Work-Life Balance is it Possible?

[izzidoll]

Do you feel that working in the nail industry has helped you to have a good work-life balance? Is that why you choose a career in nails, in order to work around all your other commitments? More importantly has it worked out that way?
Lately I've read a few posts that have touched on this in a negative way, talking about lack of support from partners and problems with childcare. It would be nice to hear that there are techs out their who have found that perfect work-life balance, and how they did it.
I started off working part-time, but I wanted my own business....(don't we all) but be careful what you wish for.....to cut a long story short, I built up a thriving small business eventually taking on an employee to cope. I had a very supportive and proud husband ,especially when I became an Education Ambassador for CND. But it all comes at a price, I was working 6-7 days a week at least 3 of them over 10 hours, also the paperwork, accounts,PAYE, Inland revenue.....My husband was doing all the housework on his days off,( without complaint)
My dream was becoming a nightmare!
I eventually changed (too long a story to say how) and now I feel I have the perfect work-life balance. I work 2 days a week training foundation courses, which I love,and the other 5 days I work on my nail skills at home and I am a Stepford wife, which I really enjoy! Because the quality of my life has improved so dramatically I feel like a new person, full of energy for my students and for MY LIFE!. I realised I am not Superwoman and I really don't have to do it all or have it all. Isn't that the beauty of working in nails though ? We should be able to adapt our work to suit our lives.......anyway over to you.....how do you do it........

 

[naturalnails]

I think I have pretty much a perfect work-life balance and it is getting perfecter all the time LOL.

I can take my kids to school everyday (they are 8). I can pick them up from school everyday. I dont have to worry about childcare in the holidays or when they are sick.

I dont have many nail clients in the day - but when I dont I can do the housework, I can pack up the Nail Graphix orders, I do a bit of nail tech web design and then I have my nail clients in the evening when hubby is home.

It does mean that I dont spend much time with Andy but then he falls asleep on the sofa every night anyway so no loss LOL.

 

[Karren]

OMG i have the BEST life possible and im loving it. No one to answer to, all the support i could possibly ask for from all my friends on here and my love and i have a great client base who are more like friends catching up every two weeks. I love what i do and I love taking time out to spend time in Kent with Liza training and i can chill whenever i want as I am in charge of my diary ! I can work whatever hours i like during the week whilst my love is away and i can keep my weekends free for when he's home

I DEFINATELY have the work / life balance sorted !

kx

 

[Karren]

had to double take Fiona, thought you said you had EIGHT children to manage ! lol

kx

I think I have pretty much a perfect work-life balance and it is getting perfecter all the time LOL.

I can take my kids to school everyday (they are 8). I can pick them up from school everyday. I dont have to worry about childcare in the holidays or when they are sick.

I dont have many nail clients in the day - but when I dont I can do the housework, I can pack up the Nail Graphix orders, I do a bit of nail tech web design and then I have my nail clients in the evening when hubby is home.

It does mean that I dont spend much time with Andy but then he falls asleep on the sofa every night anyway so no loss LOL.

 

[scattyfox]

I'm getting there, i teach three days and do nails evenings and thurs and fri, occasionally i do nail things on a sat but try and keep this for housework and the tiddler. I have a good balance and i do not rely on anyone but myself that way i cant be let down. i have good playscheme for holidays and although it costs me i can juggle my nails around and my teaching with this and I know Oliver is well looked after.

I get to go and see Liza now and again for more training and have geek meetings with my excellent friends on here, my client base is getting built up slowly but surely and they are all lovely so i would say it is all coming together slowly. I am of to meet some of my other geeky friends around the uk and ireland in the next few months so that will be fun.

Things can't be any worse than what they have been this last year so it onwards and upwards for me.
x

 

[Mrs Geek]

This subject is close to my heart! Many times I wonder if I work too much and don't spend enough quality time with my boys! I even feel guilty like now - creating a post when I should be going food shopping.
My mum says I always talk about guilt - I love what I do and I love my children - I think I balance things pretty well but I am one of those people that CAN switch off; I don't call 10 times a day when I am away - i call once and that is enough.

