Finding Your Capacity Sweet Spot: Work-Life Balance for Entrepreneurs
- connections6
- Aug 1, 2024
- 3 min read
As a business owner, finding the balance between ambition and sustainability is critical, yet it’s one of the hardest lessons to learn. When I first started Little Fish Accounting, I thought I had to do everything—serve every client who came my way, work all the hours, and constantly prove my worth through sheer output. It wasn’t sustainable.
Eventually, I hit the wall: burnout. The kind of burnout that made me question why I was doing any of it. That’s when I started asking myself the hard questions about capacity and how managing it better could lead to a better work-life balance.
What Is Capacity and Why Is It Crucial for Entrepreneurs?
Capacity is about more than time—it’s about energy, resources, and intentionality. At Little Fish, we define capacity as the sweet spot where the work you take on aligns with the life you want to live. It’s the balance between what you can deliver with excellence and what allows you to maintain joy and energy outside of work.
As an entrepreneur, knowing your capacity means deciding:
How many clients you can serve without compromising quality.
What your revenue needs to look like to meet your goals.
How your team and systems support your business model.
Finding that sweet spot requires clarity and honesty. It’s tempting to keep saying “yes” to growth, but scaling beyond your capacity doesn’t just hurt you—it can also hurt your clients.
Lessons Learned About Capacity From Running a Small Business
At Little Fish, I’ve learned some hard truths about managing capacity:
Burnout is real, and it impacts every area of your life. When I was overwhelmed, I couldn’t show up fully for my clients, team, or even myself.
Finances play a crucial role. Capacity planning isn’t just about time; it’s about knowing how much revenue you need and pricing your services to match.
Quality over quantity is key. By narrowing our focus to serve professional service providers with intentionality, we’ve been able to deliver a concierge-level experience that feels good for both our clients and our team.
5 Steps to Find Your Capacity Sweet Spot
If you’re feeling stretched too thin or unsure how to balance growth with sustainability, start here:
Start with a Gut Check: Reflect on your workload and ask:
What feels good?
What feels overwhelming?
Are there clients or projects you’d like to stop doing?
Know Your Numbers: How much do you really need to make to cover your business expenses, pay yourself, and hit your financial goals? If you’re undercharging or taking on too many clients to meet revenue needs, it might be time to adjust your pricing.
Visualize Your Ideal Team: Imagine your dream org chart. What roles would support you in staying within your capacity while still serving your clients with excellence?
Accept That Capacity Shifts: Life changes, and so does your capacity. Be willing to reassess regularly, whether it’s quarterly, annually, or as circumstances shift.
If this resonates with you, I encourage you to listen to the Finding Your Capacity Sweet Spot episode where I dive deeper into strategies for balancing client work, revenue, and life outside of business.
Finding your enough isn’t a one-time decision; it’s an ongoing journey. But once you define and honor your capacity, you’ll find that growth—on your own terms—feels not just possible but sustainable.
Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts, and let’s build a business that fits into the life you want—not the other way around.
👋🏾 I’m Keila, founder of Little Fish Accounting and a passionate advocate for growing businesses intentionally while achieving big results with small teams.
Feeling overwhelmed by the constant push for more? Join my newsletter list, where I share my insights and perspectives on creating a sustainable, purpose-driven business that align with your lifestyle and values.
