The Beauty of Balance

We live in a busy, fast paced, ever changing world. Everyone wants a piece of you and so many of us feel spread too thin, constantly.

Balance is something that seems to be a hot topic amongst my friends and acquaintances. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can't think of another friend (entrepreneur or not) who hasn't verbalized struggling to balance family, career... just life in general lately.

Lately, I've been examining people I perceive to be happy and asking myself "Why?" (I have a degree in anthropology, so this stuff is fascinating to me!)

One thing I have found to be true:
Some of the the happiest, most enthusiastic and fulfilled people I know are entrepreneurs, in control of their own destiny.

On the flip side, some of the most down and out, distraught, stressed people I know are  also, entrepreneurs.

Bottom line: Entrepreneurship is HARD.

It is stressful to not know where your next paycheck is coming from. Once you grow past "wearing all the hats in your business" and build up to having a team of employees, rent for your business location, insurance, the taxes that come along with employees, property and everything else, the stakes become even higher.

You have to bring in the deals to pay these people and bills-- it's not just your paycheck at stake. It can most certainly be overwhelming at times. I've been there; I know the feeling first hand and it isn't pleasant.

One thing I also know... those happy, fulfilled entrepreneurs I mentioned earlier? They have something the others don't. Their secret? Balance.

Balance is personal; it does not have the same definition for everyone. It can look different, and that's OK! For my husband (our CFO at The Grapeseed Co.), balance means waking at 5AM to surf Rincon before work. Ahem, here's my post on facebook after an early wake up call this morning...

5AM. No alarm goes off... First (enthusiastic) words, "Wanna go surfing? It's going to be epic today!" I've been happily waking at the crack of dawn the greater portion of my life, but plunging in icy winter water in the dark will never be fun to me. And off he goes with a huge smile; have fun Pete! Maybe if we were in warm Caribbean waters I'd be in."

This is how he warms up after- filling gallons of hot water to rinse with before work. I think it's nuts, but am all for whatever makes ya happy!

 For me, it means the freedom to work when passion and ideas strike, and to follow my drive and excitement. Sometimes that leads me to working at odd hours, which actually prompted this post today. My morning walk ended up leading me to Grapeseed at 6:30AM to work on an awesome new project for a major retailer. It was quiet, nice to be there totally alone, and amazingly productive. I blasted music, danced around and got a sh*t load done! All is good since this doesn't even feel like work to me, and without being an entrepreneur I probably wouldn't have this kind freedom. It's so liberating! It is my balance, and I am so thankful to do what I love.

One of my loves at Grapeseed... concocting new fragrance blends at our Scent Bar!

When we moved to our new location in downtown Santa Barbara this past fall, I wanted to bring the spirit of balance into our workspace and store. We often get comments from customers, people that come in to interview for a job and even delivery folks that there are "good vibes" in our store, and it just feels like a place you want to be...
These words frame our entryway:

And to follow this concept, I'm going to be doing more of what I love, and launching a new business! Nothing brings me more joy and excitement then having a great idea, creating something and bringing it to fruition. Teaching has always been my first love, was the root of my first company, and is where my formal education background is. This culminates in launching Cultivate Your Niche on a broader scale this spring. I will be introducing online programs based on my 1:1 consulting to teach you how to build the business of your dreams!

Believe it or not, this is part of my master plan to bring more balance to my life, and zone in on doing even more of what I love. Everyone deserves and can have more balance and peace in their life. Everyone can be an entrepreneur.

So... What do you love? What do you want to do? What's your balance look like?

May you all work towards your beautiful balance (whatever that looks like) each and every day!

cheers,
Kristin

P.S. You can follow the launch on our CYN facebook page here. Our dream team will be releasing programs on the website this spring and I will also be taking on a few more 1:1 consulting clients this summer... stay tuned :)