REAL LIFE: “How I find balance as an entrepreneurial mum-of-two”

By Lana Tarek

Running multiple quickly-growing businesses, forecasting and adapting to the latest brow and beauty trends and raising my two young children as a single mum isn’t easy, and I often get asked how I find balance between work and family life- and how, on top of it all, I find time for myself.

My name is Lana Tarek and in 2014 I took a huge leap of faith. I turned a small hobby of mine into a business and opened my first studio. Since then, I have added my own signature touch to the world of brows, educating many aspiring brow artists who graduate from my Browcademy and launching a range of professional products and tools.

When I’m not working or looking after my kids, I love meditating, reading, cooking and watching psychological thrillers.

How do I find time for it all? I make the time.

It may sound strange to schedule in time in front of the TV, or time to take your kids to the park, but it’s one of my favourite ways to work.

I strongly believe that organisation is a must. I keep a very structured diary, and as paradoxical as it may sound, I find it incredibly helpful to schedule allocated time to spend time with my kids, and allocated me-time is very important to me as well. I wake up early every day, plan my week ahead and make sure I’m always including self-care and family time, no matter how busy work is.

I’ve had to overcome many challenges throughout my journey. Building my brand during two pregnancies, expanding my business in a time of very high demand and going through a divorce at the same time wasn’t a walk in the park, but I’m grateful for it all because I’ve learned invaluable lessons along the way.

One of the biggest learnings that came to me early on in my career was that in order to grow, you simply can’t be a one-man army.

Initially, when I started my business, I was doing everything from the social media to the book keeping. I was spread really thin and being pulled in what felt like a million different directions. I quickly started running out of personal time which was a line that I soon realised I never wanted to cross again.

Once I started delegating and outsourcing other tasks, it became a whole lot easier to focus on my main role in the business, and the part I’m most passionate about: creating masterpieces on every single one of my clients. I love leaving my clients with my signature touch, brows that compliment their unique facial structure and, most importantly, feeling amazing, and teaching aspiring artists how to do the same.

Watching my kids grow up so quickly, it dawned on me that family always will be my first priority.

Above all, I am a mum first and I maintain very strict boundaries around spending quality time with my children. Weekends are dedicated to my family, and from 6pm onwards during the week, it’s all about the kids. Drawing a clear line between work and personal life can be difficult in today’s world of advanced technology, but it is extremely important to avoid burn out and maintain balance.

I can’t think of anything more special than watching my little humans grow into their unique personalities and I truly cherish each and every one of the little moments. At the end of the day, that’s what life is about, and I try to never let myself forget that.

It isn’t easy… but it is all worth it.