As a business owner, you want to start the year off strong. And for many pros, that drive and passion for success can quickly lead to burn out. Balancing work and personal life is essential not only for maintaining your overall well-being and happiness throughout the year, but can make you more productive and satisfied when you are working. We asked six successful pros to share how they balance their personal and work lives. Here's what they had to say:

Develop a Support System

Whether it's a mentor, therapist, colleague or friend, having someone to share things with is an important part of anyone’s well being. It’s important to have a work environment that lets you develop professionally and feel supported. With the right resources and support, professionals can reduce stressors that lead to burnout and anxiety.

“One of the things my mentor told me was to celebrate even the smallest win. That piece of advice has resonated with me. That’s what keeps me going. I might have had a bad day, but let me find one glimpse of positivity and use that to be a driving force in me, to continue to push further.”  - Asisat Edu, DIH Designs 

Keep Your Days Lively

Encouraging fun in the workplace and team activities outside of work can promote a positive environment, help colleagues bond, and improve communication. For Designer Ellen Z. Wright, finding ways to keep things lively even on the job is an important part of how she runs her business. 

“We laugh a lot. Humor is a huge part of our business. We find humor in absolutely everything. We take care of ourselves so we're very much into physical fitness, we do yoga, we do meditation every single morning. We grow together, we're each at the same time just continuing lifelong learning.” - Ellen Z. Wright, Apartment Rehab NYC

Create a Repeatable Process for Success

When projects start piling up, having a clear, reliable step-by-step process makes the time that you spend working more efficient. It gives structure to your business operations and helps you  achieve desired outcomes  more consistently. This can save you time and reduce errors, minimizing the need for do overs. 

“Having a work process that you can really depend on is a huge part of what keeps us on top of our planning. This is important because our crews and our direct team want to be with their families, and we don't want to stack things so tight that we're putting people in a position that they can't get the rest that they need. That’s why Houzz Pro has been so useful. Even if someone is on vacation or sick, I can easily go into a project they’ve been managing and see the Timeline, who they’ve talked to, and all I need to know.” - Susan Heinz , Heinz Group 

Make Time For What you Love 

As a business owner, it can be challenging to set aside time for yourself, but hitting the reset button is important for maintaining a healthy work-life balance and avoiding burnout. Making time for what you love can even help you be more effective in running your business.

“You have to carve out that place for you and do what makes you happy. For me, it’s going to my home in the mountains. That place really helps me regain my perspective after the work week. And whether it's going shopping at the mall or going to the mountains or riding your bike or jogging or whatever it is, you have to make time for that and if you don't, no one else will.” - Jay Sifford, Jay Sifford Garden Design 

Schedule breaks in advance taking a break helps maintain a sense of perspective, and allows you to step back and see the bigger picture of your business. This can help you make better decisions in the long run and avoid getting bogged down in the day-to-day details. Scheduling time off for you and your team well in advance can help assure that you actually do take a respite. .

“It can sometimes feel like a lot and some days you need to protect your head space because you really could get swept away in all of the details. One thing that we've done to help that is we don't take any new jobs in August. August is typically a time where a lot of us have vacations. We just say, you know what, August can be a catch up month. “ - Kate Roos, Kate Roos Design LLC

Set Boundaries with Clients  Early 

Setting limits  with clients from the start helps  protect your time. By setting clear expectations for when you are available  and when you are not, you can avoid overcommitting yourself and ensure that you have enough time to focus on what matters.  By centralizing communication with tools like the Client Dashboard in Houzz Pro, you can give clients a place to check on the details and history of their project 24/7. They can leave comments and you can customize and control what information to share.

“It's really about upfront communication with your client, what to expect, what you'll get from me. I also think it’s really important to tell them that I'm a business and they're dealing with a business, not that we do become friends and so it's hard to draw that line. Because it is such a personal experience when you're building someone's home. I need to know if you wear a bathrobe so I can put a bathrobe hook in your bathroom. I get to know you really well, but still, I'm a business. I'm not available at all hours.” - Lynda Mcdonald, The Design Chaperone 

When it comes to balancing work and life while running a thriving business, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. By adopting some strategies to turn to on those busy days when both work and life demand your attention, it is easier to get the balance right.