What Does Work-Life Balance Actually Mean?

Work-life balance, as the name suggests, is the balance you strike between managing your career, business, or ventures, and your actual life - making sure you have time for hobbies, friends, family, and anything non-work related.

Nine times out of ten, when this phrase is brought up, it is used to tell someone they are spending too much time working or focusing on their career, and that they need to ease up and relax.

Does work-life balance actually matter for entrepreneurs?

As always, it depends on the person, their goals, and how they want to live. In my opinion - based on my own trajectory from the boatyard to a six-figure e-commerce business, an IP acquisition, and stepping into a CPTO role in my mid-20s - I do not believe work-life balance matters depending on where you sit in your trajectory.

It isn't black or white. There are times work-life balance shouldn't even enter your mind, and there are times you have earned it. It isn't an all-or-nothing lifestyle; you can switch between having balance and going all-in when required.

Why Is Work-Life Balance a Trap at the Start of Your Trajectory?

As aggressive as it sounds: if you are trying to make a start, build momentum, and essentially get out of the rat race, what room do you actually have to search for "balance" right now?

When you are starting out, you don't have the right to choose. You are either on the throttle and doing what needs to be done to get an idea off the ground, or you aren't.

When I started what turned into my first six-figure e-commerce business, every single day was spent working my day job as a sign writer, coming home to work on the store at night, going to bed, and repeating it the next day. Weekends were another full day of solving problems and making it work. There was no work-life balance. I saw my friends less, didn't do much for fun, and took minimal breaks. It was simply what was required of me at the time to build that store to profitability, and it was what jump-started my trajectory.

Here is the key nuance: this period of all-out work was only for 6 months.

Soon after that initial six-month push, the store was flowing smoothly, posting schedules were in place, ads were scaling nicely, and support emails were down to a minimum. What was once 8 to 10 hours a day on a weekend became a couple of hours reviewing metrics and emails. Then, as you'd expect of a 21-year-old doing $60k a month in sales, I'd go out and drink too much with my friends.

The all-or-nothing approach isn't something you have to do for the rest of your life. There are times to deploy it, and times you can enjoy life. But if you aren't willing to do it for dedicated blocks of time, you drastically diminish your own chances of success.

I see it constantly from people who ask for help with a digital store launch, but are only willing to put in an hour or two on the weekend because they need "balance." I am yet to see someone control work-life balance at the start of their journey and not end up failing. For most, using balance as a justification is just an easy out to avoid putting in the initial work required to build something successful.

How Does Work-Life Balance Shift as You Scale Your Career?

While it's easier to see why balance shouldn't be a thought at the beginning, similar circumstances arrive again when you are scaling up your career. There are times you need to deploy being "all out" and void any consideration for balance. Why? Competition and opportunity.

After my first IP acquisition, I was brought on as CTO - now CPTO - for the same private company. Taking products from raw concept through to live market deliverables requires a level of hustle that voids any thought for what movie I want to go see after work.

There is competition in the market you have to outpace. It isn't a hard equation to figure out who has a higher chance of winning: the person putting in their standard 38 hours a week, or the one putting in 60.

For the first 8 to 10 months after joining the business, I would work from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, drive home, have dinner, work until about 11:00 PM, and wake up to do it again. Did it suck? Absolutely. But at the time, it was what was required. Once the foundations were built, I slightly eased off the gas to gain a version of balance again.

How Do You Find Your Own Approach to Work-Life Balance?

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to balance, understand that it does not have to be all-or-nothing every single day, month, or year. You simply cannot operate in a permanent sprint without burning out. I don't care how dedicated you think you are - you will burn out eventually if you don't know when to ease up and give yourself a chance to rest.

Finding balance also doesn't mean you are slacking off or becoming less dedicated. Balance is different for everyone:

• Easing up for a week: Giving yourself room to breathe before getting right back into the next push.

• Dedicated time away: Picking a weekend to do something completely different, or choosing not to look at a screen for a day.

• Recognizing the sprint: Identifying when going "all in" is critical to your success, knowing it's temporary, and switching back when the job is done.

Knowing when to deploy total focus is a skill. You can jump between the two modes when needed while still making massive strides toward your goals.

Who Is Actually Telling You to Seek Work-Life Balance?

To close this out, consider who is giving you the advice.

I am fortunate enough to speak with board members, founders who have had hundred-million-dollar exits, venture capitalists, and people anyone would deem ultra-successful. I have never heard one of them utter the phrase, "work-life balance is important."

On the flip side, I have only ever been told that work-life balance is critical by people sitting in positions I would never care to be in myself.

At a top level: know when to be all in, and know when to give yourself a breather before putting your head back down to continue your path.