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Before you can balance your business and relationship you MUST think about what you want. Thinking about what is important in your own life will not only help you recognize the balance of others but will ultimately determine the balance that is right for you. Take a minute to really define your personal and financial goals: Seven figure income? Marriage? Kids? 401k? 3 year plan? 15 year plan? 

Know that the perfect balance can change and isn’t the same for everyone, there are times that an unbalanced life makes perfect sense because of current goals and situations. We adapt the balance of business and relationships to the people we meet and our career opportunities and obligations. Someone who highly values their relationship will find time to be with that person. Someone entrenched with the options of business and career will require a high value person to pull them away and balance their life.

To understand exactly what we are balancing, lets look at a few characteristics of the two extreme personalities:

Characteristics of the Business Extreme

• Completely motivated by work
• May have options of women and go on dates but never settles down
• Feels unproductive on days off
• Has financial goals and a plan to achieve them
• Identity is defined by a job position or company

Characteristics of the Relationship Extreme

• Values the relationship more than personal growth
• Too dependent on the other person
• Has financial dreams, not goals
• Doesn’t let the other person to grow in their career
• Identity is defined by their relationship

Finding The Balance

The truth about businesses and relationships are that they require a lot of mutually exclusive time. Long hours at the office, working nine-to-five, coming home and hustling another six hours are what it takes to build a business and skyrocket a career but it doesn’t necessarily translate into a phenomenal relationship. Time dedicated to a relationship is time away from that money making business or career and is the opportunity cost of being with someone. 

Finding time as a driven business professional is tough. This involves being as efficient at work as possible, delegating tasks, forced scheduling of regular time off and staying organized. Ultimately long term business plans should involve an exit strategy that coincide with long term relationship plans.

Balancing the relationship means means setting expectations in the beginning. Someone with limited time will benefit from being upfront and honest as possible initially, setting themselves up for the possibility to adjust their commitment as the relationship progresses naturally. Keep in mind relationships rarely can go backwards, being overly available in a relationship at first and then withdrawing effort is not ideal causing strain on the relationship and ultimately failure. 

To maintain a great relationship both people must have similar expectations and benefits from the time they spend together. In my experience this is the result of two peoples compatibility, attraction and timing aligning with their personal and financial goals for the future.