The following are two true stories of successful entrepreneurs which prove that work-life balance is not a myth. The perfect balance just requires some good old planning and of course extra dollops of enthusiasm…
Can Do Couple – The only thing better than a good work-life balance story is a good work-life balance love story. Enter Brian and Beth Whitfield, an entrepreneurial power couple based in Southern California, for whom work and love are inextricably tied.
The Whitfields are the proud owners of four businesses — two hair salons, a consulting firm and a coin dealership. But long before they became business owners, the Whitfields were learning to juggle their love for each other with a need to pay the bills. Brian, an ex-Marine, worked three part-time jobs while studying to earn his college degree. Beth also worked three part-time jobs, seven days a week, to help support him. You might think these hard-working folks would want to take a break after all that hustle, but the Whitfields are not the type to settle down.
In addition to helping run the couple’s four businesses, Brian teaches part time at Ashford University in Iowa. He also hosts a weekly radio show called “Financial Fortress” and writes a daily blog. Beth works full time at her two salons, is a national beauty educator and also serves as a stylist for fashion shows, special events and photo shoots. Despite their crazy schedules, the couple says they always make sure to reconnect at the end of each workday.
Do-it-all Doctor- When Stephen Schleicher, a doctor at one of Boston’s busiest hospitals, decided to open his own business, he didn’t quit his day job. In fact, he did quite the opposite — he kept working and enrolled as a graduate student in a competitive MBA program.
Schleicher, 31, is the epitome of a fast-paced entrepreneur. When he isn’t covering long shifts at the hospital, he’s attending first-year classes at Harvard Business School or working on building his startup business, Boxxify.
Boxxify is a package-delivery service that caters to people with superbusy schedules. The company delivers packages between 7 p.m. and midnight, so 9-to-5 professionals don’t have to worry about having their packages stolen off the front porch or returned to sender.
But having a full-time job, being a student and owning his own company make up only one side of Schleicher’s awe-inspiring work-life balance story. Not satisfied with just nurturing a burgeoning business, this go-getter also decided to start a family.
Schleicher and his wife, Magda, recently welcomed their first child who, if she’s anything like her father, is likely very hard to keep up with. But the do-it-all doctor isn’t balking at this newest responsibility. In fact, it’s the support of his family — along with the competency and understanding of his many co-workers — that makes his daily juggling act possible, Schleicher said.
Source: businessnewsdaily.com