Is it possible to be a great entrepreneur and have a great family life?

How are successful business owners guiding their business towards global fame and enviable profits AND keep their families happy? How are they juggling tasks? How are they adding hours to their day? Is it even possible to be a great entrepreneur and a great parent or partner?

We thought we were not the only ones to wonder, so we asked.

Five entrepreneurs were kind enough to share their tips for saving time while running their business and keeping their loved ones happy. We are deeply honored to be able to publish their insights.

Brandon Baker

Brandon Baker was born in New York City, and he left the Big Apple only to get his degree in Evolutionary Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He has always been fascinated by the chemistry of food, so it should not really surprise us he started a boutique wedding cake bakery located at 535 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, creating cakes that look and taste spectacular. 

As you can imagine, managing a New York based business in a niche where a missed deadline might mean a ruined wedding is not easy, but Brandon figured out what is needed in order to keep your business on the right growth track and be there for your family.

When Brandon started the company, he did not have any children yet, and when his daughter was born, there was some concern over how it would affect the business, but he learned it is all about perspective: 

“When I became a father, I was determined to work smarter: waking up at 5:30 AM, eliminating time-sucking activities and delegating everything wherever possible. And when in doubt, family always comes first.”

Jason and Kim Graham-Nye

Jason and Kim Graham-Nye were expecting their first child when they were shocked to find out how many disposable diapers were being thrown away every day around the world. 

They believed there had to be a better way to care for babies and protect the Planet, and they were right. They found a Tasmania-based small company that was making disposable diaper pads that were flushable and home compostable. They licensed the technology for the rest of the world outside of Australia and New Zealand, building and launching the gDiapers brand first in America, later extending in Canada, Europe and Asia.

As entrepreneurs and co-founders of a global sustainable nappy company, Jason and Kim are among the best people to talk about how it is like to run your business while simultaneously raising your children. The most important thing for them is being mindful:

“If you’re mindful about the task you’re trying to achieve, whether it’s work, or spending time with the family, being able to focus on one thing and not switch between tasks will allow you to be more productive. There’s an illusion in our brain that constantly switching between tasks means we’re being productive, but if you’re mindful about what you’re doing and simply focusing on one task, before moving onto the next you’ll be more productive.”

Ivan Lim

Ivan Lim is the co-founder of Brosa, a company born to change the designer furniture industry. What Ivan realised was that beautifully made furniture was sold at a premium price to accommodate the high margins of traditional retailers.

If the designer pieces were delivered straight to the buyer, the delightfully crafted furniture would not cost as much as it does in offline boutiques.

As a young entrepreneur, communicator and lover of all things digital, Ivan takes full advantage of what technology has to offer so he would also have enough time to be truly present in the lives of his loved ones.

Here is how he does it: “At Brosa, we regularly outsource time-consuming tasks to virtual assistants. Once on board and given the adequate training, VAs are as eager to please and efficient as in-house employees. Prioritisation is made easy with tools such as Asana and Trello. By sharing boards and lists, we are able to collaborate, view and change each other’s priorities without emails. I also run off a strict 5-minute rule. If I can solve a problem in 5 minutes, I do it then and there. Otherwise, I mark it and add it to my priorities list.”

Tania Wilson

Tania Wilson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was all happening while she working in a management role in manufacturing, studying landscape design and plant science and being a mother to two beautiful little girls. The diagnosis made her change her priorities, spending her time making other people feel special becoming an important aspect. She wanted to be a change maker and help people.

Since 2010, Tania created a large range of sustainable, nourishing and ethical products that are Australian made, Australian owned, toxic free, cruelty free, vegan, paraben free, palm oil free and Phthalate free, which are sold online, in salons and health food stores. The natural and organic beauty products she created are marketed as Tania Louise Organics and women treasure them.

These are her time saving tips on running a business and keeping your family happy: 

"1. Schedule a day per month or a few hours per week where you don’t check your phone or emails, and you just completely give all your attention to your loved ones. The fewer interruptions, the more your family will appreciate it. 

2. Involve your partner and children in your business. Take them to your work social events, or ask them to help you at public events for your business. When they meet your clients/customers and are involved in the process they feel part of the journey and will resent your busy work life a little less. 

3. Set aside a specific time to do the groceries and do a meal prep day or afternoon, where you all spend time cooking together to make meals for that week. Planning in advance means you have plenty of food to share together after a long day at work, which means less time in the kitchen and more time relaxing together before bedtime. 

4. If there are tasks in your business that you can outsource, do it. Let the experts do what you can’t in a fraction of the time. This precious time can be spent doing what you are great at.”

Barbara Clifford

Barbara Clifford is known as the Time Tamer. That is because she has spent over 20 years working in timeprecious industries and now she helps business owners find clarity in their work environment, have a better control of their time and alleviate some of the daily tension. She is creating time management systems that would help businesses, big and small, increase their productivity and team satisfaction.

What Barbara advocates for is embracing and scheduling “nonnegotiable” time: “The non-negotiable time should represent some SELF TIME like down time, meditation time or fitness and FAMILY TIME — an outing or an activity, but for a time for being present with the people you love. 

By being non-negotiable, it means you cannot shift it; you cannot book appointments over it. You treat this time as gold, as if it were for a paying client and value it in the same way.”

To recap, it is definitely not impossible to give all you’ve got to make your business operations run smoothly or improve your bottom line AND be present in your personal life, spending quality time with your loved ones. 

These amazing people found a way and we can learn from their experience so we could also be successful and enjoy happiness at home, where our dearest friends and family members are.

So, remember:

1 Wake up as early as possible.

2 Delegate everything whenever possible.

3 Focus on one thing at a time, be it work or family.

4 Outsource work to virtual assistants

5 If you can solve it in 5 minutes, do it then and there.

6 Forget about email, use project management tools.

7 Plan everything in advance, even home cooked meals.

8 Involve your partner and kids in your business.

9 Schedule time off to be with your family, undistracted by your business.

10 Treat your Self Time as non-negotiable.