Balancing a new business and the needs of your family can be incredibly challenging, but growing your business can be easier when you prioritize your family. It sounds surprising — focusing on something other than your work can make it better? It’s true and there are several specific areas that you can see this.
1. Communication
Whether you’re a startup trying to expand or an established business looking for more strategies, learning how to communicate with your family translates over to all areas of your life. When you keep your family in the loop about your day to day needs, you learn the best ways to talk to clients as well. Letting them know about being late, learning how to appease them when they’re upset, and managing expectations are all things that are necessary for a good family relationship and a strong business relationship.
For people who are struggling with both home life and relationships, couples counseling can open your eyes to what could be going wrong. Enhancing your awareness and inspiring personal growth helps you build a stronger bond with your partner and teaches you how to establish better relationships with everyone around you — including important clients and customers.
2. Creating a Work Family
Modeling your internal company structure after your family can help you find like-minded individuals with similar goals to yours. Bonds between colleagues are meant to blossom into friendships and often make a company more harmonious. These are the people that inspire new ideas, push you to succeed, and support you through the rough times — just like your family does.
“My real family is my work family,” said Rachel Kelly of Bump Girl. “When we prioritize each other’s ideas and needs, we get new insight into what our business needs.”
Share your failures and successes with your family and listen to what they have to say. Their own life experience can enhance your understanding of what’s going right and what’s going wrong in your business. Whether your partner is an official part of your business or not, including them in the ups and downs of business management is crucial to success in your relationship and your work.
3. Benefits of Work-Life Balance
The importance of a work-life balance is really coming to light in recent years. Studies show that you do your work better if you have time to unwind and recharge with your family and friends. Modern laborers are more overworked than ever, which leads them to depression, exhaustion, and burnout. Don’t let this happen to you by having work on your mind 24/7.
A number of business leaders from Harvard Business School have researched and discussed why there has to be a trade-off between being successful at work and having a fulfilling family life. As it turns out, this isn’t an either/or situation. From your basic HR employee to the owner of the company — making your family just as important as your work can help you succeed.
One of the ways you can achieve this balance is by working remotely. If you set up the infrastructure for you and your employees to work from home, you may notice a distinct improvement in productivity and a decrease in employee turnover.
4. Building a Reputation
As a business owner, you have to think about your reputation as a company and what values you, as the business owner, are broadcasting to potential clients. The harried businessperson isn’t as popular today as the business owner who thinks about giving back to their family and their community. When you take the time to give back, you experience a more fulfilling and rich personal life as well as improving your business image.
“It’s very important to me to support charities and empower women,” said Katy Messersmith, CEO of Katydid Wholesale. “It started as a personal journey for me. An experience while volunteering in Ghana showed me that my personal passions could translate into a national and international business success. Today, I place a focus on my personal life to strengthen my business practices and maintain the same passion for my company now as I had when I first started.”
Millennials and Gen-Zers, in particular, are looking for companies with similar values to their own. Not only do they want to work at charitable companies that put their community and employees first, but they’re also more likely to shop at businesses that treat people right. Human rights is a hot button issue around the world, and taking the time to create a company that is considerate and caring is more critical than ever to your bottom line.
Taking the First Step
Rewiring yourself to think about family first may take some practice, but there is plenty of help out there. From counseling and therapy to self-help and meditation, just starting an exploration into putting your family first will completely change your life. Begin your journey to a better family life and a more successful business when you find a better balance between the two.
About the Author
Katie Tejada is a writer, editor, and former HR professional. She covers developments in HR, business communication, recruiting, real estate, finance, law, and investing but also enjoys writing about events, travel, decorating trends, and innovations for the home.
