My work habits were hurting my marriage. Here are the 3 shifts I made that increased my profits and helped my relationship.
Ashley Jean
- An entrepreneur named Liane Agbi struggled with balancing her relationship and business.
- She hired extra help, used automated systems, and made her husband an accountability partner.
- These changes revamped her work-life balance and boosted her profits to over $190,000.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Liane Agbi, a 34-year-old entrepreneur in Jersey City, New Jersey. Business Insider has verified the profits mentioned in this article, which has been edited for length and clarity.
When I launched my web design agency in April 2021, I had some business acumen, but I really didn't understand how timelines or boundaries worked.
My fiancé, now husband, and I were both going to be working from home, so I figured we'd spend so much more time together and have the freedom to do fun midday activities. That wasn't the case.
Most days, I'd log on to my computer around 8 a.m. and work until 6 or 7 p.m. After having dinner and maybe watching a show together, I'd be back on my laptop, falling asleep on the couch with it in my lap.
A difficult conversation with my husband made me realize I wasn't living the life I wanted, and I had to make drastic changes to the way I navigated my business. After implementing three changes, I worked less, my relationship was stronger, and in one year I increased my productivity and grew my profits to $192,000.
The reality of entrepreneurship was not how I imagined
As time passed, I found myself cutting meals with my husband shorter, keeping interactions to a "hi" and "bye," and rescheduling date nights in favor of work. I didn't know how to shut off my work brain.
Around the end of 2021, my husband and I had just gotten married, and he sat me down for a tough conversation. He asked me if the way I was operating, sacrificing everything for my business, was the vision I had for our marriage and my life.
That simple question opened my eyes to the fact that my current lifestyle was unsustainable.
Setting boundaries with my work schedule has made a huge difference
I started with a 7 or 8 p.m. cut-off time for work and moved it earlier as I got more comfortable disconnecting.
Nowadays, I don't respond to clients after 4 p.m., and if someone tries to reach me in the evening, they might receive an auto-response stating I'm out of the office and will get back to them the next day.
For the longest time, I was too nervous to use an automated email message because I thought it would signal to clients that I was unresponsive, but this change has brought me a huge sense of relief by helping me turn off my work brain and be present with my partner.
Hiring people to help with my business grew my revenue
In 2020, I hired a $4,000 business coach for a seven-week program to help me create workflow systems for my emerging business.
The most lasting lesson she taught me was the power of leveraging automation, such as email scheduling, to get back time. Hiring a business coach was completely worth it for me, and I still have access to meet with her monthly.
Two years later, I decided to hire a part-time junior developer for $1,000 a month. I used to take pride in doing everything myself, but outsourcing support has given me time back to focus on the big parts of my business, like brand development and marketing.
My junior developer handles some of the most time-consuming parts of my business.
I made my husband my work accountability partner
My husband has helped me maintain my work-life boundaries by becoming somewhat of an accountability partner.
In the beginning, I would shut off my computer, but I still found myself checking emails on my phone. Then he'd step in to give me a friendly reminder.
If we were watching a show and I was on my phone, he'd pause the show and wait for me to come back from whatever email I was reading. It was one of those silent signals to me like, "Liane, we're supposed to be spending time together, and instead, you're retreating to work."
I boosted my productivity and sales
Since limiting my working hours, I became significantly more productive. I'd tell myself: "You only have six hours to work today. How are you going to use them?"
Boosting my productivity and sales has given me the confidence to take on bigger clients. I know how to operate within a timeline, set boundaries, and lean on my support system to get through it which helps me manage big projects without overwhelm.
If I could go back and tell 2021 Liane anything, it would be that it's not just OK to have boundaries; it's required for a successful and sane entrepreneur.
If you're an entrepreneur who made a lifestyle change that greatly affected your business and would like to share your story, please email the editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.