Entrepreneurs sometimes appear to have superhuman powers pulling long hours to get to the next level. Still many owners don’t feel that hiring a team is in the budget. Analysis from the Gallup Well-Being Index reveals that nationwide, business owners tend to be healthier despite the increase of stress. However, many struggle to balance work and family life. Briana Borten is an example of someone who has. She built a successful spa and still finds plenty of time for family. “There is no question that business owners need to create balance” said Briana. Read more to learn how she does it.
Some of the most dynamic business owners are people that have taken a tragedy in their life and turned into an opportunity. That couldn’t be truer of Briana Borten. In a fatal car accident she broke her neck and doctors predicted as a life time of pain. She learned treatments to alleviate the pain and created a thriving business, Dragon Tree Holistic Day Spa to help others. Briana has since grown the company, started a pain patch business with her husband and an online coaching practice.
After getting her massage license she and a classmate decided to partner and open their own spa. They borrowed money from friends and family but just a year into the business the collaboration didn’t last. Briana ended up buying out her partner, paying off the investors and moving the company forward on her own. An invitation from the Portland Airport to submit a bid led Dragon Tree to opening a second location and Briana began to systematize the company. Her key business-building strategy was to hire the right people, put processes in place and let them do their job. This shift put her on track to creating a balance for her own personal health and well-being and time with her husband and daughter.
Develop a System and Use Technology: Studies show that people, who don’t get enough sleep, have poor eating habits and don’t exercise, are statistically less productive. By systemizing her business Briana opens up her schedule to focus on what matters most. She developed an operations manual and training tools that can support the manager at each spa location and little day-to-day time with her.
Dragon Well recently opened its third location. Briana has a document that allows her to see a snapshot of the day and how the team performed at each spa. Over the years, she has learned to trust her intuition and prioritize things that are most important. Briana says “Once you’ve been in business for a while and know what’s working, you learn to repeat those things and get rid of the things that aren’t.”
Prioritize Your Day: Having a daily success routine is a great way to stay organized and focused on the big goals. If actions towards the most important goals are scheduled as time blocks with due dates they will get done above everything else “this method I live by” said Briana.
According to the American Psychological Association, sixty-nine percent of individuals report that work is a significant source of stress and 41% say they typically feel tense or stressed out during the workday. According to Briana, repeatable actions should have a process that makes it easier to duplicate or batch them. This lightens the load and allows for getting more done and having a better work-life balance.
Anchor health and family activities: Personally, Briana manages her day by having anchoring activities for each of the roles in her life. She walks her daughter to school every morning with her husband, she then works out to maintain health, gets spiritually centered and then starts the work day with a plan of activities that are pre-determined for specific days of the week. Lastly, she finishes up in time to have dinner as a family.
At this point in her business Briana’s learned that everything is not urgent and there are only a few things she’s is willing to sacrifice time for. “Keeping in mind, some decisions will take me away from family makes deciding what to do a whole lot easier.”
Better health appears to be one of the perks of being an entrepreneur in America according to the Gallup poll. Entrepreneurs are less likely than other workers to report having ever been diagnosed with chronic health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. The favorable difference is the flexible work schedule business ownership allows. Many of the entrepreneurs polled in the study said they had the ability to be selective about meals and make time for fitness. Now, if you only take advantage of it, you could have work-life balance too.
If you have a friend or family member that’s struggling with work-life balance share this article with them. They will appreciate you for it. Need help finding your balance? Download our guide to work-life abundance®. Listen to the full interview with Briana Borten on the SPC podcast.
What’s preventing you from achieving work-life balance and which of these tips will you test in your business?