Your Home-Based business and your Family: A question of Balance

Last Updated: June 20, 2021

Starting your own online business or other home-based business (it doesn’t necessarily have to be online) can and should be a very fulfilling experience.  It offers many new and exciting challenges, all with the hope of providing financial security for you and your family.  To this end, a home-based business also requires a serious commitment and can easily consume a large portion of your time if you don’t plan properly (and, let’s be honest, even if you do plan properly!).
 
While searching the Internet for business opportunities – like you are very probably doing right now – you’ve undoubtedly encountered claims of how working merely a few hours per week can result in a thriving and successful home business.  Although it is true that after your business is established and thriving because of the hard work and long hours you put in at the beginning, you could potentially devote less time towards it – and, of course, that is many people’s (but not everyone’s) hope and dream from the start – this is not normally the case in the beginning.
 
If you’re new to Internet marketing or the home-based business industry in general, you should initially plan on spending at least 2-3 hours per day researching your products and developing your website.  You should try committing even more time if you’re not working a day job or don’t have other obligations prohibiting you from doing so.  Of course, these numbers are just a “ballpark” piece of general advice.  You might be more or less forced to put in more time than 2-3 hours per day in the beginning depending on what your business is; but the point is, you shouldn’t be putting in any less time than that, unless you are comfortable with the understanding that less time put in in the beginning means that it will take your business much longer to get off the ground and operating smoothly.
 
Now, with the above said, one trap to avoid is spending too much time on your business, believe it or not!  The pros who are reading this, or anyone who has even dabbled in something home business-wise, for that matter, will understand this for sure!  It’s very easy to become immersed in your business because there is literally always something to do – a new product to review, updating your website, responding to messages, etc.  Before you know it, you won’t have time for anything else.
 
This can be especially problematic when you have a family.  Though not the case for everyone, for many of us the benefit of spending more quality time with our family was one of the primary “Golden Reasons” we started our home business to begin with!  Because so many new home business owners struggle between spending time with their families while trying to get their business off the ground, here are three quick tips you can try:
 
1.  Take one entire day off per week.  Yes, this means NO WORK!  This applies to your own home-based business as well as your “day job,” if you are one of the many of us who have opened a home business while still keeping your day job.    Spend time with your family and friends – those who matter most in your life – and stay as “far away” (metaphorically speaking) from your business as possible.  Believe me, the business won’t go anywhere!  In addition to letting your family and friends know you still love them and are there for them, the day off will also help to alleviate burn out.  If you’ve worked more hours than usual in a particular week to get a special project completed, for example, you might even want to consider taking two days off if you can.
 
2.  Set aside 1-2 hours or so every evening for family time.  From 5:30-7:30, for example, you could have dinner with the family, help the kids with their homework, and possibly even squeeze in time for a quick potty-walk for the dog.  If possible, try to schedule this time at the same time every day.  A structured schedule will allow you to better plan your time in general.
 
3.  Stop working at a specific time every evening and stick to it.  For example, you can turn off your computer every night at 10:00 PM.  This falls into the category of alleviating burn out and there’s always one more thing to do!  Set limits for yourself and hold yourself to them!  This ALSO goes along the lines of being present for your family and friends.  If you stop working at a fixed time in the evenings, and let other know that, your family and friends can expect to know when you will be working as well as not working.  This means less disturbances while you are actually immersed in your work time getting your work done, as well as more relaxed interactions with loved ones after your work hours, as you can rest easy with the notion of: I have “clocked-out,” as it were, for the day; work is over.
 
Learning to manage time effectively is critical to a successful business and living a full and happy life.  There’s nothing wrong with being dedicated to your business - of course, successful businesses have owners who are passionate and dedicated to them - but you need to make time for your loved ones, too!  Make time for your spouse, children, parents and friends now, because before you know it, you’ll be wondering where the time went.

​Better life, better business, better you!

-Andreas
Owner and Operator of Biz Opp Empire, a website by Andreas Philip Gross Enterprises