extra help to be able to service clients quicker and grow the business and so because we believed we could do it; we did.

You have to take leaps of faith in business and you have to take some risks. Do so mindfully. If you are always waiting for the perfect time – you could be waiting forever.

Danielle Holmes runs Calne-based Black Nova with her husband Kyle, which support businesses with website hosting, IT support, and IT solutions, and is a member of the not-for-profit business referral group BusinessWise