I see many mum's at school who don't work for whatever reason and I see them watching me running around and going away and coming back etc etc and I think they think I am a bad mum. That I am sure is more me than them which brings me back to the guilt.

I guess this is something I need to sort out in my head. I am told that my boys are a delight. They are well behaved and Haydn (the elder at almost 13) is a fab chap. Maybe as I said it is more that I feel I should do more... I guess this is something I just need to work on...

Thanks for listening!:smack:

 

[Sassy Hassy]

My life-work balance is a bit odd at the mo. Been busy moving out of the salon for the past couple of weeks. Now I seem to have too much life and not enough work! It's so quiet, think I'm going to have to change my deodorant!

But I was in a stressful sales job, and got into nails to get out of the rat race. So if it's quiet, I don't complain, I just use my time creatively elsewhere ... in the garden in this loverly weather!

 

[*JOANNE*]

my work/life is balanced just great.
i dont do any nails at all on mondays.....thats for cleaning, springer show etc
tuesday, wednesday thursday i usually have 2 during the day and 1 in the evening at 8. friday i am manic with last minutes for weekends/wedding guests.
i am there to pick the boys up and bring them home but sometimes my hairdressers come straight after work so the boys are upstairs at 5.30 whilst i do their nails....and sometimes i feel i have been busy all day and all they get is a captain birdseye frozen meal before i fob them off to do another client
i am quite busy but it suits me, rob works away and i dont have childcare but the boys go upstairs when i do my evening clients......they are really good and most of my clients bring them things like cereal prizes they save them up for the boys or sweets.
i am so lucky that if i do 3 sets of nails in a day i can earn £75 what other job lets me earn that and i pick and choose when i work etc
i am very lucky
samantha you are not a bad mum you will probably find that these mums are quite envious of you.( i would be too)
now my boys are getting older i dont worry so much if i dont spend time with them i am independent have money and am a happier person for it...........which makes the kids happy,

 

[izzidoll]

Great feedback, and hope for us all........Fiona I knew you had it sussed, I recommend your website to my students(mainly for that handisoak bowl!) and having seen your site I was sooo jealous of you to be able to work from home but still be seperate, that is the ideal. I feel such a woose now though, I was stressed out and I didnt even have kids to worry about (well, 2 fab stepsons who came and raided my fridge of a weekend). I honestly dont know how you mums do it! and there certainly doesnt seem to be any need for guilt Mrs Geek. Keep these inspirational tales coming.........I'm off to smell my roses...............

 

[Tracysnails]

This is something I'm having trouble with at the moment. I worked from home for 2 years, rented space in a tanning salon for 5 months and then got offered to rent the building of my dreams. Jumped in both feet first and business is booming! However, I'm working 10 hour days most days and all day Saturday with only Sunday off. Yes, its what I wanted, yes I'm making good money and yes I'm proud of what I've achieved BUT is it all worth it? I'm starting to feel ill and tired, aching neck and back due to the amount of work I do, can not find any decent staff for love nor money (anyone fancy a job?!) and I just now think that money, etc is not worth it. I would love to spend more time at home and be with my dog - I feel so guilty leaving him for others to look after - god help me if I ever have kids!

I used to moan about working from home but looking back I had the ideal set up and it was just what I wanted and needed. I think now that small IS beautiful instead of working my a** off to pay the massive outgoings for the salon. I'm considering closing as I just don't see the point in taking good money in the salon to pay out on outgoings - if I were mobile, I'm be able to work less but probably pay myself the same amount of as outgoings would be smaller. Watch this space - all my stuff may soon be on geekbay

Anyway, just to say to all those who think owning a salon is fab (and it is if you can get great staff) just think carefully about it first. Sorry I know this thread is about achieving the prefect work balance but just needed to share my story :o

but be careful what you wish for.....

