In this day and age, with remote work becoming increasingly common, it’s more feasible than ever to start a “side hustle” such as an LLC or other small business. We thought we’d share our experiences on maintaining a healthy work/life balance as entrepreneurs working from home.

1) What kinds of commitments are we juggling that are part of our current work-life balance?

Melissa: Besides my side passion at Le Park Creative, I’m currently working full-time as a web designer and also in the process of getting my Master of Business Administration. 

Katie: Being a stay-at-home mom to a toddler and a baby takes most of my energy. We are also in the process of moving overseas, so there’s a lot to keep track of there. Le Park Creative is one of my favorite creative outlets and helps me to switch my focus. 

2) What is it like running our small business from home rather than in a traditional office? How do we keep it separate from our personal lives?

M: With the pandemic, my full-time role eventually shifted over to being fully remote so I was already pretty accustomed to working virtually when we started Le Park Creative. To keep this separated from all the other things, I just make sure that I spend a few hours purely on Le Park mode, which usually happens during evening hours.

K: Before starting Le Park with Melissa, I worked a fully remote job as a graphic designer, so I was familiar with some of the systems in place that help with working from home. To keep it separate from my personal life I have dedicated hours for working (during my toddler’s nap and after her bedtime!)

An entirely accurate depiction of us working from home.

3) What are the main ways we stay organized working from home?

M: Since I use another laptop and different tools for my full-time role, I’m able to separate that work from Le Park Creative’s work. In addition, one of the benefits of working digitally is that we have no need for physical storage for our business, and so, we are able to organize it all on our cloud storage.

K: I have a separate section in my bullet journal for all of my Le Park Creative related tasks. This helps me keep them separated from everything else I have to do in my personal life. I also try to batch emails and texts related to Le Park so that they get done in groups, rather than spread out throughout the day.

4) What are our top tips for running a business with a friend?

M: Communication, honesty, and trust for sure! Make sure you both feel comfortable voicing your thoughts and opinions to each other. Luckily, Katie and I have been friends for about 12 years now so we kind of have really great synergy with each other 😁

K: Definitely frequent communication! But also allowing ourselves to have “friend time” rather than forcing ourselves to always stay strictly on work related topics.

5) Bonus: what kinds of work spaces do we have at home?

M: I primarily work at my desk, but when I’m illustrating on my iPad I tend to work wherever feels comfiest (like my bed or the couch!).

Melissa’s desk (left) and Katie’s desk (right)

K: Honestly, I like to work in multiple places depending what I feel like – at our dining room table, my bed, the couch, etc. But I do have an office space that I share with my husband that I like to go to if I have a lot of work.