How To Juggle Big Life Changes When You Work For Yourself
Alison Ives is the Director of Content at Brit + Co covering petite girl fashion, anti-inflammatory food, hidden gem travel destination, home decor hacks, buzzy new book releases, and trending news. She serves as the executive podcast producer of several Brit + Co shows: Teach Me Something New and First In Line with Brit Morin. With 10+ years of writing and editing expertise, she oversees the editorial calendar, affiliate and brand partnerships, social and email marketing, and hiring and intern staffing programs.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina's journalism program, Alison has previously held roles as the Editorial Director at Girlboss and Fashion Editor at Refinery29. She's regularly contributed bylines to Refinery29, Vice, NYLON, Girlboss, and more. Alison is based in Los Angeles, California with her husband and papillon rescue and can be reached at ali@brit.co.
Being booked and busy can be exciting when you're building a business. But, it can also lead to disorganization and a lack of focus when it's crunch time to be productive and execute all the little tasks that need your attention. Add caring for a family into the mix, and consider us stumped at how some female founders make it look oh-so-easy (*ahem* looking at you, Brit) to balance it all.
Luckily, we were able to tap expert content creator, social media consultant, and former tax accountant Kar Brulhart for her advice on how to juggle big life changes when you're your own boss. Brulhart let us in on all the wild changes she's encountered in the last year. From growing her business and her family (she's pregnant with her second child), to splitting her time between NYC and Lisbon, to even investing in crypto for the first time — all of which have undoubtedly had an impact on her bottom line.
Her number one tip for juggling it all? Enlisting the tax pros at TurboTax Live to help manage her unique tax situation so she can stay focused on her business and life goals. Press play on the video below to see Brulhart's humorous take on navigating life changes like a pro!
Kar's Best Tips For Navigating Big Life Changes
How do you stay organized when you're being pulled in a million directions between work and life?
"I’m a notebook person. I need to write daily to-do lists. Cross things out. I start with my top priorities at the top and make my way down. It's so satisfying to cross them out! But I recommend using a squiggle and not a hard line so that I can actually read what was on the list in case I need to reference later!"
Do you have any productivity tools or apps that help make your day-to-day easier?
"I swear by CapCut for editing my Reels and other videos quickly. In terms of productivity, I'm pretty old fashioned. I use my Google Calendar for everything! Evernote is fantastic for organizing business and travel documents too."
What's your go-to affirmation to help keep yourself grounded in stressful moments?
"I've learned to not get so caught up in the moment of stress when it arrives. Deep breathing and remembering that everything that needs to get done always does has really helped me. Being a new entrepreneur I need to constantly remind myself that I am enough, and that what I'm doing is enough."
What gave you the confidence to explore investing in cryptocurrency for the first time, and making some other big life changes like living abroad part-time?
"Crypto was something my husband showed me about 2 years ago at the start of the pandemic. He's always reading and educating himself about history, economics, and technology, and has worked in tech for over a decade. When he first explained Web 3 and crypto to me I thought it was wild and it took me over a year to wrap my head around it. Now it seems like the most natural thing and the future. Becoming educated on the subject gave me the confidence to get into it.
"I've always been someone that leads with my heart and with my gut. When I was 17 I decided to take a gap year and volunteer in Ghana for 5 months after high school. When I first met my husband I knew he was the one and 2 weeks after meeting him I quit my job as a tax accountant and flew to Sydney for 3 weeks to be with him. One month later I moved to Berlin, Germany and 3 years after that we moved to NYC! Portugal was a feeling we had. We both have European passports and we knew we wanted a big change. Life is honestly so short. It's about the experiences. We knew we wanted to give our children more."
What would you say to women who are afraid to embrace change?
"My favorite quote about change is so eloquently put by Frida Kahlo: 'Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.' It's even more beautiful in Spanish. I would just say that you should follow your heart and your gut and not be afraid to make changes — especially if something doesn't feel like it's serving you."
For more tips, be sure to follow Kar Brulhart on Instagram!
Alison Ives is the Director of Content at Brit + Co covering petite girl fashion, anti-inflammatory food, hidden gem travel destination, home decor hacks, buzzy new book releases, and trending news. She serves as the executive podcast producer of several Brit + Co shows: Teach Me Something New and First In Line with Brit Morin. With 10+ years of writing and editing expertise, she oversees the editorial calendar, affiliate and brand partnerships, social and email marketing, and hiring and intern staffing programs.
A graduate of the University of North Carolina's journalism program, Alison has previously held roles as the Editorial Director at Girlboss and Fashion Editor at Refinery29. She's regularly contributed bylines to Refinery29, Vice, NYLON, Girlboss, and more. Alison is based in Los Angeles, California with her husband and papillon rescue and can be reached at ali@brit.co.