VERY!!! :smack:

PS - if anyone does feel sorry for me and wants a job - pm me :o :biggrin:

 

[Trinity]

At the moment I'm spoilt rotten as 18 months ago I quit a very demanding job which saw me on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week :sad: I was tired, stressed, unhappy, and always in 'work' mode.

Part of the reason I left my job was because I was sick of giving that kind of committment and attention to a job that ultimately no-one else gave a toss about - I swore when I left I would never work for someone else again, and if I put that kind of commitment into something again it would be for my benefit, no-one else's :lol:

So far I've been able to work as and when I felt like it, and despite being convinced I couldn't 'not work', I've adored being a lazy cow and now realise there is far more to life than work.

I love getting up in the morning, nothing stresses me out like it used to, I have endless patience (which I never had before - I always had a hair-trigger temper), my skin is better, I rarely have the hideous migraines I had regularly before, I'm much more positive and upbeat about things, and generally feel great

I've also learnt to say no - if a client wants an appointment that doesn't suit me, then I say no. It was hard at first, but the more I say it, the better I get at it, and would you believe, we usually find a time that suits both of us in the end :wink2:

I'm determined not to get dragged back into the working 24/7 mentality - but you know what they say.............Never say Never and Old habits die hard! :lol:

Trin
xx

 

[liza smith]

this is a subject that samantha & i had done to death!
joanne is right when she says the other mums are probably envious!
ever since last august, i've had my mum to look after my children full-time and one of the dads from school picks callum up and takes him and brings him home from school.
this means that whether im at home or away on business, their routine doesnt change.
this makes the world of difference.
if im away they sleep at my mums but come home to our house after school for dinner, homework and to see paul.
its costing me a slice of my income but is worth it to have a peace of mind.
i also pay my sister to do 4 hrs cleaning a week, other wise i'd run myself ragged as i hate a dirty house!
about 6 months ago, i started weeding out my saturday clients to an evening appointment.
for the most part i now have most weekends off. unless im travelling, competeing, teaching or on a shoot out of 8 weekend days, i have at least 5-6 off.
so far this post reads as though my life seems very balanced...
anyone who knows me knows that i live a slightly crazy life, however i'm reasonably satisfied that im doing all that i can to keep my childrens life calm and in a good routine, while trying to be a good role model for them.
liza x

 

[izzidoll]

I do feel sorry for you Tracysnails..............that was me 6 months ago!! Although I did give up the shop & feel the better for it, I didn't actually make the decision it was out of my hands, but I am glad I stopped. I am sure I have read Geeg comment in a few articles that in business you should keep it small...i.e minimum overheads. When I was stressed out & fully booked (making money for the rent ,the bills, the wages...) I would think back to the days of just renting a wee space and my pockets bulging(yea literally!) with money at the end of the week....before I took on larger premises....
I now know I was close to sickening myself altogether with nails....getting upset with stroppy clients and not being able to perfect new skills and products because clients liked what they were already getting. Now I have all my passion back and look forward to any nails I get to do....even 1 at a time demos for students. I hope that the other posts in here cheer you up, as I think the majority are uplifting. There are a lot of techs who have got the balance right. That was the point of this thread, to show it can be done....Good Luck.

 

[Tracysnails]

Many thanks for your kind thoughts Izzidoll!

However, just wanted to update you all on my work life balance now. Somehow, I've slipped a disc in my back and have been told to take at least one month off!!! I'm having a scan this week to determine how much damage I've done and what treatment I can have but for now its a case of ringing appointments and cancelling everyone. :Scared: Thank god this week is quiet as lot of clients are on holiday so I'm not cancelling too many. I'm just worried that when I do return to work I'll have lost my client base. But theres nothing I can do about it though, I've been thinking about a career change into NVQ assessing (just applied for a job) so this might actually be the push I needed to slow down. But I've got to make the best of it, my poor husband is running around after me, I'm enjoying chilling out on the sofa, watching rubbish tv and being as high as kyte on painkillers and muscle relaxations!!! :o

Anyway, I'm off to lay down!